The atmosphere in the Autobot base had once grown brave, strong, and proud. Now the mood was somber, dark, and cold. Ultra Magnus and the rest of his team arrived back to base with the girls either in tears, holding each other from the pain that they had suffered, or just hugged. Twilight in particularly was the saddest one of them all, she had been crying the most out of all of them, alongside Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Applejack.

None of them could take the loss of Sunset Shimmer, and now more of their friends were included in the mix as some were put into the burial grounds, put into stasis, or were taken away by the Decepticon armada. And barely any of them said a word once they got into the base. They just said nothing, and let their depressed faces explain it all.

While everyone else was trying to recover and holding onto each other for comfort, Ultra Magnus just stood at the open entrance of the base, staring off into the horizon. Blissfully quiet, and completely still. He didn't talk to anyone, he didn't look at anyone. All he wanted to do was just stare off at the horizon, thinking about his own actions.

The sound of feet stomping against the ground was heard, but he didn't go look to see who it was. But he could figure out who was near.

"What is it Leader-1?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"I just wanted to talk to you. You haven't said a thing since we came back, and the others are worried."

Ultra Magnus said nothing. For about five seconds.

"Leader-1, I'm not cut out to be an Autobot. I promised to look after Sunset Shimmer, and I couldn't even do that. And now... she's gone."

Leader-1 looked at Ultra Magnus's optics with his own optical receptors.

"Ultra Magnus."

The leader did finally turned his head to give his undivided attention to the Guardian.

"I know how it feels to not know what to do in a situation like this. I know how it feels to be responsible for actions you wish had never happened but you can't take back. I've been where you are Ultra Magnus. I've lost thousands of friends, people I called family, I lost a planet! But you know what?"

Ultra Magnus waited.

"Even when all of that has happened, you still keep going. I know you want to stop Galvatron and his army, and you can. Right now... the team needs a leader. Right now, they need you."

Ultra Magnus was deep in his thoughts, pondering Leader-1's words. Sunset Shimmer was gone. The Autobots did need a leader though. He was the only one around who could take command. Maybe he could lead them to save their friends back on Cybertron, maybe they could finally stop Galvatron for all he's done... and they could finish what Sunset Shimmer had started.

The leader gave Leader-1 for the first time, a warm smile.

"Thank you, Leader-1."

Leader-1 smiled back.

"But if we're going to finish what Sunset started, I'm going to need a first lieutenant by my side." Ultra Magnus gestured to the cyborg in front of him.

"Its a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it." Leader-1 agreed.

"Very well. Lets finish what Sunset started, and lets get these Autobots back on their feet. We've got to stop them, and we got to stop Galvatron... even if I have to take his own life to do it." Ultra Magnus looked to his own troops who were busying away with repairs and comforting the pain of those hurt. "Primus... forgive me."

Ultra Magnus stepped back into the base, and a few of the Autobots stood up to give them their attention. And in addition, he managed to get the attention of some of the cleaning crew back from Canterlot and a handful of CHS and CPA students.

"Autobots. Wondercolts. Shadowbolts. As you know, Sunset Shimmer is sadly... no longer with us. But we cannot sit here and let her die in vain. We need to finish what she started, and stop Galvatron from whatever his plan is."

Twilight sniffled. "-B-But how? We can't get off this planet, if even if we tried."

Ultra Magnus looked to Twilight. "We are in possession of Omega Supreme. And I believe that you, Twilight, have assembled a Titan back on Cybertron which you took here to Earth."

"B-But it needs... it needs repairs." Twilight whimpered.

"Then we will fix it up as best as we can." Ultra Magnus replied. He took a knee down and lifted Twilight's chin up, looking her in the eyes with a heart-felt smile. "I understand you are not feeling well. But I can assure you, we're going to do what we can to carry on her name. Okay?"

Twilight sniffled again, and wiped another tear. But she did manage to give somewhat of a nod.

"O-Okay..."

Fluttershy and Applejack stood by her side, and they offered her hugs to which she kindly accepted. Ultra Magnus got back up and looked at the gathering of what remained of their Autobot allies.

"Now, I understand we may not be much, and we are still missing many of our allies. But as of now, we need to do what we can to get off this planet, get to Cybertron, save our friends, and stop the Decepticons."

One of them however, didn't like the tone coming from Magnus of all bots.

"And why should we listen to you? You said it was your fault that Sunset Shimmer died."

Strongarm interrupted. "Hey, its not his fault! He did all that he could to protect her, and that's what matters here."

"And how would you know, Strongarm? You keep fighting with someone every five seconds over petty reasons."

"Leave her alone!"

To Strongarm's shock, Tracks was actually standing up for her, and so did the rest of the Shadowbolts.

"I don't care that she's a law bot, I don't care if she hates me, but no one, and I mean no one talks to her, or our only superior this way!" Tracks interrupted. "Ultra Magnus is the only bot we have that's close to a leader, and that's what we need right now!"

"And if any of you have anything else to say... I suggest you take it up with me before I park my foot up your motherboard." Sugarcoat scoffed.

"Me too." Indigo snapped.

"But why--"

"That is enough!" Ultra Magnus snapped. "This isn't about who's in charge! This is about Sunset, and the rest of our friends back on Cybertron! Our friends need us, and all we are doing is standing here and bickering. We are all that's left to help our friends, and we have to do our part to help them. And for once in my life, I have a chance to account for my mistakes. I have the chance to do something right, and I can't do it alone."

That made everybody quiet, now that Ultra Magnus was speaking.

"Well... I suppose it would be good of us to avenge Sunset Shimmer. But maybe its because I hate Megatron to the very brim."

"That's the spirit Bluestreak." Sugarcoat complimented.

"And maybe it'd be nice if got a little payback for all of our friends who died fighting."

"You're getting it, Smokie!" Indigo cheered.

"And I think its about time we got back out their and kick their tailpipes!" Outback snapped.

"That's the spirit guys!"

Ultra Magnus gave them a nod, and the Shadowbolts nodded back. They stepped out of the way, allowing Magnus to speak once again.

"So... are you all with me?"

Everyone cheered.

"That's what I like to hear. Now, if we're going to save them, we need to--"

The monitors on Teletraan-1 began to blink, interrupting Ultra Magnus. On the screen, there were multiple dots blinking on and off, along with two picture icons. One was of a cloud with a bolt of rainbow shooting out, and another was three diamonds aligned together.

"Wait. That's Rarity and Rainbow Dash's logos. They're here!" Indigo gasped.

"But I thought Rarity was held hostage on that blasted ship." Sunny asked.

"Apparently not. And, wait... what's that signal?"

Another large signal was seen leading the pack, but there was no indication of who was leading them.

Just then, a familiar voice sprung up on the monitor.

"Calling all Autobots. Calling all Autobots."

The pack was now descending closer to their destination, and all of them were feeling stronger than ever. Sunset Shimmer was live and well, and she was back in action now leading their team again.

"Calling all Autobots. Calling all Autobots. Calling all Autobots."

Sunset Shimmer's engine roared, leading the pack. Her tires grinded against the sand and gravel, and everyone could see her engine buzzing as she raced along the road. Together, the pack's own engines and energy created one loud bellowing sound as they rallied straight to the base, feeling stronger than ever.

On top of one of the mountain cliffs, Hound, who was repaired and fixed up watched as they scampered towards the mountain base. He could see Sunset's mark flashing on the hood of the leading hot rod, which only made him grin with excitement.

"Oh yeah! Heck yeah!" Hound jumped onto a ledge and screamed his lungs out, getting the attention of his teammates. "She's back! She's alive!" Then with one hand, he shot one of his guns high up into the air as extra noise-making.

"Sunset is here!!!"

Everyone in the base could hear Hound's yell, and so everyone who heard rushed outside and saw a dust cloud off into the distance, along with the collection of cars and the two flying mechs above them.

On another mountain cliff, one of the functioning Guardians, Flip Top watched the group come their way back to the mountain headquarters. And he could clearly see Sunset's logo on the hood of the car.

"Yes... we've got her back everyone!"

Flip Top started to slide down the mountainside with just the heels of his feet. As he jumped up, his body flipped itself around and converted into helicopter form. His blades began to spin, and then he began to fly right towards the group to get real close to them.

The gang got more and more close, and then all together their wheels began to grind to halt as they parked in the front of the base. The motorcycle flipped itself around, bending into its biped form, and so did the rest of the former Decepticons that joined their group.

"Aw, yeah baby!!!" Lemon Zest cheered as she raced up to the group with a crazy grin. "My girl Sunset's back in action once again. I knew you couldn't be dead. I never doubted ya for a second."

Strongarm and Tracks smiled.

"Its great to have you back ma'am." Strongarm grinned.

The rest of the Rainbooms and Shadowbolts all ran up and gasped. It was true. Sunset Shimmer, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were all back alive.

Rainbow and Rarity got out of their vehicles and all rushed up to their friends with open arms, giving big hugs. It was full of cries of joy and happiness, but it was great to see them nonetheless.

One by one, all of the Cybertronians transformed into their alternate modes and stood with one each other in one giant group with smiles, grins, and nods of admiration. They were proud to be here, and they were happy to see her once again.

The last person left was Sunset Shimmer. The top of the car along with the spoiler flipped itself to face the other direction. The tailpipes and sides of the car pulled out and formed arms. The hood of the car folded itself down to form the chest, and a head popped up with a smile on its face. Lastly, the back of the car formed a pair of legs which stood up on their own.

Everyone could only gape their jaws wide as they saw her standing right before their eyes.

"Hello again. It's been a while..."

Author's Notes:

Yes, you can tell I got inspired from Age of Extinction. I won't lie, first time I saw that scene, I thought it was pretty good.