So i was thinking, and I’m not even sure how my brain made this connection, but in my little pony the crystal empire ponies have that shiny crystal look thanks to the crystal heart,and also that effect can even change the appearance of other ponies who aren’t from the empire, that’s what I remember to double-check I overlooked the crystal empire episode.
But I also vaguely remember that you could get that crystal look through a spa treatment?? anyway—
What I’m saying with this is, thinking about the crystal empire reminded me of praxus.
I have no idea how canon or fanon it is that praxus is related to crystals, or whether “crystal gardens” even exist in the transformers universe or is pure fanfiction.
But like… picture it. imagine a praxus where it’s completely normal for its residents and enforcers to have this crystalline finish that the ponies from crystal empire have, and mechs who visit the city can go to a special spa to get a temporary crystal coat too.
Another option is that the crystal finish is exclusive to the elite—only the mechs with a ton of shanix can afford it. but honestly I’m leaning more toward it being a natural trait of praxians, and if they don’t take care of it, it dulls and they end up looking like everyone else finish.
With the war, the praxians who survived obviously stopped caring about their appearance—there were more important things going on than polishing your armor.
When they get to earth, the war starts dying down, battles are rare, there’s a truce, peace talks… and it’s finally time to reconnect with their roots.
Smokescreen convinces Prowl and Bluestreak to have a spa day and get their crystal finish back. Blue, being so young when praxus fell, never actually learned how to take proper care of his armor, so Smoke and Prowl teach him everything.
Cue the shock between both factions when the praxians show up basically glittering like they did in the old days. it’s been so many millennials that everyone forgot how unique praxians really were—and how stunning their crystal finish could be.