“Are you sure she wants to bring that spray with her? If I recall correctly, there are no signs of mosquitoes anywhere in the Everfree Forest.” someone spoke.
“Twilight always makes sure she has it with her every time she goes camping. For you, it won’t be a problem since you are... you know...” the little dragon replied.
“I see. Well, tell Twilight I’m on my way, Spike. I have everything else packed inside.” the being said.
“You got it, pal!” the dragon saluted. Spike flew off with his backpack on him. The strange being had all the supplies packed on him, for he was going to have a special time with his friends that neither he nor any of them had gotten in a while. That special occasion was much needed to refresh themselves.
****
“Come on! What’s taking her so long?! I’ve been planning this retreat for weeks, and we’re already ten minutes behind!” Twilight groaned. “Where is that photographer?!”
Twilight and her friends were together in her office at the School of Friendship after finishing their preparation for their camping trip. They’ve been needing a break from their work as teachers for some time. Having a retreat with friends to clear their minds was something they would truly enjoy.
Suddenly, a green pony with orange-brown hair and a camera burst through the doors. “No, no, no, no, I’m so sorry, Princess! Please forgive me! I don’t expect you to forgive me! Forgive me?” she cried, making puppy eyes.
Twilight groaned in annoyance.
“That’s okay,” said Starlight. “Allow me to help set up your—“
“Thank you, Princess Twilight! Thank you so much for this!” the photographer spoke, rudely ignoring Starlight. “The Canterlot Historical Society is thrilled to document the friendship work your teachers do! Now, allow me to quickly pretty you all up.”
She then preceded to roughly pluck out a single string of Twilight’s hair. Next, she plucked one from Fluttershy, then three more from Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack. Lastly, she plucked a string of hair from Rainbow Dash’s tail that earned her a yelp of pain. “Ow! What was that for?” Rainbow asked, rubbing her flank.
“We wouldn’t want any hair to be out of place now, would we?” the photographer smiled. “After all, this is for the history books!”
She finally took a quick picture of each of the six ponies without giving them any time to prepare themselves to smile for a picture. “That’s all for now! Bye-bye!” she waved. However, Pinkie blocked her exit and waved her hooves.
“Wait! You forgot Starlight over there! She needs a picture too!” Pinkie pointed. Starlight smiled once the photographer looked back at her.
“Okay, fine...” she begrudgingly muttered. She reluctantly took a picture of Starlight. “Now I’ll get out of your manes. I know how busy you are.”
After she left the office, the Mane Seven looked at each other confused. “Well, that was a bit strange. Did y’all notice how rude she was to Starlight?” Applejack asked.
“No, I didn’t. I was busy eating those cupcakes over there. Although, she did seem hesitant to take a picture of Starlight.” Pinkie observed.
“Does she know you by any chance, Starlight?” Twilight asked her.
“No, I don’t think we have met before. I’m not sure why she ignored me like that.” Starlight stated.
“Maybe you have done something wrong to her in the past, but you don’t remember seeing her or noticing her at the time?” Rarity guessed.
“I am very sure I haven’t seen her before and not even in my old village. Hmm, something just doesn’t add up.” Starlight wondered.
“It’s okay, Starlight. Maybe she was having a stressful day earlier which was why she wanted to have our photographs taken right away so she could take care of her other problems.” Fluttershy comforted, smiling.
“Uhh, she was being nice to us whereas she was rude to Starlight. I don’t think this has something to do with her ‘having a bad day’.” Rainbow doubted.
“Hey, guys!” a young voice called out. The Mane Seven looked up and saw Spike flying inside the office with his backpack on.
“Hey, Spike!” the ponies greeted.
“Is he on his way? It shouldn’t take him that long.” Twilight asked.
“Don’t worry, Twilight, he’s almost here. In fact, he should arrive here about... now!” Spike told her.
Suddenly, loud honks were heard from outside the school. Twilight looked out from the window and saw a green-yellow vehicle slowly driving on its way to the school. “That’s him! Come on, girls!”
After Twilight and her friends exited the school, they stood on the premises where the vehicle was going to meet them. Finally, the vehicle arrived at the destination. It was a Hummer H2 ambulance. Once it stopped driving, the Hummer H2 began to transform. All the mechanical parts shifted and turned to its appropriate slot and position as it turned into its bipedal metal form. The robot turned and faced the ponies with a warm nod.
“Good morning, Ratchet!” Twilight welcomed.
“Good morning to you too, Twilight. Same to the rest of you.” Ratchet acknowledged.
“I hope you had a pleasant rest last night, Doctor. I’m quite sure a friendly alien like yourself always need a good rest.” Rarity said.
“Although Cybertronians do not necessarily require ‘sleep’ as your species describes it, a good power-down is indeed helpful to restore any discomfort the Cybertronian biology may have suffered.” Ratchet agreed.
“That’s great! You have all our stuff packed up, buddy?” Twilight asked.
“Affirmative. Still, I am very curious as to what is this... ‘friendship retreat’ you speak of,” said Ratchet. “What is it about?”
“It is a place where friends and family spend special time together to rest and relax.” Twilight explained. “I know you will enjoy this!”
“Hmmm, very well, Twilight. When you put it like that, that does seem to be an exuberating and robust experience. But why are we heading to the Everfree Forest?” Ratchet asked. “There are dangerous creatures that can considerably harm all of you. Wouldn’t it be safer to have this retreat elsewhere?”
“Come on, how bad can it be?” Pinkie spoke, jumping up and down before landing on the Autobot’s shoulder. “With you by our side, those mean creatures will be scared of you!”
“Yeah, you’re all big and strong! You even told us how you handled those Decepticons in your world and earth, so you’ll do the same to those guys!” Rainbow added.
Ratchet paused for a moment as he thought back on how he fought his Decepticon foes with his Autobot comrades by his side for many years. He also remembered his role in protecting the human Sam Wickwicky and helping the N.E.S.T military fight against the ‘Cons. Seeing himself come this far after he fought those battles was something he would never forget and would relish as one of his memorable moments of his life as an Autobot medic.
He looked back at them with a smile. “I suppose you’re right, Pinkie and Rainbow. Just make sure you all stay close to me, okay? You know I must always protect you from harm’s way.”
“Okay, Doc-bot. Ready to roll out?” Rainbow smirked.
“Definitely,” said Ratchet, chuckling. He transformed back to his Hummer H2 mode and opened the doors for Twilight, Starlight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Spike to enter. “Are you coming in, Rainbow Dash?”
“Nah, I’m good. You can go on ahead. I’ll follow!” Rainbow said, flying out.
“Very well.” Ratchet spoke through his GPS. He drove away from the school as he and his pony friends began their journey for the friendship retreat. However, none of them noticed the photographer mare taking snapshots of Ratchet’s robot and alt mode.
She looked at the six photos she took of the Mane Six earlier. Then she gazed on the hair strings she plucked and Ratchet’s pictures with an evil smile. “Now I have everything I need.” she chuckled. A green flame enveloped her and revealed a tall changeling.
“My time for revenge has come! Hahahahaha!!” Chrysalis evilly laughed.