Friendship Is Magic : Prime
by Darkryt Orbinautz
Act 2
Chapter 6 (Box Set Chapter 12)
Friendship Is Magic
"Rafael." Megatron greeted. "If I recall correctly, you were the one who attempted to keep me from my body when my mind was downloaded into Bumbleebee's spare databanks."
"Yeah...something like that." Raf replied uneasily.
"I would like to ask you a question, Rafael. Why, out of all the humans around, YOU are the only to still retain his colors?
Raf adjusted his glasses. "Well, I think it's because I didn't let Discord get to me, but also because Discord said he wanted someone sane opposing him to keep him 'sharp'."
"Ahhh...I am familiar with that mindset." Megatron put his spare claw to his chin, as if in reminisce. "It is an arrogant one meant for egostroking that makes you vulnerable."
"So you had it once?" Raf questioned, a little snarkier then he meant to.
"Yes." Megatron replied absentmindedly before realizing what he said.. "But what does that matter to you?"
"Nothing." Raf responded, trying to avert Megatron's wrath.
"Baah. I'm wasting my time on you. I have a Draconequus to decapitate." Megatron raised his arm to hurl Raf off in the distance, against his cries of "Wait!"
Raf went flying, but only went so far before a cotton-candy cloud floated down and caught him. Discord appeared in his signature flash of white light.
"Ah, sorry, Megatron, but I can't let you do that." The Draconequus informed him.
Megatron shifted his eyes between Discord and Raf. "I have no real concern for the humans, but why can't you?"
"Cut a deal with Optimus Prime. If I let you hurt a human -ANY human- then the deal's off and Optimus is free to come after me."
"...What!?" Megatron shouted.
Discord signed. "Woooww...Some 'Cons you just have to explain EVERYTHING, don'tch you? All right, so I promised Optimus Prime I'd protect the humans from you Decepticons so that he could go and take a load off."
Megatron looked around. "This is protection?" He took particular note of a troupe of Gingerbread men with Gingerbread muskets shooting Gingerbread bullets around, beaning various passersby in the head.
"And Optimus Prime...allows this abuse?" Megatron inquired with a very doubtful gaze towards Discord.
"Weeeellll...I might have left out the tiiiiiny detail that I would be enforcing my own tyranny...and...used some freaky Voodoo mind-magic on when he was feeling doubtful."
"Optimus Prime...doubtful?" Megatron questioned, "Are you telling me...Optimus Prime gave in?"
Discord pus his talon to his lips. "Yeah pretty much."
Megatron took a few steps backwards in denial. "I...I don't believe it. Soundwave! Stay here and monitor the situation while I go out for confirmation of this...this... blasphemy!" Megatron ran off in the opposite direction before transforming to his Cybertronian jet alt-mode.
"Well, I'm going to be off as well. You two play nice!" Discord snarled at Soundwave and Raf, teleporting out. The cotton-candy cloud brought Raf face-to-face with Soundwave.
"Ummm...So, I...I'm fighting Discord too." Raf explained. "When Megatron gets back, you don't think he would be open to an...alliance?"
"With a human?"
"Just a thought..." Raf muttered, adjusting himself on the cloud.
Soundwave took a glance behind him to check if Megatron was there.
"Rafael, was it?"
Raf tilted his head.
"Yes...it was."
"I am not...unfamiliar with the practice of going against my Master's wishes in order appease his desires. Until his return, I would be willing to work with you to see if 'solution' for this chaos can be found."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Okay...ideas?"
"Allow me to access my internal records." dial tones beeped out from Soundwave's head. Raf noticed a loading bar appear on Soundwave's screen-face.
Megatron rocketed through the chaotic skies in search of his hated nemesis, dodging lightning bolts and flying pies, flying chip bags, flying Gingerbread bullets and all other flying sorts of flying scrap.
Where is he?
On but one of the many chocolate hill, Arcee was lying on her back with her eyes closed and a sleeping Jack in her arms. She heard some noise and tilted one of her eye's open to see Megatron flying overhead.
"Oh...it's just Megatron...MEGATRON?"
Her yelled caused Jack to rise up groggily and rub his eyes. "Arcee-e-e?" A yawn extended his pronunciation, "What's going on?"
"C'mon, darling, we gotta get outta here!" Arcee answered, transforming into her bike mode. Jack climbed into the seat and let Arcee take the wheel.
Megatron attention we drawn to the loud motorcycle engine noise below. The one called Arcee...perhaps I can use her to lure Prime out. The Decepticon Leader increased his thrust and began firing upon the bike. Explosions of fudge and caramel filled the air as Arcee dodged the blasts.
"This doesn't seem like fun at all!" Jack yelled.
"Don't worry, dear! I won't let him hurt you." Arcee assured him.
Megatron swerved himself around and transformed, landing in front of Arcee, who hit her brakes in response.
"Don't hurt My Jack, please!" Arcee begged.
Megatron narrowed his eyes. "I don't want 'Your Jack'... I want Optimus Prime!"
"I'm sorry, but I don't have him."
Megatron raised his cannon and charged it. "Then go GET him!"
Jack tried to hide behind Arcee's windshield, which didn't really work. Arcee let out a submissive whimper and peddled back. "Arcee to base. There's this big silver mech who wants to see Optimus...it's kinda urgent."
A GroundBridge portal opened up behind the motorcycle, who backed into as the grey from of Optimus Prime stepped out.
"You wanted to see me, dude?" Optimus greeted as the portal closed.
Megatron raised his eyebrow, "'Dude'?...Never mind. Yes I did! Discord's terror is running rampant in the human's streets!"
Optimus stared blankly. "...O.K?"
"Okay? Okay? Okay? Chocolate rain is falling from the sky! Car-frog...THINGIES are leaping from street to street! Volcanoes are spewing candy and stuff! PIES AND PIGS ARE FLYING EVERYWHERE! THAT'S...THAT'S JUST OKAY TO YOU?"
The 'greyed' Optimus was only slightly disturbed by Megatron's heaving breath.
"...Yeah? Am I, like, not supposed to be?"
"NO!" Megatron shouted. "You're supposed to be THE PRIME! The Leader of the Autobots! Defender of the innocent and protector of the weak!"
"...So?"
"So you should be out there stopping Discord's insanity!"
Optimus rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Really? I...kinda don't wanna to bother."
"'Don't wanna bother?'"
"Eeenope! I rather hang out with Ratchet back at the base...Besides, Discord said he would take care of the humans."
"Uh-huh." Megatron noted. "Surely, Optimus, you realize that turning their world upside on its head is NOT taking care of them?"
Optimus waved his hand. "Whatev." He turned to walk away. "The humans are Discord's responsibility now, not mine."
Optimus stumbled from the blow suddenly striking his back. He turned back to Megatron. "Hey man, what gives?"
"You can always be relied on to see reason, Optimus Prime...yet you can not see the fact that Discord has tricked you and drained your emotion...so I will beat that fact into you!" He raised his fist and pounded Optimus in the face.
Raf entertained himself while Soundwave searched his records by making sculptures out of his new cotton-candy cloud. What he had so far was a suspended Autobot and Decepticon symbol each.
PING. Raf snapped to attention.
"Rafael, observe this footage of the Decepticons time on Discord's homeworld." Soundwave instructed. His screen-face showed static before showing a recording.
Breakdown leaped on Discord with his hammer, knocking the Dracoequus into Airachnid's claws. The spider-bot proceeded to throw Discord to Knock Out, who caught him in the prongs of his Energon prod.
"Notice the bodily reaction to the prod." Soundwave said.
Raf adjusted his glasses. "What? What is it?...The electricity!"
Soundwave nodded. "Yeeeess...I would imagine that with his body parts being all from multiple animals, his brain's signals must adjust from their bodies standards, and as such, an electric discharge would be enough to quickly dispatch him."
"But...where would we get any?" Raf questioned.
Soundwave leaned towards Raf. "Look down."
Raf did so, "What? The grey humans? The fudge streets? How does any of that help?"
"Your cloud, Rafael."
"WHAT cloud?"
"The cloud you were making sculptures out of?"
Raf adjusted himself, feeling the plush of the cotton candy cloud that seemed content to be under his control. "Oh...yeah. This cloud...you know, that just might work!"
"How ironic, that the tool Discord used to save you from my master would be the tool that you use to save Earth from him. Now, where would he be?"
"He said he'd be waiting at the school building for when I was ready to challenge him."
Soundwave clapped his hands together twice, transformed and jetted off into the sky before coming back down.
"Err...where is the school again?"
"This waAAAAAY!" Raf pointed, trying to pilot his cloud, only for it to start zooming back and forth across town.
"Hmmmm...this may take a while." Soundwave observed.
Megatron reared up another punch, which Optimus attempted to block with his arm. But under Discord's influence, Optimus lacked his trademark fighting spirit, and Megatron pushed through the barricade and connected his fist with Optimus' head, knocking the Prime off his feet and on to his back.
Optimus put his finger to his head. "Ratchet! I need some help over here!"
"Well, what do you WANT me to do?"
"I don't know! Send Bulkhead or something!"
"...That seems ill-advised. But..."
Another GroundBridge portal opened some distance away from the warring leaders, with blue blaster fire emergin from it.
"! It'll feel good to kick your bucket, Buckethead!"
Beeep-click-click-whhiirrreeep!
Megatron turned his attention to the two Autobots firing on him as they ran towards him. He readied his blade and deflected a few blasts with it.
"Bulkhead and Bumblebee...rushing to save Optimus from me. How quaint, that you would stay loyal to your leader even as disharmony overtakes the Earth."
"Who said anything about being loyal?" Bulkhead scoffed, "We just want to punch some ugly faces in! Right, 'Bee?"
Bumblebee replied with an affirmative beep and jumped up to punch Megatron, only for the Decepticon to belt him aside and send him crashing into Optimus, who had been attempting to flee.
Megatron admired the dogpile he had made, and chuckled darkly to himself. "Some things...never change."
"Your face won't be one of those things much longer!"
Megatron turned to the charging Bulkhead, who was charging at him with a raised arm-mace. Megatron blocked Bulkhead's mace with his sword, and punched him in the head. Bulkhead shook his head to clear away the disorientation and punched Megatron back.
"Yyyrrraah!" Megatron yelled, uppercutting Bulkhead in the gut. The hulking robots then did some back-and-forth between them, Megatron eventually being victorious by slamming Bulkhead's head with the brunt of his arm, causing the Autobot to pass out and fall over. His oppenent defeated, Megatron turned back around to see the alt-modes of Bumblebee and Optimus Prime speeding away.
"Noooo..." Megatron snarled, transforming into jet mode and rocketing after them.
Beeeeeeep!
"I see him, Bumblebee!" Optimus retorted. A blast from Megatron sent Bumblebee skidding away and another shot made the Urbana 500 Autobot topple over.
Seeing his bodyguard disabled, Optimus hit his brakes and transformed to his robot mode. Megatron did the same, unsheathing his blade once more.
"Dude...why can't we all just get along, maaan?" Optimus whined.
"Because I don't like you." Megatron snarled, firing a shot from his cannon.
Optimus raised his arms to block it, to limited success.
"Please! I, like, don't have any beef with you, dude!"
Megatron charged at Optimus and cut The Prime's chest vertically with his sword, Energon beginning to spew from it.
"Fight back!" Megatron snarled, raising his cannonless arm, "Fight back, damn you!" he punched Optimus, knocking the Autobot Leader down once more. Megatron pinned him down by placing a foot on his chest. Lightning flashed from the candy clouds as Megatron raised his blade.
Optimus closed his eyes in preparation of his Spark's extinction...which strangely didn't come. He opened them see the tip of Megatron's blade mere inches from his face, and Megatron wearing a sorely disappointed expression.
"So it is true..." Megatron withdrew his sword back into his arm and walked off and away from Optimus somberly. "Discord truly has broken you..." he turned back to Optimus.
"I will save the humans, Optimus Prime...but only as a side-effect of asserting my superiority over that disgusting hybrid Discord!" Megatron transformed back into his jet mode and took off.
Optimus groped his way back to his feet, "Autobots...let's get you repaired and go play a game, huh?"
Beeeeep...
"Yeah, sure..." Bulkhead grumbled, limping over to his leader.
Optimus put his finger to his head, "Ratchet?"
"On it, Big Man!"
A GroundBridge portal opened up near them and they went through it, returning to the base's halls.
"Sooo..." Optimus drawled, "Excitecar?"
"Nah, I'm gonna terrorize that little kid's remote-control cars." Bulkhead declined, stomping off. Bumblebee let out a few beep and walked with Bulkhead.
"Maybe Ratchet will be up for it." Optimus muttered to himself, though the words of that deranged silver mech were ringing in the back of his mind...
Raf and Soundwave floated tensely and suspiciously over Jasper's airways, the human having since gotten the loosest semblance of to how to pilot a cloud.
"The school should be right...here?" Raf questioned. Discord had turned the school into a giant, circular lavender platform with a sparkling six-point star insignia on top of it. In the center of the star was a pointy black and red throne with a cartoony monster face sculpted into it's back. The throne was the perfect fit for Discord.
"Uh...Discord? I'm here and ready!" Raf announced nervously, with Soundwave tensing up behind him.
Discord appeared in the throne in his trademark white flash. "Ahhh! So, Little Raf, what do you have to challenge me with?"
"This cloud here that you 'gave' me!" Raf announced, gesturing to his cotton-candy platform.
Discord raised one of his scruffy eyebrows. "...Really?"
"Yes! Soundwave, give me a push!...Please." Raf asked. Soundwave obliged and used one of his tentacles to push the cloud over Discord's head. Raf jumped on the cloud with force, ejecting a lightning bolt from it that struck Discord, sending a surge through his body and charring it.
"I..." A caugh interrupted the Draconequus, "Applaud you, Little Raf. There was a quite ingenious move on your part...and a error on mine." Discord snapped his talon, and the cloud Raf was riding dissipated, sending the human down onto the platform.
"But now that I know not to do that, you will no longer have such an advantage!" Discord growled and proceed to get off his throne and advance towards Raf menacingly.
THUM-THUM.
"I cannot let you harm the human, Discord! If you do, then the Autobots will blame ME when this mess is over, and I can't have an enraged Bumblebee tearing apart the Nemesis to find me." Soundwave growled, tentacles at the ready.
Discord looked at Soundwave disbelievingly. "Riiiiight..."
Raf had taken the 45 seconds the Discord's and Soundwave's conversation had taken to crawl away and hide by the side of the platform's bottom.
Discord noticed the lack of a human at his feet. Using his magic to clear away the soot on his body, he turned his back-and-forth and sniffed. "Oh Rafael...You think you can hide from me so easily! That's cute." Before Discord could use his magic to drag Raf back to him, the roar of a jet engine interrupted his focus.
Soundwave looked up slightly. "Megatron returns."
Indeed, The Decepticon Lord soared overhead and swooped down, transforming into his robot mode in the process.
"DISCORD! I've no desire to save the humans from you...but Earth is MY TERRITORY. NOBODY GETS TO CONQUER IT BUT ME!" Megatron bellowed.
Discord scratched his chin. "Mmm...Gonna have to disagree with ya on that, Megs...because as you can see, I have clearly taken Jasper and the surrounding state over."
"I know." Megatron hissed. He lunged at Discord and punched him in the face. The Draconequus stumbled from the impact before narrowing his eyes.
"So that's the way you want to play, eh? I can do that."
Discord grew to an immense size, large enough to stand face-to-face with Megatron and charged at the aforementioned Decepticon with a balled-up talon. Megatron caught the talon-fist and shoved it off him, numbing the appendage slightly. Discord shook it to restart the blood flow. The Draconequus and Decepticon Lord exchanged punches of various marital styles. Megatron shook things up a bit sidestepping Discord and kicking him in the back, knocking Discord to his knees. Megatron pinned Discord by the neck with his foot. Megatron unveiled his arm-blade and rose it up dramatically.
"Now, Discord, Draconequus...return to The Pit where you belong!" Megatron brought his blade down, only for Discord to disperse into cotton-candy mist just before impact, causing Megatron's blade to attach into stab the platform and cause a crack. He had some difficulty getting it back, but eventually succeeded.
"Where'd he go?..." Megatron muttered, looking every angle but the one Discord was at.
The pink mist slowly crawled up over to Soundwave's feet and began rising up, eventually crawling into the Decepticons innards. Sparks erupted from Soundwave's body from the intrusion.
"AAAAGGGH!" Soundwave screamed as he fell to his knees, the thump alerting Megatron to his distress.
"Soundwave!" Megatron rushed over to comfort his solider, "What's wrong?"
Soundwave twitched and spasmed until the sparks subsided, eventually ceasing to move completely.
"Soundwave?" Megatron questioned. There were actually notes of desperation and concern in his dark, booming voice.
Soundwave's head tilted up, showing a L.E.D pattern of Discord's face. "Peek-a-boo." The Discord-possessed Soundwave proceded to punch Megatron in the face, sending him stumbling.
"You...you-!" Megatron shrieked in incoherent rage.
"I'm a what, Megatron?" Discord's voice taunted before punching Megatron in the face again. Discord proceeded to lay into Megatron with Soundwave's fists, legs, and tentacles, smacking the Decepticon Leader about.
"C'mon, Megatron! Fight back!" Discord snapped, punching Megatron in the face a third time, but with a tentacle this time.
"I...I-I can't." Megatron muttered.
The L.E.D Discord's face contorted in confusion. "You were just trying to decapitate me a moment ago! What happened to that fighting spirit?"
Megatron looked at the Discord/Soundwave with an expression of pure despair. "I...I can't hit Soundwave...any other Decepticon possessed by you, I could...but not Soundwave...not my most loyal solider...not the only Decepticon I would truly call...my friend." Megatron closed his eyes and looked away, trying to lessen the pain of being hit by his most trusted confidante.
"Oh, pfft! Gag, again with the friendship!" Discord scoffed. "Wha-wha-wha-hey!" he yelled as the L.E.D display of his face began to crack and distort.
"Lord Megatron..." Soundwave's heavily-processed voice rasped. "I said before; I'll say it again. I will ALWAYS be loyal to you. Laserbeak...eject...Operation: Incapacitate."
The swath of blue removed itself, finally making Soundwave appear completely grey and revealing itself as Laserbeak. The drone proceeded to rapid-fire at Soundwave's chest until the Decepticon's body gave out and fell over, unable to do much. The cotton-candy mist exited Soundwave and reconstituted itself into the Draconequus (At his standard size).
Laserbeak look at Soundwave sadly, then to Megatron, who patted him comfortingly on the head.
"You did as he asked, Laserbeak. Now...back to business." Megatron brandished his sword at Discord, who huffed at the gesture.
"Oh Megatron...I don't think you realized just how much I did to you while in Soundwave's body." Discord floated over to Discord and bucked him the face, causing him to fall over with a THUOOMP.
Laserbeak charged up a shot from his lasers, but Discord disabled him by smothering him with a cotton-candy cloud from the sky.
"Oooogg..." Megatron groaned, trying to get back up, only to fall back down.
The score counter on the left-side of the screen went up as Optimus beat Ratchet in the game for a fifth time.
"Good game, Optimus!" Ratchet complimented.
"Thanks for the compliment." Optimus responded.
Bulkhead raised his arms menacingly at Raf's dormant RC cars.
In the training room, Bumblebee punched some invisible pest which were likely a result of his imagination.
Arcee stroked Jack's hair lovingly, while Miko stay huddled up in a corner, too scared to do anything without permission.
Some 8-bit music announced the game Ratchet and Optimus were playing had run out of options for tracks and cars.
"Well, Optimus, we've played every variation of the game there is." Ratchet enthusiasm-lessly announced. "Maybe Raf left some other game around?" The medic suggested.
Optims looked around the base for signs of Raf. "Where is that scamp anyway?"
"He left with that Discord fellow..." Ratchet answered, bored.
Optimus 'hmmmed' and got up from his sitting place and began to walk around the base and looked sadly over at Bumblebee. "Rafael...and you used to enjoy playing this game, didn't you?"
Bumblebee ignored him.
Optimus paced back and forth a bit. "Actually, while we're on it, were are Miss Darby and Agent Fowler?"
"Last I heard, they were looking for a trampoline." Ratchet offered.
Optimus 'hmmmed' again and looked over the room, a human-sized book eventually catching his eye. He walked over and picked it up. "What's this?"
"My sketchbook." Miko answered from her hiding place.
Optimus regard the book with interest. "May I...look through it, Miko?"
"Yes! Of course! Whatever you want, big guy!" Miko yelled, panicked.
Optimus gently flipped his the book opened with the tips of his fingers.
The sketchbook showed various pictures of Miko in all the times that she had been under fire from a Decepticon, each picture with a date.
"These pictures...they show all the troubles you have gotten yourself into...correct, Miko?"
"Yah-huh." The girl whimpered.
2cd of December, 2010
This sketch showed Miko, Jack and Raf hiding on the Decepticon ship while Bulkhead, Arcee and Bumblebee attempted to rescuse the captured Agent Fowler in another room.
3rd of December, 2010
Miko, to no avail, attempts to use an axe on one of Soundwave's tentacles to keep it from interrupting Raf's hacking of the Texas Radio Dish Array they were trying to use.
18th of Febuary, 2011
Miko, Jack and Raf carefully maneuvered around the infestation of Scraplets to reconnect the GroundBridge power supply.
4th of March, 2011
Miko and Jack clung to each other aboard a train cab as said train speed towards to blown-up track. The page afterwards showing Optimus stopping the train with by blocking it with his body.
11th of March, 2011
A big blue Decepticon -Breakdown- hurling a dilapidated Greek colum at Miko, with Bulkhead heroically leaping in the way to intercept.
14th of May, 2011
Miko, Raf and Jack ran desperately in the 'Shadowzone' attempting to get away from the zombified Decepticon known as Skyquake.
16th of July, 2011
Inside a cavern, Miko sat on her back and cried as Starscream menaced Bulkhead, who was holding a boulder that would've crushed them all if he didn't keep it aloft.
7th of August, 2011
Miko despaired over a comatose Bulkhead, the recovery of whom was in question at the time of drawing.
The words of the deranged silver mech...of Megatron echoed in Optimus' mind.
You are the Prime...defender of the innocent...protector of the weak.
Optimus' gaze lingered over the book's contents for a while before he tenderly set it down.
"Bumblebee...activate the GroundBridge." Optimus instructed.
Beep-beep-Beeeeeeeep-eeep!
Optimus looked at Bumblebee angrily. "What did you just say to me?"
Bumblebee repeated himself.
Optimus stomped towards Bumblebee, who suddenly felt an aura of power and authority emanating from the mech. Bumblebee shook in very real fear as the larger mech proceeded to shadow him.
"You would say that, Bumblebee...to your Commander?"
Bumblebee shook his arms back-and-forth and beeped out a denial of having said anything,
Optimus pointed to the control lever with a raised finger. "Bumblebee...The GroundBridge."
Bumblebee saluted and rushed to pull the activation lever for his leader.
Beep-beep-wheeeoo! Bumblebee saluted again.
Optimus stepped through the GroundBridge.
Discord kicked and lashed at Megatron's body, taking a moment to savor his victory and kicking his opponent while he was down all at once..
"Urrrrrhg..." Megatron groaned, "Knock that off and finish me, already."
Discord floated to Megatron head and leered. "I don't like being given orders, Megs...but thankfully for you, I happen to like that idea." Discord snapped his talon and a candy cane axe appeared in his lion paw.
Raf quietly climbed back up the edge of the platform and gasped at the sight he saw.
"Ah, Little Raf!" Discord greeted, "You're just in time to see me behead the Decepticon Lord!" The Draconequus stood on Megatron's chest and raised the axe dramatically.
"Oh, how Lady Luck's favorite changes so fickle!" Discord lampshaded before laughing triumphantly.
A beam of blue energy shot the axe out of Discord's claw.
"Indeed." A stern, wise, old voice agreed.
Raf, Megatron and Discord all looked over to the source of the blast, and a crimson and dark blue form stepped out a GroundBridge portal behind the throne.
"Optimus!" Raf cheered.
Optimus Prime turned to Raf and nodded before turning his gaze back towards Discord and raising his face-plate. "Discord! I have seen through your ruse, and will tolerate your treachery and deceit no more!"
Discord signed and floated over to in front of Optimus chest. "Well...let's hear it! The speech about believing in your friends or trusting people around you or whatever it is you think can beat me."
Optimus raised his fist. "Speech this." He shot his fist forward, slamming into Discord's face with such intensity that Discord's snaggletooth ejected from his gums and landed on the platform below.
Discord attempted to rub his sore mouth, but Optimus unleashed a barrage of punches upon him, intent on keeping the Draconequus from catching his breath.
"Yah! Rrrt! Nyaaa!]" Optimus yelled as he punched Discord in the cheek, stomach and face.
Discord eventually managed to snap his talon and teleport a distance away from Optimus, but Megatron recovered, got up and grabbed him by the back and proceeded to brutally tear off the patch of flesh Discord's wings were attached, earning a howl of pain from the chimera. Megatron then pounded him in the same patch, with Optimus charging up and uppercutting him at the same time. Discord huffed and puffed from the furious smackdown he was receiving.
Megatron and Optimus then walked over to opposite sides of the Draconequus, and raised their arm-blades. The two Leaders jumped and twirled around, spinning their blades over Discord's head. Megatron's blade reducing Discord's antler to a stub, Optimus' reducing his horn to the same.
"YAAAAAAH!" Discord protested. His eagle-claw shone with magic power. He attempted to touch Optimus with, but the Autobot grabbed it by the wrist and proceeded to bend it backwards.
Discord's eyes widened at the forceful manipulation his limb. "No. No. What are you doing? No. NOOOOOOOOO!"
"Geological conditions read normal." Ratchet observed on the Base's monitors. "Weather...normal."
"Sooo...that means that everything is back to normal?" Miko questioned.
"As well as everyone." Jack added, pulling Miko into a bearhug. "Everyone's got their colors back and are acting like themselves again...though I think mom and Fowler are gonna be avoiding each other for a while."
"Great!" Miko yelled, shoving Jack away "However, I have one question...how are you all gonna explain this to the government?"
"Do not worry, Miko." Optimus answered. "I persuaded Discord to use his powers to wipe the minds of everyone involved, except you, us, and the Decepticons."
"Awesome!" Miko cheered, before a realization struck her. "How did you do that?"
Optimus smiled mischievously. "Let's just say I...'touched' him."
The Autobots and three humans exchanged glances at the vague meaning of Optimus' words.
Within some otherwise unnoticable cavern, the colorless, wingless Discord sat on a folding lounge with a book and reading glasses.
"It sure was nice of that Optimus chap to give a cavern all to myself like this."
He heard footsteps. Strange. That Optimus chap said this cavern was deserted...did he lie?
Black cables whipped and entangled the Draconequus, who looked at them with concern.
"Well...this is unexpected."
The black cables began to pump electricity through him, eventually knocking him out and sending tumbling off his chair. Three men in full-body suits wearing oranges goggles walked over to the unconcious body.
One of them pulled a walkie-talkie and activated it. "MECH-1 to Silas. We've discovered a strange, chimeric creature...your orders?"
The walkie-talkie was abuzz with radio static before a reply came.
"Bring it in."
Meanwhile...
In the royal streets of Canterlot the group of white royal stallions tasked with the fanfare of prestigous events were slowly falling out of tune.
"Oy! What's the problem?" The conducter asked, leering through the group for anything that might've been hampering performance. He pointed to an out-of-breath colt. "You! You're trying too hard. Take five."
The out-of-breath colt saluted and muttered a thanks before sitting down.
A elevated light blue platform a huge crowd of ponies were gathered was the subject of much attention, for Celestia and Luna themselves were it on, in addition a thing covered in a white tarp, and Twilight Sparkle's gang dressed in skin-tight blue suits with fishbowl-like helmets over their heads.
"Attention, my little ponies!" Celestia announced in her authoritve voice. "As you know, we were recently invaded by the shapeshifters known as 'Decepticons', and though that crisis has since been averted, another has risen to its place. For you see, during the chaos and doubt caused by the Decepticons during their brief stay, Discord, the Spirit of Disharmony, escaped. After the most through searching, we came to the conclusion that Discord had taken off-world with the Decepticons after they left."
The assembled crowd exchanged murmurs and whispers. One filly in particular -Scootaloo- rose a hoof.
"If he's with the 'Cons, then what's the concern to us?"
Some older ponies agreed the filly's assessment.
"The concern is that I cannot sleep at night knowing one my most hat- disliked foes is out there, spreading his chaos to unaware beings who have only the slightest notion of what they are dealing with!" Celestia snapped. "As such, after much study and testing..." Celestia glance apologetically to a scientest mare whose face and mane were black with soot. "We have replicated the Decepticon's ship and rescaled it for pony useage."
A few royal scientest ponies walked over to the tarp and tore it off, revealing, indeed, a replica of the Nemesis that was pony-sized and pink, with Celestia's Cutie Mark tampographed on the side.
"Twilight Sparkle and her couragous friends will depart into the unknown with the Elements of Harmony in pursuit of Discord and return with his frozen stature...unless anypony objects?" Celestia glanced over the crowd, particularly the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the Apple Family, Rarity's and Twilight's parents, and Angel Bunny. None of whom said much.
"Uuuff...I hate to be picky, but do we have wear blue suits?" Rarity questioned. "I don't look good in blue."
"Don't worry, Rarity! You're dressed like a dream!" Sweetie Belle assured her fasion-concious sister.
Rarity smiled at Sweetie Belle and smile, content in that knowledge.
Celestia approached Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle, is there anything you or your friends would like to say before you depart?"
Twilight smiled and saluted at her mentor. "Only that we won't let you down, Princess!"
Celestia nodded and brought her horn to the shoulders of each Element bearing in a fashion resembling knighting.
Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie all boared the ship with the Element's in two. The assembled crowd cheered and whooped and stomped in encouragement.
The roar of the ship's engines drowned out their joyous cries as the ship began and upward descent into the atmosphere.
"My big sister is going into space!" Sweetie Belle boasted.
"So's mine." Applebloom countered.
"...Oh yeah."
"You can do it, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo muttered to herself.
The ship disappeared from the skies completely...
To Be Continued In
Friendship is Magic: Prime: Act III