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Description
It was a clear, crisp December day; with the coming of the much-anticipated Earth holidays, the Ark Autobots found themselves busily preparing for the upcoming festivities. With the guidance of their human friends, the ‘bots split into teams; each team covering tasks such as making decorations, organizing for the big Christmas party, and finding enough colored lights to light up a small town.

One group in particular found themselves in charge of finding a Christmas tree; one that fit the humans’ traditional specifications, and yet was big enough for everyone to decorate.

“Explain to me why we’re doing this again?” Sunstreaker muttered as he wove his way up the winding highway through the Cascade Range. They’d been driving for several hours; unable to find a suitable tree in the desert region around their base.

“We thought a Christmas tree would be a fun thing for everyone to participate in decorating,” Hound’s voice amiably floated down from the front of the small convoy. “Everyone’s making ornaments for it, and we’re hoping to find one large enough for the rec room; it’d make a great centerpiece for the party, don’t you think?”

“I still say one of those big green tall things that grow around the Ark would have worked fine,” The yellow Lamborghini groused.

“But Sunstreaker,” Bluestreak piped up, “A cactus wouldn’t work very well for hanging ornaments, and the spikes might hurt the humans, and anyway we already got permission from the Forestry Department-“

“All right, all right, never mind!” Sunstreaker snapped, cutting Bluestreak off.

Sideswipe swerved playfully around his brother; eliciting an angry rev of the yellow twin's engine and a few choice expletives. “No worries, Blue,” The red frontliner assured his friend with marked glee, “We’ll find a good one out here; the place is just covered with ‘em!”

“Not like we’d be able to tell," Sunstreaker grumbled, "Everything’s covered in this Primus-damned snow!”

“Aw, did you not get extra marshmallows in your cocoa this morning, bro?”

“Frag off!”

The upcoming tirade was cut short by Bluestreak; the Datsun suddenly pulling off the road, and transforming.

“Hey Blue, what’s up?” Hound called back to him, turning around and joining up with the gunner.

As the twins joined them, they all stared questioningly at Bluestreak, who stood motionless, optics fixed up at the hill looming above.

Raising a hand, the Datsun pointed at an unseen target. “There,” he stated simply.

Cocking his head, Hound’s optics followed the direction his friend was pointing. Up at the top of the hill, was a large, full Douglas fir. The Jeep grinned; trust Blue to be able to spot the perfect tree.

“Are you serious?” Sunstreaker stared up at the expanse of snow-covered ground.

“C’mon Sunny, it’ll be fun! Besides, it’ll give us the perfect opportunity to try out the new toys Wheeljack made for the occasion!” The red Lamborghini slung a friendly arm over his brother’s shoulder, earning himself a snort and a cuff upside the helm.

A half-hour and several slips and slides later, the group found themselves looking up at their 40-foot-tall prize. Even Sunstreaker had to admit that Blue’s optics were as sharp as ever; the tree was perfect.

Carefully cutting and preparing the giant tree, Hound marked the spot where they had cut, so he could visit the place in the spring and plant a new one in its place.

“All right, let’s get this beauty back to the Ark!” Hound exclaimed with a grin, and pulled out an object from his subspace that resembled a flat-edged hooked cane. Placing it on the ground, he pressed a button, and with a whirring and clanking of parts, a large metal toboggan took shape.

“I gotta hand it to ‘Jack; he really came through this time,” Sideswipe commented, grin positively wide as they loaded the tree onto the sled. “Shotgun!” The red Lamborghini shouted as he clambered over the branches to perch at the front.

Sunstreaker rolled his optics and climbed on behind his twin, taking the steering strap. “All right, lets do this,” the yellow twin muttered, doing his best to hide the smile threatening to break through.

Pulling out two more metal canes from subspace, Hound activated a toboggan for both himself and Bluestreak. The gunner was giddy with excitement, practically dancing in place as he chattered happily about their find.

With a firm push from their friends, the twins and their cargo were off down the hill, the cackling and whooping of the mechs ringing out over the landscape.

With a grin towards his friend, Hound launched himself down the hill, laughing as he looked back up to see Bluestreak nearly falling off the back of his toboggan before scrabbling back to the front; trying to pretend nothing happened.

“Hey Blue, you’re falling behind, shake a leg!” Sideswipe sang from further down the hill; their loaded toboggan kicking up impressive plumes of snow as they barreled down the slope. Blue grinned and waved back, slowly gaining on them.

“Hey Hound?” Sideswipe called to the tracker over the comm, watching the Jeep merrily jump over moguls as he went. “I just had a thought; how are we going to get this huge tree back to the Ark?”

Hound merely smiled and looked back at the yellow figure standing behind Sideswipe. “Hey Sunstreaker!” He shouted, “Who has the strongest engine, you or your brother?”

Sunstreaker snorted and replied, “Me of course; that idiot couldn’t win a race against me even if I gave him the finish line as a present.”

“Well then, congratulations! You’ve just gotten the extremely important duty of hauling our tree home!”

Later that day, the local Forestry Department would get in several reports of people all over the region hearing the sound of electronic wails, beeps, and a very long, very loud string of what some skiiers swore were profanities. The source of the incident was never discovered, but the stories continue to this day.

------

Very sorry this is late; hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and everything else! And a have a very happy New year!

Description
It was a clear, crisp December day; with the coming of the much-anticipated Earth holidays, the Ark Autobots found themselves busily preparing for the upcoming festivities. With the guidance of their human friends, the ‘bots split into teams; each team covering tasks such as making decorations, organizing for the big Christmas party, and finding enough colored lights to light up a small town.

One group in particular found themselves in charge of finding a Christmas tree; one that fit the humans’ traditional specifications, and yet was big enough for everyone to decorate.

“Explain to me why we’re doing this again?” Sunstreaker muttered as he wove his way up the winding highway through the Cascade Range. They’d been driving for several hours; unable to find a suitable tree in the desert region around their base.

“We thought a Christmas tree would be a fun thing for everyone to participate in decorating,” Hound’s voice amiably floated down from the front of the small convoy. “Everyone’s making ornaments for it, and we’re hoping to find one large enough for the rec room; it’d make a great centerpiece for the party, don’t you think?”

“I still say one of those big green tall things that grow around the Ark would have worked fine,” The yellow Lamborghini groused.

“But Sunstreaker,” Bluestreak piped up, “A cactus wouldn’t work very well for hanging ornaments, and the spikes might hurt the humans, and anyway we already got permission from the Forestry Department-“

“All right, all right, never mind!” Sunstreaker snapped, cutting Bluestreak off.

Sideswipe swerved playfully around his brother; eliciting an angry rev of the yellow twin's engine and a few choice expletives. “No worries, Blue,” The red frontliner assured his friend with marked glee, “We’ll find a good one out here; the place is just covered with ‘em!”

“Not like we’d be able to tell," Sunstreaker grumbled, "Everything’s covered in this Primus-damned snow!”

“Aw, did you not get extra marshmallows in your cocoa this morning, bro?”

“Frag off!”

The upcoming tirade was cut short by Bluestreak; the Datsun suddenly pulling off the road, and transforming.

“Hey Blue, what’s up?” Hound called back to him, turning around and joining up with the gunner.

As the twins joined them, they all stared questioningly at Bluestreak, who stood motionless, optics fixed up at the hill looming above.

Raising a hand, the Datsun pointed at an unseen target. “There,” he stated simply.

Cocking his head, Hound’s optics followed the direction his friend was pointing. Up at the top of the hill, was a large, full Douglas fir. The Jeep grinned; trust Blue to be able to spot the perfect tree.

“Are you serious?” Sunstreaker stared up at the expanse of snow-covered ground.

“C’mon Sunny, it’ll be fun! Besides, it’ll give us the perfect opportunity to try out the new toys Wheeljack made for the occasion!” The red Lamborghini slung a friendly arm over his brother’s shoulder, earning himself a snort and a cuff upside the helm.

A half-hour and several slips and slides later, the group found themselves looking up at their 40-foot-tall prize. Even Sunstreaker had to admit that Blue’s optics were as sharp as ever; the tree was perfect.

Carefully cutting and preparing the giant tree, Hound marked the spot where they had cut, so he could visit the place in the spring and plant a new one in its place.

“All right, let’s get this beauty back to the Ark!” Hound exclaimed with a grin, and pulled out an object from his subspace that resembled a flat-edged hooked cane. Placing it on the ground, he pressed a button, and with a whirring and clanking of parts, a large metal toboggan took shape.

“I gotta hand it to ‘Jack; he really came through this time,” Sideswipe commented, grin positively wide as they loaded the tree onto the sled. “Shotgun!” The red Lamborghini shouted as he clambered over the branches to perch at the front.

Sunstreaker rolled his optics and climbed on behind his twin, taking the steering strap. “All right, lets do this,” the yellow twin muttered, doing his best to hide the smile threatening to break through.

Pulling out two more metal canes from subspace, Hound activated a toboggan for both himself and Bluestreak. The gunner was giddy with excitement, practically dancing in place as he chattered happily about their find.

With a firm push from their friends, the twins and their cargo were off down the hill, the cackling and whooping of the mechs ringing out over the landscape.

With a grin towards his friend, Hound launched himself down the hill, laughing as he looked back up to see Bluestreak nearly falling off the back of his toboggan before scrabbling back to the front; trying to pretend nothing happened.

“Hey Blue, you’re falling behind, shake a leg!” Sideswipe sang from further down the hill; their loaded toboggan kicking up impressive plumes of snow as they barreled down the slope. Blue grinned and waved back, slowly gaining on them.

“Hey Hound?” Sideswipe called to the tracker over the comm, watching the Jeep merrily jump over moguls as he went. “I just had a thought; how are we going to get this huge tree back to the Ark?”

Hound merely smiled and looked back at the yellow figure standing behind Sideswipe. “Hey Sunstreaker!” He shouted, “Who has the strongest engine, you or your brother?”

Sunstreaker snorted and replied, “Me of course; that idiot couldn’t win a race against me even if I gave him the finish line as a present.”

“Well then, congratulations! You’ve just gotten the extremely important duty of hauling our tree home!”

Later that day, the local Forestry Department would get in several reports of people all over the region hearing the sound of electronic wails, beeps, and a very long, very loud string of what some skiiers swore were profanities. The source of the incident was never discovered, but the stories continue to this day.

------

Very sorry this is late; hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and everything else! And a have a very happy New year!