by neorenamon
"When are you going to unlock us from these organic forms?!" growled Ratchet.
"It's not like we haven't been organics before," replied Optimus.
"Really?" asked Discord.
"That was only a simulation in our minds while Soundwave was trying to reprogram us!" scowled Ratchet.
"Oh..." smirked Discord, "So you've never actually been organics before?"
"Well the simulation sure felt real enough," replied Prime.
"Fascinating..."
"Look," snarled Ratchet, "Are you going to fix us OR NOT?!"
"Testy one, isn't he?" he smirked as he looked back into Ratchet's glare.
"That's our docbot," replied Bumblebee.
"What are we going to do about Lugnut?" asked Jazz.
"Don't worry about that," replied Discord, "He's going to be asleep until his body fully heals."
"It's something like an organic version of our recharge cycle," retorted Ratchet.
"You mechanicals are most fascinating..."
"And you're just plain ILLOGICAL!"
"Of course I'm illogical," sniffed Discord, "I'm the embodiment of chaos after all."
"They say you have vast powers," replied Prime, "So you could just as easily fix us right now with... a snap of your talons."
"I suppose I could," he retorted, "but where would the fun in that be?"
"Well I think you're just blowing smoke up our... uh... exhaust ports!" he said as he looked away, "I don't think you even can undo the things you've done."
"OH PLEASE!" he sniffed, "That's about the lamest attempt at reverse psychology I've ever heard!"
"Sorry bots, but that's the only plan I really had," said Prime as he looked at the others.
"Besides, I thought you'd like a challenge," he replied, "It's not like Princess Megatron and his bullybots are any better off than you."
"But Princess Megatron shot that... energy blast thing... from her horn!" protested Bumblebee.
"But look at all these cannons, bombs and rockets you have on your side," he replied as he waved around, "It hardly seems fair."
"Well they also have Nightmaretron," observed Prime.
"Once you've rescued Twilight and Celestia," he sniffed, "that will all change again, won't it?"
"Well he has a point," noted Jazz.
"But first," he snickered as he snapped his talons.
"Hey!" replied Ratchet as his body shifted slightly, "What's with my voice module?! While do I feel like my internal systems have changed?!" The nose and muzzle became more rounded, the eyes slightly larger and the build a bit less bulky. The voice increased by at least a full octave and surely sounded sexier.
"Oh I've just changed you from a stallion into a mare," he replied, "They tend to have... more mellow dispositions."
"I DON'T WANT TO BE MELLOW!!" she snapped, "Whatever that is!!"
"I believe that's what Sari calls it when we play video games and stuff with her back home," replied Bulkhead.
"Oh, that sounds so fascinating," replied Discord, "I'd love to hear more about those 'video games' and being mellow."
"Well we are..."
"We can tell you all about that once we've rescued the Autoponies, their Princess and reassembled the AllSpark," interrupted Prime.
"I take it this AllSpark is important?" asked Discord.
"It's the greatest relic known to Transformers," replied Prime, "They say that all sparks came from it, and one day all sparks shall return to it... like poor Prowl... He became one with the AllSpark before his time... to save the rest of us..."
"AH!" he sniffed, "Heroic sacrifice. Another one of those things I'll never understand."
"What do you really want?"
"What does mwa really want?" he asked 'innocently', "I just want to remain free and do as I please. I believe it's called freedom."
"Well I believe you were imprisoned in stone for committing crimes..."
"CRIMES?!" he snapped, "I just wanted everypony to be as free as me! All I did was add some spice to their horribly dull and pointless lives! And all they did was whine about it!"
"Well if they weren't allowed to have their own opinions, then they weren't truly free then were they?"
Discord looked back without further comment.
"And if you're not going to help us any more, I suggest you take your freedom someplace else."
"Fine," he sniffed, "I'll keep helping you. But I won't lift a claw to fight for you."
"Even if Nightmaretron or Princess Megatron attacks you?"
"I said nothing about not defending myself," he replied, "I just said I won't help YOU with your battle."
"Well if he doesn't help the enemy, I guess I can live with that," replied Bumblebee.
"HEY!" growled Ratchet, "What are you two malfunctions doing behind me?!"
Prime looked to notice that Bumblebee and Bulkhead had their noses near Ratchet's flank.
"My organic olfactory sensor is detecting something... strange..." replied Bulkhead.
"Yeah, and the docbot smells funny too," sniffed Bumblebee.
"Oh my," said Discord, "I think somepony is about to come into season."
"What does that mean?" asked Prime.
"That means they're ready to reproduce," he giggled.
"WHAT?!" snapped Ratchet, "I'm not ready for internal protoform production!"
"But you're body is..."
"Anyone tries anything funny with me is going to get a mouth full of my hoof!" To emphasize the point, she bucked at Bumblebee and Bulkhead, driving them back from her flanks.
"Well I don't want to give you any protoforms!" replied Bumblebee defensively.
"Oh I'm sure you'll give into the natural order of organics soon enough," smirked Discord, "It's in their nature."
"It sounds like some of our subroutines," replied Prime.
"Well we aren't slaves to our subroutines!" cried Ratchet, "I won't be a slave to this body's urges either!"
Meanwhile, the Shadowbolts trotted in from the places they landed nearby.
"You remember your promise?" asked Slipstream.
"Yeah yeah," replied Rainbow Dash, "If the reward Celestia gives you for saving her isn't good enough, I promise I'll join the ranks of the Shadowbolts forever. But I'm sure that Celestia's wealth that she'll give you will be more than satisfactory. Heck, I bet you'll even become a permanent contractor to the Crown of Equestria."
"We'll see about that," she replied with a grin.
"I for one would never make a deal like that," sniffed Discord.
"Yeah, I know..."