The Decepticons attempted to search for the Autobots and the girls, but their luck was coming up short. They looked everywhere, and they were nowhere to be found. They couldn't even track their energy signatures. Where could they be?

Up in the sky, the giant city of Scorponok hovered in the clouds as they continued their search. Needless to say, Galvatron wasn't happy.

"Where are they!? Those Autobots have nowhere to hide, and nowhere to run. Where could that have gone!?" Galvatron screamed as he slammed his fist onto a console.

"Relax master. We'll find them, I'm sure of it," Jet Black Spark said in a soothing voice.

Galvatron turned himself around and faced his fellow Decepticons who were in the room. Mainly it was Cyclonus, Scourge, Jet, Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Soundwave who were all present and awaiting his command.

"Our teams have went everywhere, and they've found nothing. The Autobots couldn't have gone far," Galvatron heaved.

"Have patience, master. We will track down the Autobots soon enough. And I personally guarantee that your old... and new warriors can take them down. Especially those we've freed from prison...", Jet grinned.

Galvatron turned his head to face the Shadowcon leader, "Remind me again why you brought bounty hunters with you to help us. What good can they possible do? Even that Buffaloid has nothing useful in him."

"Which is why I set him free here on Earth so he can wreck more havoc. But our bounty hunters are more than capable of tracking them. Plus, they've met this team before... I'm sure they'd be more than happy to strike back at them."

Just then, the doors in the room slided open revealing the yellow and pink bat, one of Soundwave's minions.

"Ratbat has returned. Ratbat, report," Soundwave commanded.

Ratbat transformed back into a cassette and he flew back into Soundwave's chest compartment. Once it closed, the recording played for the Decepticons to hear.

"Perfect! Everyone's on board! Now, lets get to work!"

Galvatron sneered when he listened to that voice.

"So... Sunset Shimmer is still alive. But not for much longer. Contact all Decepticons and tell them to depart for the Autobot outpost. Once we arrive, we'll begin our first assault. Trypticon and Scorponok are going to crush them all..."

Jet Black Spark smirked, "I couldn't have said it any better, Lord Galvatron. May I be excused?"

Galvatron merely turned his head to the side and gave one nod, allowing her to be excused. She accepted and turned around and walked out of the room. Once she was in the hallway, she made a turn into another room. A private room for herself.

She locked the door and she sat down with her legs crossed, and with her arms resting on her knees, beginning a meditation.

"Hear me, Lord Unicron... hear me... hear me..."

Jet sat for a few moments, turning all noises around her off. She didn't want any distractions as she spoke. But when she opened her eyes, she was met with a spectral image floating in front of her. Only a shadow hidden in darkness was seen, but there were two visible parts that she could make out. A pair of glowing green eyes, and two horns that appeared at the top of the head.

"What do you have to report to me, my herald?"

Jet smirked as she looked at the ghostly image.

"We are on our way to where the Autobots reside, and we know that's where Sunset Shimmer and the Matrix of Leadership is. And we now hold Optimus Prime."

"Excellent... you are serving me well, my minion..."

Jet smiled again, "But there's one thing I must ask. The other Decepticons on board with us... what must we do with them? They don't like us getting close to Lord Galvatron. And I have suspicion they're starting to uncover the truth about us..."

Unicron stayed silent for a moment, before replying to the winged fembot.

"Do what you can to keep Galvatron focused. Do not let any of his trusted allies stand in the way. They are... expendable."

Jet simply gave a nod and closed her eyes as the image began to fade away.

"Very well, my master..."

Back at the Autobot base, everyone was at hard work trying to get things ready, They had to get moving fast before any of the Decepticons arrived. Luckily for them, they all maintained their focus and they didn't lose any of it on their jobs.

Hoist and Grapple had finally made enough metallic forgeries of the Matrix that Sunset had commanded, and they had filled the hollow shell with material to make it glow, enough to attract Decepticons to it like if it was the real Matrix of Leadership.

"How do these look Sunset?" Grapple asked, presenting one of the forgeries.

Sunset smiled, "Looks excellent Grapple. If you and Hoist are done, I have something else I need to you guys to make."

"Lay it on us," Hoist replied.

Sunset threw a few blueprints onto the table they were working on, along with a few sketches that Sugarcoat had made in her notebook.

"We're going to need some suits for the Crystal Prep girls. Can you make those?"

The two construction workers nodded.

"We'll get on it right away," Hoist stated.

"Perfect!" Sunset grinned before walking away to check up on the rest.

She entered into the main hangar and watched as Hound and his crew were finishing the final repairs on the ship that Ultra Magnus had arrived in. And the Dinobots were handing them the supplies they required.

"Looking good guys!" Sunset smiled.

"Thanks Sunset!" Hound called out from the top of the ship, "Mind telling the girls to hurry up so they can give us a hand? More hands make less work!"

"They're just finishing packing, they'll be out soon!" Sunset chuckled.

Sunset turned back around and left the hangar, leaving the Autobots back to their work.

Sunset walked back into the main control room only to find that her friends, the Principals of Canterlot High, Ultra Magnus, Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Leader-1 were all waiting for her.

"Hey guys. Good news, everyone is hard at work, and we might just get the chance to be prepared before the Decepticons," Sunset said.

"Hooray!" Pinkie cheered as she bounced up, throwing confetti into the air.

"So... why is everyone here?" Sunset asked.

"We've been monitoring progress on the outside. Some of your Canterlot High classmates decided to go into hiding in the sands outside of our base, staying on the lookout for the Decepticons. And some of Autobots dug up a trench so they could stand as snipers," Ultra Magnus replied.

"Perfect."

"Uh, Sunset?" Rainbow asked, "Didn't you say you were going to try calling the G.I.JOE force?"

"I did, but they're busy. Plus, every time I call them, this is what I get."

Sunset pulled out her cellphone and she dialed the number into the keypad. She set the phone onto loudspeaker and she waited as the phone started dialing the number. But the number didn't pick up.

"The G.I.JOEs are not available right now. Please stay on the line."

Its G.I.JOE against Cobra and Destro, fighting to save the day!
He never gives up! He's always there!
Fighting for freedom over land and air!

G.I.JOE! (Real American Hero!)
G.I.JOE is there!

Sunset groaned and she hung up.

"So it looks like military help is out of the question," Sunset stated. "But back to business. If I remember this correctly, Twilight, Perceptor, Ultra Magnus, and Leader-1 are all coming with me. Sounds like a good protection team."

Before anyone could say anything else, all of them paused to hear a loud murmuring coming from around the corner. And it sounded all too familiar.

Sunset sighed, "I know you're back there Strongarm, Tracks. Come out now."

"...How does she know that!?"

"Your voices gave it away, now come on."

Tracks and Strongarm appeared from out of the corner, standing straight and tall in front of their superior.

"Well, uh, ma'am, we uh... well...", Tracks interrupted.

"We were wondering if, maybe Tracks and I could come with you. As extra protection," Strongarm asked.

"You are an inexperienced new recruit, you don't need to be putting your life at risk," Ultra Magnus stated.

"Yes, but, I have been training with Lieutenant Sunset for a year now. And I am more than willing to sacrifice myself to save her!"

"Strongarm."

Strongarm stopped talking.

"You and Tracks don't need to put yourselves in more risk. We can protect Sunset Shimmer. Understood?" Ultra Magnus said sternly.

"But--"

Ultra Magnus gave a stern look at the recruit, who just whimpered. She wanted to argue, but there was no point.

"Yes sir...", Strongarm sadly said, walking away with Tracks.

All Strongarm wanted to do was to help Sunset Shimmer. She was given no assignment or anything to do, and she wanted to help contribute to her problem, but there was nothing she could do. Or was there...

As soon as she made a turn around the corner with the blue mech, she yanked him to the wall so they were out of sight.

"Will you quit yanking on me like that? You'll scratch up my paint," Tracks whined.

"Will you take 20% off of your paint job for a few minutes? Look, we can't just sit here while Sunset Shimmer goes off on her own with a few people, she needs our help!"

"But Ultra Magnus made it very clear he doesn't want us interfering," Tracks said.

"Ultra Magnus doesn't know Sunset Shimmer like we do. We need to protect her at all costs, and that's what we're going to do."

"You think that just the two of us coming along with them is going to help them?"

"Not exactly. I do know a few other people who can help us... and help protect Lieutenant Sunset."

Strongarm glanced to the left, and so did Tracks. There the two of them watched as they saw a few Autobots having a conversation with one another. A smirk crept onto her face as she took a good long look at them. Just the bots she needed...

Outside of the entrance of the base, just up ahead was a trench that had been dug into the ground. And within that trench were a few Canterlot High students and Crystal Prep students who were all hiding in place with a few blasters, preparing themselves for battle.

"You ready dudes?" Sandalwood asked.

"We're ready as ever Sandalwood," Bon Bon cheerfully said.

"Great to hear girls," Neon said carefully holding a long range sniper weapon, "Now, I've got more experience with holding a sniper than anyone else here, so you help get those Decepti-bozos off of me."

"Why should we just focus on keeping them off of you? We're here to keep them off of all of us!"

Jet Set just groaned, "We're not in competition with each other you nincompoops! What's important here is that we buy Sunset and her friends enough time to escape. I'm not sure why they think they'll be showing up today, but we've got a job to do!"

"Well said there darling," Upper Crust said.

A Canterlot High student groaned.

"He's right. Lets just focus on keeping them away from the base."

But as they sat there, waiting for anything, any solitary movement, any piece of something that would finally get them out of their deep hole, until they felt a startling shake on the ground. At first, they just shrugged it off, it didn't feel like anything. But then another boom hit the ground, this one felt a little closer and louder than the first one.

Curious, Jet Set filled up a cup of water, and he set up just a few centimeters in front of him, right in front of the trench wall. He squinted his eyes as he looked carefully at the cup of water, and he noticed something. The water was shaking, vibrating to each one of the tremors. But what could be causing it? What was causing that tremor?

The bespectacled teenager pulled out a walkie-talkie and he spoke into it.

"Um... Octavia, this is Jet Set from the trench. We're feeling some very strange tremors. Are you two feeling them?"

"I'm feeling them too Jet. I will find out what is happening," Octavia replied.

Far up ahead of the trench, just a few feet away were a few rocks that were piled up together, and right near the rocks was a single cardboard box that sat on the ground upside down, with the flaps all spread out. Hiding in those rocks was Octavia Melody who had a walkie-talkie, one single blaster, and some water to drink. She had been hiding in the pile of rocks for over thirty minutes, waiting for something to happen.

Luckily something did finally happen when she felt the ground tremor under her, trembling and shaking. She was even startled that she felt the tremors occurring. In fact, she was so startled she raised her hands up above her to keep the rocks up covering her, trying to keep them from caving in on her, crushing her body. The rocks weren't big enough to crush her though, but the very thought of them actually crushing her bones did frighten her.

She carefully peaked her head out from her hiding spot through the hole that was above her where the single patch of sunlight shined through. Carefully she moved out and she squinted her eyes as she looked up ahead, and she noticed something odd. Two peculiar shapes were up ahead of her, very far away and unidentifiable.

"Vinyl? Am I crazy, or is there something up ahead that could be causing the tremors?"

"Shhh! Tavi! I'm undercover!" Vinyl shushed.

Octavia just looked at the cardboard box with an irritated look.

"Vinyl, I know you're under that box, and this isn't like one of your video games," Octavia huffed.

"How do you know I'm Vinyl? How do you know I'm not some secret half-human half-bug monster that can take on the form of those you love? How Tavi? How?"

Octavia scowled and she reached underneath her, grabbing hold of a bottle of water with the cap sealed shut. With one throw, she tossed it at the cardboard box that her friend was hidden under.

"Ow! Tavi!"

"Vinyl, can you just look?"

Two fingers jutted out from the box, creating holes to peak through. Vinyl's magenta colored eyes gazed through the hole as she went to get a closer look. Sure enough, there was something up ahead that caught her eye. But what? What was so far away?

"I don't know Octy. I can't see what's out there. But I can feel the ground pounding even more now," Vinyl said.

"Trixie?" Octavia asked.

In the ground between Vinyl and Octavia, slowly rising out of the sand, standing straight was Trixie Lulamoon. She had dug herself a hole to hide in while she was performing surveillance. Although her entire body was covered in sand, she had protected her entire face from getting sand in her eyes and mouth. Slowly, she pulled the mask off, revealing her blue face which had black war paint on both cheeks.

With a pair of binoculars, she brought them to her eyes and she looked up ahead to get a closer look at what was coming to them. But she wasn't seeing very much. Just desert, more desert, a few mountains, some cacti, a few tumbleweeds passing by in the gust of the wind, but wait. Something was up ahead. Through her binoculars she got a glimpse of a pair of big black feet that had Decepticon marks on them, along with something she could swear was mandibles... insect mandibles. No. Scorpion, mandibles.

As she zoomed out of the close-up, she gasped at what she was seeing. Two giant forms were the cause of the tremors, and they were on their way right towards them. One was a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex who was colored mostly in black, and another was a giant scorpion with green, and pink, and black colors.

Trixie gulped when she saw the two giant forms. They were bigger than most of the Autobots they had with them.

"Uh, girls. Trixie thinks now would be the time for us to wet ourselves and run back to the giant robots who offer us protection," Trixie said.

"Why is that?"

"I don't know maybe its because there's a GIANT T-REX AND SCORPION STOMPING THEIR WAY RIGHT TOWARDS US!"

Octavia jolted right out of the rocks she was hiding in, and Vinyl came flying up into the air, standing right on her feet. But the cardboard box was still with her, and it just remained drooped, hanging on her, with her head holding it up.

Octavia looking ahead, raised her communication device to her ear, and spoke.

"Um... everyone? I'm looking at two enormous Decepticons who are bigger than anything we've ever seen. We're looking at a giant T-Rex and a scorpion. We may need some Autobots out on the field immediately!"

Inside the base, Ultra Magnus and Sunset were listening to Octavia's cry for help which made them spring into action. Both of their eyes widened when they heard the descriptions of the two Decepticons, they sounded all too familiar.

"Trypticon and Scorponok... they're here," Ultra Magnus grimaced.

"Time to send out the troops!" Sunset spoke.

Sunset hit her finger on the console and spoke into a microphone.

"Decepticon attack! Decepticon attack!"

A bunch of Autobots came on running through, with guns in their arms, and serious looks.

"Okay, everyone, we've got Decepticons outside moving towards the base! Do what you can to stop them. Now go!"

All of the assigned Autobots rushed out of the hangar and entered the battlefield. Once they were all out, Ultra Magnus looked to Sunset with a serious look. He could only offer one sentence of speech to what he was hearing.

"Its time."

The Autobot Pipes, along with a handful of other Autobots, Guardians, and CHS and CPA students all stood grouped together ready to strike. They were standing at the entrance of the base, ready to march forward over to the battlegrounds where Scorponok and Trypticon were still stomping.

"We've got no choice, BOOM, BAM, but to make our stand here, WHAM!" Warpath boomed.

The two giants continued to stomp on the ground as they were slowly walking towards the mountain base, several gears and parts whirring and turning within their bodies, the sounds of heavy clanking sending echoes through the land.

"Crush... Autobots... Destroy them all!" Trypticon shouted.

The Mini-bot Pipes stood straight and he turned his attention to all of the Autobots that had gathered for the fight.

"Everyone, we've got to hold them off long enough for Sunset and her friends to escape!"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie will make sure neither one of those things ever get close!" Trixie called out.

"That goes for me too!", Lyra added.

"Me too!"

"Make it four!" Neon Lights said.

"Good. Then lets show them what we've got."

Pipes turned himself around and looked towards the continuing giants whose stomps continued to shake the ground.

"As Optimus Prime always said, transform and roll out!"

Pipes converted into a small truck, and allowed Trixie to climb onto the side and grip the side bar that was near his door. Soon the others converted into their alternate forms, and human partners began to hop into the vehicles that the Autobots converted to, picking their partners, and strapping themselves in for the incoming battle.

Pipes' wheels began to kick up sand right behind him as he revved up ready to charge. The others revved up their engines, all letting out a harmonious hum as they readied to attack.

Pipes' tires finally swerved and he drove out first, leading the pack with him. Everyone else sped up their wheels, their treads, and took off into the sky. There was no turning back now. It was now or never.

"CHARGE!!!"

Author's Notes:

I'm sorry for being a bit slow guys, I've got motivation problems coming at me at every corner making it hard for me to continue working. And I've got so many projects that I want to do, I've got some fluffy romance I want to continue with for Sour and Smallfoot, and other episodic related stories I want to do.

---

With all of that said...

Okay, so some new characters should make themselves known within the story. Don't worry, I'm just gonna treat them as side characters, they won't take away the focus of the story.

In the meantime, you want to guess who our bounty hunters are?