A brief history (And cyberbiology) of mechdragons.
Mechdragons aren’t capable of transforming, they do not have altmodes or a humanoid form. Although they do possess some semblence of a spark, which allows for them to form sparkbonds with their chosen partner, they aren’t normally considered part of the cybertronian species.
There are two methods of mechdragon reproduction. Both rely on the presence of the larger variant of the females, commonly known as mechdragon queens. The most common method, that results in male and regular female mechdragons, is that a queen mates with one or more of her unrelated packmates, or if that is not possible, a outsider who can defeat her in combat. After a short period, several eggs will be laid and cared for by the pack, and by extension any cybertronians the pack members have bonded to.
Unfortunately for some, mechdragon queens can only be created by an existing queen placing a fertilized egg in a host, Cybertronian, Insecticon or otherwise. AS such, queenlings are exceptionally rare, and were highly prized by Cybertron’s elite as a kind of exotic pet. But mechdragon queens, especially those not bound to a cybertronian, are often violent and unpredictable, and most of them escaped when the war broke out.
Mechdragons themselves are fiercely loyal to those who they bond to, but it isn’t unheard of for one to abandon it’s partner if they take serious offence to their actions. In fact, most of the mechdragon population was wiped out or fled shortly into the war, with those bonded to civilians or nobles dying from bond breaking. Before the war, mechdragons were most common in Kaon, Iacon, Kalis, and Polyhex. Some were used in Praxus as aerial backup for enforcers, but they were not common, as they were costly to house and feed.
It is said that the original mechdragons, and their original partners, vanished into the underworld of Cybertron’s society. Tales and sightings of such ‘Dragon Lords’ persisted even after the outbreak of the war, but Turquoise is the first to openly show her dragon mode to outsiders. Since the originals left, some subspecies have emerged, including an Insection-hybrid type, the small messenger mechdragons, and aquatic varieties adapted to surviving in the Rust Seas.
It is currently unknown how many mechdragons remain on Cybertron, and it is even less known how many have made it to other planets, such as Earth.