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Apple Bloom looked over the valley. There was nothing but grass and rock miles. She reached into her satchel and pulled out her father’s book. The glow from it pointed to a large cave. It was stronger than ever now.
“Must be close,” she said to herself. The young filly trotted down the hill and into the cave. It was rather dark to say the least. The glow from the book indicated to go on in further. She walked onward for a while. Then, in the light of the book she saw something ahead. Walking slowly forward, Apple Bloom came upon a strange and rather large structure, taller than the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. More to the point it was made of an odd metal.
Apple Bloom put touched the structure to feel it. The she put down her book and touched it. The metal on the book’s cover was a similar substance. Suddenly as if in response to the book’s presence, there was a noise. Then the structure began to glow. Now that there was more light to see, Apple Bloom could see what the thing was. It looked like a machine from a science fiction movie, with flashing lights and beeping sounds. She could also make out engravings on the machine, they were like the symbols in her book.
“Alright pa, now we’re getting somewhere.”

Apple Bloom remembered how she came by the book. A pony had come by Sweet Apple Acres, claiming to have been a friend of her father Bright Macintosh. He said his name was Data Crunch, which Apple Bloom thought sounded like a strange name for a pony. After reminiscing a little about his departed friend, Data Crunch gave Apple Bloom the strange book which had apparently belonged to her father.
“Why me,” she had asked. “Why not give it to my big sis or Big Mac. Or even Granny Smith? They’d all love to have something else to remember pa by.”
“Because they wouldn’t understand. Not like your father did or you will,” Data Crunch stated. “The contents of this book and the responsibility that comes with it needs an open and pure mind to understand.”
“Ah don’t follow.”
“You will. In time,” And with that, Data Crunch left.
Over the next few days, Apple Bloom study the book. The cover was metallic and covered with soft leather. Inside was filled with strange pictures and writing. Apple Bloom didn’t understand foreign languages, but these looked even stranger to her, almost alien in nature. To make it stranger, some of the text seemed to disappear and be replaced with new content. She originally thought it to be magic, but as she looked more through the book, she had started to get the feeling there was more to it than that.
“Maybe it really is alien,” suggested her friend Sweetie Bell while they were in school. “Maybe your dad found about an alien invasion and learned their language while secretly fighting them off.”
“Ah don’t think so,” dismissed Apple Bloom. “Pretty sure pa would have been more famous if that was true.”
“Maybe it’s from an ancient civilization that was highly advanced,” Scootaloo suggested.
“Maybe.”
“Well I don’t think it’s magical,” said Sweetie Bell. “I’ve sensed different types of magic before. But if the book is magic, then it’s something not from this world.”
The bell rang and class started. Miss Cheerilee was handing back their tests.
“Anyway,” said Sweetie Bell. “Are you sure the book hasn’t affected you? Like something weird happening to you?”
“Weird like what?” Asked Apple Bloom. She turned her head at the sound of Cheerilee putting her test paper on her desk.
“Excellent work Apple Bloom.” Said the teacher. “I hope you keep a similar score with your future exams.”
“Huh,” said a confused Apple Bloom. She looked at her test score and her eyes widened. It was a perfect score. Every question was correct, even the extra credit question.
“Wow,” exclaimed Scootaloo. “When did you find time to study that much?”
“Ah… didn’t.” Truth be told, Apple Bloom had only studied a few things for the test. She had been studying the book way more, so she shouldn’t have been this lucky. Unless it wasn’t luck. Apple Bloom looked at her father’s book. Could it have somehow given her knowledge?
That night, the book’s pages had started to glow. Weirdly, the book glowed in a way that seemed to indicate a direction. The next day, Apple Bloom got her supplies together and followed the book’s glow.

Back in the present, Apple Bloom was standing before the buzzing machine. There was an enormous tube attached to the machine. The glass glowed from the inside. Now Apple Bloom was starting to wonder if she should have asked Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo to come with her.
“Apple Bloom,” said a regal sounding voice. Apple Bloom turned to the source of the sound. In the direction of the entrance stood a blue alicorn with flowing hair.
“Princess Luna?” Said Apple Bloom surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“I was flying by when I saw you walk into the cavern and decided to investigate. Now what in the name of Equestria is…” Luna was cut off by the machine’s sounds changing. A mechanical voice rang out.
“STASIS RESTITUTION COMPLETE! CHIMERACON SHELL REINSTALLED! BEGINNING BIO-SCAN!” A light shined brighter than ever, filling the cavern ceiling. Then it started to move downward.
“Get behind me!” screamed Luna putting herself in front of Apple Bloom, shielding her from the strange light. The light washed over Luna till it hit the floor.
“BIO DATA REGISTERED! RESTORATION COMPLETE!” The machine said. The tube on the side opened, smoke pouring out of it flooding the cave. Through the thick mist, Apple Bloom and Luna saw a towering figure emerge from the tube. Then, with a Choo-chuh-chah-chik sound, the figure shrank and morphed into a familiar looking form. It then took flight, flew past them and out of the cave.
There was a moment of silence before either of them could speak.
“Wha, what just happened?” said a very startled Luna. The smoke had started to clear along with the glow from the machine. Luna used her magic to make her horn glow to light up the cave. She started to inspect the machine. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom went over to her father’s book and picked it up.
“Apple Bloom!”
Apple Bloom hid the book in her satchel.
“I don’t know what happened here, but I believe you have something to do with it,” said Luna. The sound of liquid dropping startled the two ponies.
“After we get out of this cave.” Luna turned back to the machine and inspected it some more. Apple Bloom started to exit. “Oh, and Apple Bloom.”
“Yes,” asked Apple Bloom.
“Please try to keep what happened here secretive. I don’t want to start any panic before we have all the facts.”

“So, then what happened?” asked Sweetie Bell. The three friends were walking down the road to their treehouse.
“Well, she escorted me back to Sweet Apple and had me explain about what happened to her and my family.” Apple Bloom went on, “Ah tried to leave the book out of it, but Granny Smith saw it and recognized it from when pa had it. Apparently, odd things happened when he had it too.”
“Did they take it away?” asked Scootaloo.
“Not exactly. Luna didn’t see any reason to take it back to Canterlot with her, but Applejack won’t let me take it out of the house.”
“Well I guess it’s for the best,” said Sweetie Bell.
“Uh, guys,” Scootaloo pointed to a large black mass swooping down at them. “Duck!”
The unidentified creature barely missed them before landing. When the dust settled, they saw it was a large black griffon. The griffon looked at them and then charged forward. The cutie mark crusaders ran as fast as they could.
“Why is he after us?” asked Apple Bloom frantically.
“I don’t know,” stated Scootaloo.
“Split up, maybe we can shake him,” Sweetie Bell’s idea sounded good. The crusaders split into three directions, only for the griffon to follow Apple Bloom without hesitation.
“Oh no. Apple Bloom he’s after you!” shouted Sweetie Bell. “Keep running, we’ll get help.” Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo dashed as fast as they could toward Ponyville.
Apple Bloom was running as fast as she could but was soon cornered at a clearing in the forest. The griffon was moved closer.
“Ah’m sorry. But ah don’t know…” Apple Bloom stopped mid-sentence. The griffon suddenly exploded. At least that what it seemed at first as its skin was ripped apart from the inside with the same Choo-chuh-chah-chik that she had heard in the cave. Its body was still connected by metal limbs that thrusted out from it, like a bug breaking out of a cocoon. The creature before her grew until Apple Bloom was facing a giant made of metal, one similar to pictures from her father’s book. Bits of its griffon form still covered parts of its body. The air around it seemed to silently vibrate, as if the world itself was terrified of this creature. The monster slammed its fists down on either side of her shaking the ground violently as it did. It looked at her with its burning red eyes.
“Are you the offspring of Bright Macintosh?” shouted the monster in a metallic, gravelly voice.
“Wha- huh?” the still surprised Apple Bloom could only muster.
“Are you the offspring of Bright Macintosh?” it shouted again louder.
“Y-yes.”
“Where is the database they gifted to you?”
“The what by who?”
“Where is the Underbase!?” the monster lifted one of its arms in anger, and that was all the inclination Apple Bloom needed to leave. She ran from the mechanical beast as it started to pursue her. She zigzagged through the trees hoping to slow it down, but the monster just swatted the trees in its way with unnatural ease.
Apple Bloom was running out of breath. Try as she might, she was too exhausted to move much faster. In her fatigue she tripped over a stone in the grass. She looked up to see the giant’s claw descending on her. She covered her eyes and braced herself, only to be picked up by a swooping figure. Apple Bloom opened her eyes to see that her savior was a blue alicorn.
“Princess Luna!” said Apple Bloom. “You… wait.” Apple Bloom noticed something was off. While it was true that the alicorn looked very much like Luna, there were difference. Her coat was a lighter blue for starters. And while she had the same black mark on her flank, instead of a moon there was a strange red face symbol instead. Apple Bloom recognized it from the book.
The strange alicorn landed and set her down in a bush.
“Stay here,” she said. “I shall deal with the pirate.” She went back and braced herself for a fight with the monster as it burst from the trees, growling as it did.
Choo-chuh-chah-chik! Apple Bloom looked on in wonder as the alicorn also changed form. Unlike her opponent, the alicorn’s transformation was more streamline, as her skin seemed to melt as it gave way to her true mechanical form. Within seconds, where the mare once was now stood a tall metal giantess who towered above everything else.
The other giant roared in anger as it charged at the interloper. The blue giantess gracefully dodged his assault before delivering a punch that sent the monster flying. Apple Bloom watched in awe as the two titans battled.
“Apple Bloom!”
Apple Bloom turned to the direction of the shout. Her friends had returned, backed up by Starlight Glimmer, who was confused by what was happening.
“What is…” Starlight was cut off by a sudden explosion. The two giants had switched from using their fist to long-range weaponry.
“Get slagged Autobot!” shouted the black, bulky one. He aimed a cannon mounted on his arm at his opponent and fired. The blue, slender giant dodged gracefully as before, but the ponies could feel the impact from the explosion of the energy weapon. She brought forth her own weapon, a blaster, and fired upon her opponent knocking him off his feet.
“What’s going on?!” asked a very freaked out Starlight. “You two said Apple Bloom was being chased by a griffon, not… whatever these things are.”
“Where is the griffon?” asked Scootaloo.
Apple Bloom pointed at the black giant. Sure enough, they could see the griffon parts on him that resembled the one that had chased them from earlier.
The black giant was outmatched. While he was certain bulkier than his opponent, she was quicker and more powerful. With a quick sprint she was in front of him. A blade protruded from her wrist, which she then used to slice off his weapon arm. The black giant yelled in pain, before the blue giantess spin kicked him into a mountain side. She then blasted the monster with a final shot from her blaster, and the brute spasmed a bit before slumping down, no longer moving, the lights from its eyes going out. The blue mechanical giantess, satisfied with her victory, transformed back into her smaller alicorn form, turning to the speechless ponies.
“Are you all alright?” she asked them.
“Yes, thank you,” answered Apple Bloom.
“I’m fine, what about you Scootaloo?” asked Sweetie Bell turning to her friend. Scootaloo still had her face in a state of shock. She shook her head before answering.
“That. Was. AWESOME!” Scootaloo said grinning with awe. The little orange filly jumped up and down describing the fight from her point of view. Sweetie Bell noticed Starlight Glimmer was still dumbfounded by what she had witnessed. She nudged the light purple unicorn to wake her from her daze, then used her magic to catch Scootloo in midair to stop her from going overboard. Starlight, still a little dazed, managed a few words.
“Um, thank you for rescuing Apple Bloom,” Starlight said to the strange robot turned alicorn. “But, you’re not Princess Luna, are you.”
“No,” said the being. “My name Dream Cruz of the planet Cybertron.”
“Planet?” said Starlight. The meaning behind the word hit her. “So, wait, by planet, you mean a planet different from the one we’re on, so you would be a –. “
“Precisely.”
Needless to say, Starlight had not woken up this morning ready to meet somepony from outer space, or some “robot?” Was this creature even a robot, or just an alien that could resemble one as it could a pony.
“So that was you in that cave,” said Apple Bloom.
“Yes,” confirmed Dream Cruz. “Your arrival with the Underbase reactivated the CR chamber allowing it to finish repairs on my systems. Though I assume the arrival of this Luna you speak of was not anticipated.”
“No, it was not.”
The group turned to see a grey pony with a cutie mark resembling a data machine walked to them.
“Data Crunch,” said a surprised Apple Bloom.
“Data Crunch?” said an equally surprised Dream Cruz. Data Crunch walked over to her.
“I had intended to have young Apple Bloom’s dna be scanned for your beast mode. But Princess Luna got in the way and you received her bio data instead.”
“Well, I’m not going to complain,” said Dream Cruz. “These wings and this horn are rather useful.”
“While I understand, Princess Luna is royalty on this planet. Taking her form, however different, will attract more attention than necessary,” said Data Crunch. He then added, “It may possibly be considered an insult as well.”
“Well she wouldn’t be the first,” chimed in Sweetie Bell. “Pretty sure plenty of changelings have turned into Luna before.”
“Plus, lots of kids on Nightmare Night,” added Scootaloo. Dream Cruz turned to Data Crunch with a quizzical look on her face.
“Equestria has changed quite a bit while you were in stasis for the past few millennia,” said Data Crunch.
“Millennia?” said Apple Bloom. “If she was asleep for that long, how come you know her?”
“Because,” started Data Crunch. With a Choo-chuh-chah-chik he transformed into his true cybertronian form. “I was there with her.” Starlight Glimmer fainted.

On the cliffs above them, a cyclops watched them. She stared at her fallen comrade, before walking away on her goat legs. She crossed into a city, gaining a few gasps from the local ponies, before heading into a building and up its stairs. She slipped into the doorway of an office studio.
“Um hi,” said the secretary on duty nervously. “This is Free Reason’s office; do you have an appointment?” The cyclops grunted and proceeded through the larger doorway and into the office. Inside, an ice blue unicorn with neon yellow hair was looking through documents. She looked up to see the cyclops and smiled.
“Aw, Thrasher, you have returned,” she said. “Periwinkle, you can go ahead and take the rest of the day off.” Periwinkle Flow didn’t object. Whenever her boss’s strange friends came around, weird stuff was bound to happen. Free Reason turned back to Thrasher.
“I can’t help but notice that Grater isn’t with you, nor is the Underbase. What happened?”
“Grater is offline,” said Thrasher.
“Really,” said Free Reason raising an eyebrow. “I hope there is a reason that isn’t that a little farm girl was too much to handle.”
“It was Dream Cruz, captain Freezon.” If she had said anything else, Freezon would have skewered Thrasher for using her real name during her public hours. But Dream Cruz being awake and functional trumped that transgression.
“I see, that makes things rather…. difficult,” Freezon was trying to keep her composure, but the red glow of her eyes told a different story. “Perhaps the time to get the crew back together is sooner than we planned. Thrasher, follow me.” Freezon pushed a secret button on her desk, a hidden door opened on her office wall. The two pirates entered the elevator and rode it down to a large subterranean cavern beneath equestrian. Within the enormous cavern, a large city-like base stood, the enclosure barely fitting it.
“Honey, I’m back,” said Freezon gleefully before she and Thrasher transformed. Choo-chuh-chah-chik! Like Grater, their chimeracon shells’ false skins were gruesomely ripped apart as they assumed their true forms. Freezon lead Thrasher into a large command center. She turned on a console and with a few clicks a keypad, a map of Equestria appeared on the screen. On the map were various dots with the pirates’ insignia. Freezon grabbed a smaller device and downloaded the information into it.
“Here,” she said tossing it to Thrasher. “This will guide you to the others. Tell them dress-up time is over.” Thrasher nodded and then took her leave. Freezon stroke the walls of the command room.
“Soon darling, soon,” she said soothingly to her Conjux Endura. “The day will come when we are reunited, my dear Gigastorm.”