Chapter 6 Energon

LOCATION: Ponyville

TIME: Very Early Morning.

As Gyvon walked back to the Library, his mind began to wander. Should I have phoned home? was the one thought that kept returning. Here he was, on a peaceful, almost idyllic world. On Earth, however, he was officially dead.

He hadn't told Twilight or her friends this. It would be too depressing. When he had returned from Mars and had been debriefed, the Pentagon immediately declared Gyvon as K.I.A., and stamped his file as Top Secret/SAP faster than he could blink. His mother had been heartbroken when the news that her son wouldn't be returning home was delivered. Gyvon had even toyed with the idea of attending his own funeral in disguise, yet thought better of it. Back on Earth, he could never again come into contact with anyone that didn't have a security clearance. Despite the Autobots' and NEST's best efforts, he would always be alone.

Here, however, was a different story entirely. In Equestria, he no longer had to live in the shadows. Gyvon had made a friend almost the instant he had awoken after being transported to Equestria, and through Twilight, had made several more. For the first time in a year, Gyvon felt like he belonged somewhere. He could live out the rest of his life without worry. He could sit out the war.

And that was the rub of the matter. Despite everything, Earth was his home, and by sitting out the war, he felt like he would be abandoning it. Gyvon knew first hand what depravity the Decepticons were capable of. But, was it really his fight? Was it necessary that he personally fought against the Decepticons. The Autobot's numbers had swelled since Chicago, and even after Galvatron returned, the defecting 'Cons had remained loyal to the Autobots. Was he really needed?

His mind was still a tumble as he opened the door to the Library. As he entered and closed the door, he saw that Spike had left a bowl of jewels on a table. "Guess he forgot to clean those up", muttered Gyvon. He reached for the bowl, intending to take it to the kitchen. However, as he picked it up, a surge of energy shot up his arm, causing him to drop the bowl in surprise. The bowl shattered as it hit the floor, and the contents scattered.

"It can't be." he breathed, kneeling down and picking up a gem, examining it closely. It appeared to be an ordinary agate stone, but the tingling in his fingers suggested otherwise. To confirm his suspicions, Gyvon brought his energy analyzing program online, and hoped that he was wrong.

He wasn't. The analysis took less than a second. "Energon!" he breathed. He went into the kitchen to grab another bowl, placed the gem inside, and returned to the lobby. He picked up another gem, this one a moss opal, and scanned it. The scan came back positive for energon as well. He tested gem after gem, hoping against hope that the first two were just flukes. Each test came back positive.

All doubts he had about calling home were now gone. "Shit!"

LOCATION: Twilight's Library.

TIME: Morning

After only a few hours sleep, Twilight woke up. Still a little groggy from having been up late, she debated going back to bed when there came a crash from downstairs. She bolted upright, startled by the sudden noise. She ran for the door, and down the stairs to see what was making such a racket. She saw a lamp that had been knocked over, and an obviously book lying next to it. On the other side of the lobby, she saw Gyvon holding his head and cursing under his breath.

"HEY!" exclaimed Twilight. "Why are you throwing perfectly good books around?" Gyvon looked up to see an angry Twilight staring down at him. "Sorry." he said. "Just got a little frustrated. We might have a serious problem on our hands." Twilight, using her magic, righted the lamp and picked up the book, levitating it in front of her. "What kind of problem, and what does it have to do with...geology?" she asked as she walked down the stairs.

Gyvon reached for the bowl of gems and held one up for her to see. "Energon." he said. "A very potent source of energy. It appears that this world has rich natural deposits locked in gemstones." Twilight was still confused. "So? What's wrong about a natural source of energy?" she asked. "Energon is the lifeblood of Cybertron." replied Gyvon. "What's more, according to that book, this world has natural gemstone deposits just about everywhere. If the Decepticons find this world, they'll strip mine it until there is nothing left."

Twilight nearly dropped the book in shock. "How likely are they to find us?" she asked. Gyvon stopped to think for a moment. He hadn't thought that far ahead yet. "I don't know." he said finally. "Now that I think about it, though, it's highly unlikely." He sighed. "Sorry. I guess I over-reacted." Gyvon walked over to Twilight and took the book from here. "Still, I should talk to the Princess about this." he said, placing the book back on the shelf.

"I could set up an appointment for you when Spike wakes up." said Twilight. Gyvon nodded. "That would be fine." He sighed. "I think I'll go for a walk. Clear my head a little." As he exited the Library, Twilight grabbed a quill and roll of parchment to write down her letter to Princess Celestia.

LOCATION: Ponyville

TIME: Mid Morning

The ponies were just beginning their day. Some were rushing to their various jobs, some were busy cleaning up after the big party last night, and others seemed to be just strolling along. Many of them stopped and when they saw Gyvon, and he'd reply with a wave of his own. One brown coated stallion spotted Gyvon and approached him swiftly, almost running him over. He was wearing a tie and collar, and had a pair of heavy looking saddlebags over his flank.

"Sir, I must thank you for rescuing my daughter yesterday." he said, shaking the saddlebags off. "My name's Rich. Filthy Rich." He pushed the saddlebags towards Gyvon, who saw that it was full of coins. He shook his head. "I couldn't. I was just doing my job." he said. Filthy Rich would have none of it. "Please, I insist, sir. Like my father always said, no good deed should go unrewarded." He pushed the bags closer. "I will not take no for an answer."

Gyvon sighed. There was no way he would be winning this argument. "Fine." he said, picking up the bags. "Thank you, sir." They were even heavier than they looked, and with no small effort, Gyvon threw them over his shoulder. Filthy Rich smiled. "It's no problem at all." and with that, he left.

At least I have some spending money now. mused Gyvon as he continued his stroll. As he entered the Square, he noticed that Unicorns were busy levitating in new stalls to replace the ones destroyed during yesterday's battle. There was a banner flying over one that proudly stated "Fruitcake 500 rescheduled for tomorrow." He also saw a lone stall near the start/finish line. Curious, Gyvon approached the stall and saw that it was for racers to sign up.

Coltrip, the race announcer, was manning the stand. As he saw Gyvon, he waved the human over. "Howdy sir." he said as Gyvon approached. "I saw that impressive flying you did yesterday and I want you to be in the race tomorrow!" he said, producing an application form. Gyvon was taken aback. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. I'm trying to get an appointment with Princess Celestia, and I don't want to commit to anything that would put that off." He said, ducking the issue. Coltrip laughed. "Sir, I have it on good authority that the Princess will be watching the race from her private sky-box tomorrow. It shouldn't be a problem. Although, if you want, I can put you down tentatively." he pushed the form closer as he finished.

Gyvon's mind was racing. On one hand, he didn't want to stand out too much, though the fight yesterday didn't help matters. On the other, it sounded like an interesting challenge, and if the Princess would be preoccupied anyways, it'd be a fun way to kill a day. "Ah, what the hell, you only live once." he said. "Sign me up."

"Great!" exclaimed Coltrip as Gyvon filled out the form. He produced some pamphlets and a placard when Gyvon had finished. "Here's your racer number, a copy of the rules, and a map of the track. I suggest walking it later to familiarize yourself with it." As Gyvon walked away from the booth, he read the pamphlets. The rules were fairly straightforward. The race was five hundred miles on a five mile track. There was a fifty foot hard ceiling, and he wasn't supposed to deliberately run anyone off the track. The other pamphlet was a map of the race track, which went from the town center out towards Fluttershy's, around Sweet Apple Acres, and back again. There were a few tight turns around buildings in town that would make things interesting.

He turned the placard over, and saw that he was number three. He smiled, remembering when he cheered for another racer with the same number when he was little. Just wish I could repaint my trim red, he thought, stuffing the items in the full saddlebags as he walked back to the Library.. He'd walk the course later, after he had spoken to Twilight.

LOCATION: Twilight's Library

TIME: Late Morning.

As Gyvon entered the Library, he saw Twilight was reading another geology textbook, and that Spike was busy replacing the window that Rainbow Dash flew through the previous day. "Hey." he said, setting the saddle bags down with a thud. "Hi." responded Twilight. "What's in the bags?" Gyvon opened one. "Some stallion gave 'em to me. Said they were to thank me for rescuing his daughter. He wouldn't take no for an answer." She whistled when she saw how full the bags were. "That'll last a while." she said. "Well, I got a reply from the Princess. She's busy tomorrow, but she's available for afternoon tea the day after."

Spike had finished with the window and was sliding down the ladder, when Rainbow Dash came crashing through. "Oh come on! I just fixed that!" he shouted. As he stormed off in a huff, Rainbow flew up to Gyvon. "Hey! What's this I hear about you racing tomorrow?" she asked. "Race?" asked Twilight, "What do mean?" Rainbow Dash pulled back a few feet. "Somepony told me that she saw you at the sign-in booth." Gyvon chuckled nervously. "Wow, news travels fast in this town."

Rainbow Dash gave a wide smile. "That's great!" she exclaimed, tackling Gyvon and knocking him over. "After that fight yesterday, I wanted to see just how fast you were!" Twilight walked up to the pair. "Well, this should be interesting." she said as she helped Gyvon up. "What's the fasted you've ever flown?" asked Rainbow Dash excitedly. Gyvon thought for a minute, trying to remember. "Well, if I remember correctly, I've gotten up to Mach 2.3 in a level flight once." Twilight tilted her head. "Mach?" she asked. Gyvon slapped his forehead, noticing his mistake. "For reference, Mach 1's the speed of sound."

Rainbow's eyes widened and Twilight's jaw dropped. "That's... pretty fast." said Twilight incredulously. Rainbow Dash recovered from her surprise soon enough. "Eh, I can do that easy. I'm surprised that bulky airframe of yours can go that fast." Gyvon had to struggle to keep from looking smug. He hadn't shown anyone his flight form yet. It was the one surprise he had been saving for a special occasion. "Oh, you'll see firsthand tomorrow." he said. "Speaking of which, I'm gonna walk the track later. Wanna come with me?" Rainbow Dash nodded enthusiastically. "How about right now?"

"Alright." he said, walking over to his bags to grab the track map. "Sounds like a good idea." Rainbow Dash's stomach suddenly growled like an angry dragon. "Why. don't we get lunch first?" Twilight asked. "There's a new restaurant in town I've been dying to try." Gyvon nodded, feeling a bit peckish as well since he skipped breakfast. "Sounds like a plan." He walked over to the saddlebags and extended a blade from his right arm. In one swift slice, he separated the two bags from each other, and slung one over his shoulder. "I'm buyin'." he said with a smile.