//------------------------------// // Chapter 36-The Gang’s Back Together // Story: Transformers: The Requiem // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// A bright flash later and Pinkie Pie landed right on her face. After spitting out the dirt in her mouth, Pinkie shook herself off, but was not fast enough to dodge the rest of her raining friends from above. Rarity crushed her, followed by Applejack, and then Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash and Twilight both landed softly, their wings gliding them down to touch the soft grass with ease. The two ponies looked at each other and shared a little laugh, only to fall right on their faces when Optimus landed right behind them. The effect of Prime’s massive landing caused the ground to shake so heavily it could match an actual earthquake. The pile made out of Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie had already tumbled down from the earth’s vibrations. That left six mares lying in pain, and a Prime right behind them, groaning ever so often. That also left a snickering draconequus gently floating into the soft grass. Discord landed right in front of Twilight, causing the Alicorn to look up at his smiling face. He chuckled and said, “I warned you that fast travel could be dangerous.” Applejack pushed Pinkie Pie off of her, squirming to get back to her hooves. “Ah’m gonna let that one slide, Discord,” she warned him, earning an innocent smile from the creature of chaos. “But you’d better not be lyin’ about this, because if you are…” she let the sentence fall there, the threat present in her voice. “Me? Lie?” Discord sounded offended, his claw placed over his dark heart. His eyes grew larger than normal, his lower lip puffing out. “Oh, but Applejack, I would never lie to my friends. Surely you know that?” “Unfortunately,” Applejack groaned. After a moment of recollection, the rest of the mares found the ground and actually began to stand back up. Optimus did the same, though he didn’t match everypony else’s movements. They were all staring off into a different direction, taking in the scenery as much as possible. Plains upon plains of low cut grass fields stretched as far as the eye could see. To the west were rows of snow-capped mountains. To the east, Twilight could barely make out Canterlot’s outline, but she was certain it was there. The sun beat down a heavy heat on the ponies and Autobot, offering no chance of shade with the bare fields of grass. The Alicorn turned her head back when she noticed a certain friend was suddenly gone. Discord was resting on a floating purple-colored couch, a rather delicious-looking fruit punch in his claw and a pair of sunglasses in his paw. He placed the sunglasses where they belonged, taking another long sip from the extremely bendy straw sticking out of the punch. He brought his glasses down when he noticed Twilight flying up to him. “Just…where are we, Discord?” Twilight struggled with her words as she flapped up higher and higher until she was face to face with the draconequus. The creature of chaos pushed his sunglasses back, taking another obnoxiously long sip from his punch. Twilight frowned at him, her hooves resisting the urge to smack that punch into his face as he continued to suck dry air out of the straw. After about fifteen seconds of the two simply staring at each other, Discord spit out the straw and snapped his fingers. A giant, neon sign of bright, flashing lights suddenly appeared over Twilight’s head, frightening the Alicorn as to where she lost her concentration. She plummeted to the ground, luckily catching herself right before she touched the grass. As she landed softly, Twilight and her friends all looked up to the sign. It read “Unicorn Range” in colorful blue and red lights. Optimus came up behind the group. They all brought their attention to Discord, who had stood up on the couch he was lying on. “Welcome to the lovely pastures of Unicorn Range!” Discord announced brightly and happily, like a carny would at a local circus. “I hope your stay in these wonderful meadows will be just as incredible as it was for me and my companions!” Discord had a large, pointer stick appear in his hand. He pointed it at the sun and said, “We got hours of endless sunshine,” he pointed it below, “beautiful little critters just buzzing around your ears,” as he said that a large bee landed right on Rarity’s nose, creating a loud scream from the unicorn, “and most of all we have the joys of nature all around us!” While the six mares began to sweat from the intense heat, Optimus Prime took a step forward, instantly killing Discord’s fun. “Where are the Autobots you mentioned?” Rainbow Dash was the first to send a smirk Discord’s way when she noticed his surprised expression. The rest of her friends all stared up at Discord, clearly waiting for an answer. Twilight was the most eager to see if Discord was actually telling the truth. Why else would he interrupt their meeting with Princess Celestia just to bring them to Unicorn Range? Probably just to mess with her…again. However, those kinds of thoughts were tossed aside when the silence was shattered and Discord slumped forward, a terribly bored expression on his face. “Gosh, none of you are any bit of fun,” he groaned, letting gravity rest his back on the couch. His head fell on the back of the floating couch, only half of his body visible to Prime and the ponies, the other half rested on the backside of the couch. A large megaphone appeared in his hand in a white flash. Discord brought it to his lips and shouted, “YOU CAN COME OUT NOW, GENTLEMEN!” It was silent for several moments more. The ponies stood there, baking in the morning sun with frowns on their faces. Prime was faring no better. With every second that passed, his optics narrowed on the draconequus until he was almost completely locked onto him. Discord just sat there on his couch, refilling his red punch. Rainbow Dash growled with her mouth slowly opening to shout something at Discord. Something stopped her. It was Fluttershy’s hoof. The rainbow-colored Pegasus turned to her shy friend, only to realize her eyes weren’t focused to her but on the pasture ahead. Rainbow Dash wasn’t the only one to see this. Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack were all watching Fluttershy as she pointed straight ahead, her hoof shaking uncontrollably. They all followed the direction of her hoof straight into the morning sunlight. Twilight shielded the harmful rays from getting into her eyes. She squinted to see where Fluttershy pointed to. Her hoof fell. She gasped. Her friends all followed her actions, though she had completely lost her attention on them quite a while ago. Optimus took a step completely over the Alicorn, his gaze fixated on the area his little friends were all staring at. He grazed the Autobot symbol on his arm gently. Down the hill, five beings emerged out of the morning sunlight, their shadows cascading across the plains until it reached Twilight’s hooves. She noticed the horns sticking out from the shadow, implicating the image in her mind even further than she could have ever imagined. Their bodies were covered in darkness, red and blue lights bursting from the shadows of their bodies that engulfed them. Though they approached the group slowly, Twilight already knew who it was. With their blue eyes, glowing red lights, and large figures, Twilight, as well as her friends, knew who was approaching them. It was their friends. She knew this because she saw the Autobot symbol on each of them. Fluttershy let loose a happy whimper, a tear of joy falling from her eye when she spotted him. Bumblebee. He led the group with the leadership of a true warrior. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help it and chuckled. That chuckle soon turned into laughs. Those laughs transformed into cheers. She cheered for them as they approached. None could blame her. It was them. Following Bumblebee, Cliffjumper and Jazz appeared side by side, their heads shifting back and forth. They didn’t acknowledge the blue Pegasus flying circle ahead of them and cheering with glee. They were too focused on what exactly they were coming to. Behind Jazz and Cliffjumper, Ironhide and his heavy footsteps could be heard from fifty feet away, even in the grass. His large biceps swayed back and forth with every step he took. Applejack gasped and bit her hoof, tiny tears welling up in her emerald eyes. By Ironhide’s side, the Autobot Jetfire approached the slowest and behind the group. He appeared uneasy, but nopony could seem to notice it. They were far too absorbed in what was going on at the moment, their hearts overwhelming with happiness. They were done walking. The five Autobots all stood together in a large group, their optics all landing on the only other being in the area taller than the ponies. Not Discord, but Optimus Prime. Twilight, through the large smile on her face, found a reason to back away when Optimus took one more step closer towards his brothers. He didn’t even know they were his family, but he did recognize the insignia. Optimus Prime…was speechless. For seconds on end, the five Autobots did nothing but stare at Optimus. The last Prime did the same, all the words he had imagined saying suddenly lost. Rainbow Dash had all but landed a few moments ago. She watched as the giants just stood there, not moving a circuit. A loud whistle came from above. All heads turned to see Discord lying on his stomach, his legs swaying back and forth as he smiled down at the Autobots and ponies. “Well,” Discord announced loudly, “looks like the gang’s back together!” He noticed the shocked expressions from the mares below, especially Fluttershy. He waved his hands and said, “No thanks are necessary! Just doing something right for once is all the thanks I could ever receive.” The small red one, Cliffjumper, took a step around the ponies. He began to smile as he took in the peaceful scenery. “I gotta say,” Cliffjumper admitted, his hands resting on his waist as he continued to walk around the six mares, “this place is a heck of a lot better than that forest from before. I just have…one complaint, Discord…” He raised his giant foot forward and crushed the grass right in front of Rarity, causing a great panic between the equines. Cliffjumper pointed a deadly finger at the white unicorn as well as the others, a hateful expression growing on his silver-colored face. “Why are they here?” Cliffjumper hissed, venom clearly present in his tone. Rarity backed up quickly, her once joyous heart now filled with fear as her friend continued to glare at her. She backed up into Applejack, who rested a calming hoof on her shoulder, her emerald eyes staring up into Cliffjumper’s. “Whoa! Calm down, Cliff! There ain’t nothin’ threatenin’ here!” Applejack told him, Rarity shaking in her hooves. Another Autobot stepped forward by Cliffjumper’s side. This one was pure white with a glowing blue visor. Pinkie yelped in surprise, but remained quiet, especially when he began to speak. “Now that’s debatable,” Jazz sternly told the orange farmpony. He placed a blue hand on his chest and said, “Last time I checked, your kind has been huntin’ us through a forest for whoever knows how long! So yeah…it’s a bit threatening!” “Our kind?” Rainbow Dash questioned, her rose-colored eyes staring down Cliffjumper’s as well as Jazz. They were scratched and dented, large bullet holes in their arms and legs. She shook her head, finally understanding. “Look, you guys are mistaken. Those were actually-” "We're mistaken?” a deep voice spoke up, the tone only belonging to Ironhide. The large bot took his place by Jazz’s side, his large arms crossing over each other. He frowned at the cyan Pegasus and growled, “Unless there are any other four-legged, flesh-having, disgusting, untamed, vicious animals like you who’d want us dead, then I guess we can all just be the best of friends forever and ever!” Discord spit out his punch. He bent down from his couch, noticing the shock in everypony’s eyes. Yes, he could see that far. Rainbow Dash was red with anger. She flared her wings and flew up to where she was face to face with the red Autobot. Ironhide narrowed his glare on the Pegasus in front of him. Rainbow’s glare was just as strong, if not more. “Who you callin’ untamed and disgusting?!” she screamed in his face. Twilight Sparkle sent a hoof into her face. It hasn’t even been two minutes and Rainbow Dash was almost about to rip Ironhide in half, only if he didn’t do it to her first. This has certainly been an excellent reunion with their Autobot friends. Right before the two could go at it, Optimus took a stand and blocked Ironhide’s heated path, his optics flaring with suspicion. He gently nudged Rainbow Dash away with his hand. “Ease yourself, Autobot,” Prime’s heavy voice surprising Ironhide, as well as Jazz and Cliffjumper. Optimus continued, his right hand mentioning the six ponies behind him. “You do not need to fear in the presence of Twilight and her friends. They will not harm you.” “And just who are you supposed to be?” Jetfire questioned, his large finger jabbing towards Prime’s chest. Optimus turned towards the red and white one. He could not only feel the eyes of all the other Autobots falling onto him, but he could easily tell that Twilight and her friends were all watching him. He stared straight into Jetfire’s optics and spoke, low and powerful. “I…” he hesitated, “am Optimus Prime, your leader.” Jetfire took a step back. Jazz and Cliffjumper both looked at each other, their arms crossed and their expressions unconvinced. Ironhide made no remark, his frown all but present. Bumblebee just stood there, feeling the gaze of a certain Pegasus on him. “He’s telling the truth, you know.” All eyes suddenly shifted at once, as if it was some great sport they were watching. They rested on the draconequus that walked down to them on a disappearing and reappearing set of stairs. Once he was touching grass, Discord approached the five Autobots slowly. He noticed that they all circled him. Discord began, covered in the shadows of the giants around him. “I can assume you’re all still wondering why I brought you all together and in the presence of Princess Twilight and the Elements of Harmony…” he stopped when he noticed their confused expressions. “Ponies,” he said to clarify, “the creatures that attacked you.” The five all nodded, looking at each other in agreement. He continued, “Well, it certainly wasn’t to send you to your doom. Princess Twilight,” he looked over to six mares, “Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and…Fluttershy…are the kindest ponies you could ever know. They’ll never give up on you, even though you continue to reject them for who they are, they’ll never stop trying to be your friend. Trust me…I know.” All six mares shared warm smiles. Discord couldn’t help but join in their happiness. “Anyways, where was I…? Oh, yes!” Discord exclaimed, snapping his talons. “I brought you to these ponies because I know they can offer you a home and protection from whatever it is that’s lying out there,” he teleported up to Ironhide’s shoulder, whispering into what presumed to be his ear. Strangely though, every Autobot in the circle could hear his voice. “Also, they kinda believe that you’re their friends from a time none of you can remember. I know it’s hard now…but really try and be nice around them.” Once Discord teleported back to the grass, Jetfire sighed heavily, taking one knee so he could be closer to him when he said, “Listen…Discord…you know that we are eternally grateful for you risking your own life to save us from those…‘ponies’ back in that dense forest…” “Well, I wasn’t really in any danger to begin with,” Discord mentioned, his eyes suddenly studying his claw for chips. “But,” Jetfire continued, his optics looking over to Optimus Prime and the six equines, “why is that we have to stay with these creatures and our ‘so-called’ leader?” “Speaking of which,” Jazz interrupted, taking a step closer towards Optimus Prime. He towered over Jazz easily, but the smaller bot didn’t seem intimidated. If anything, Optimus looked a little nervous with Jazz’s visor staring deeper into him than he could’ve imagined. He said, “How do we even know you’re telling the truth? And if you even are our leader, then how come I’ve never seen you before in my life?” “Because you all lost your memory!” Jazz looked down, surprised to know that voice came from the purple colored pony with wings. The next thing Twilight knew she was left on the spot, all eyes on her from the Autobots. Optimus Prime turned his head around and stared at her. Twilight gulped, however, her throat was very dry, and she swallowed nothing. Still, she summed up whatever courage she had left in this very startling situation and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. “I found Optimus in the Everfree Forest. He was unresponsive at first, but when those ponies, the same ponies that attacked each and every one of you, showed up at Applejack’s farm, Optimus woke up. And you know what? He lost his memory.” “That doesn’t explain anything,” Cliffjumper told her. Twilight frowned at him, saying, “While we don’t exactly know how it happened, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have vowed to search for a cure to his ailment. Meaning that if you all stay with us…we can help you.” The four Autobots all looked at each other, their emotions shifting behind their glowing blue eyes. While most of their emotions were positive, there was one who didn’t accept it. Cliffjumper continued to argue with the Alicorn. He stepped forward to her, taking a knee. “Oh, yeah?” he said, causing the pony’s frown to deepen. “Then how do we know that that Optimus guy is our leader, huh?” All Twilight did was point at Optimus and mutter, “Look at his arm.” Cliffjumper chuckled, but continued to humor the pony and did as she said. His optics grew wide when he spotted the same symbol that he had shine bright red on Optimus’ arm. His head shifted back to the Alicorn when she spoke again. “And unless you want to know why Optimus is your leader firsthand…” The smaller red Autobot turned his head back to Optimus, who stared him down with a raw intensity he had not even began to imagine before Prime slammed his fist into his palm. His blue eyes seemed to take the image of a warrior hungry for death and destruction. Not only did Cliffjumper see that in Optimus’ eyes, but he also saw the bravery, the heroism, and the power of a true leader. Cliffjumper stood up quickly, slapping his hands together. “Okay! Yeah! Hail Prime, ya know? WOO!” he cheered, though the nervousness in his voice was clearly present as he slowly began to back away. Pinkie and Fluttershy seemed to find this incredibly funny. Rarity and Applejack only shared a soft chuckle together. Rainbow Dash just stood there, her eyes scanning each Autobot over and over again. Once Cliffjumper returned to the group, each Autobot brought their attention to their…leader. Optimus Prime addressed them all as he stepped forward. “My Autobots,” Optimus began, “as your leader, I find that it is imperative to tell you that these ponies,” he lowered his hand to the six behind him, “will not break any promises they offer to you. They’re town is very welcoming and filled with the peace and acceptance you all dearly need. Trust me, my Autobots. You are not in any danger. You are safe.” There seemed to be a hint of doubt amongst the group of five Autobots. While Cliffjumper was already in belief, Jetfire and Ironhide didn’t want to trust this guy so quickly. Jazz seemed to share their feelings. Bumblebee just stood there. With all the evidence they were given, everything they were told by Discord, the one who saved them, to Optimus Prime, their supposed superior, the only thing they needed to do now…was trust him…and the ponies. But in the end…with Discord’s words still tampering their heads, they decided. “Alright,” Jetfire muttered, nodding his head. “We’ll listen to you…for now.” Ironhide and Jazz both nodded in unison. Bumblebee just gave one nod. With that, Jetfire and the three others all approached Prime, many questions in mind. The first one being: “So…what exactly are we?” Jetfire asked. With the Autobots discussing things with Optimus, Princess Twilight trotted over to Discord in the impending silence falling on her friends. She looked up at him, shaking her head and smiling. “How you even managed to do this…” she said to him. Discord just shrugged, letting out a little smile of his own. Twilight chuckled, nodding to him. “Thank you, Discord…for everything.” Discord never expected the hug. Neither did any of Twilight’s friends. Once she broke contact, Twilight only chuckled at Discord’s confused look and yet embarrassed look. She swore she saw a hint of red on his cheeks. Even then, Twilight broke his shock by telling him, “Well, Discord, what do you suggest we do now?” Seemingly forgetting what just happened, Discord had a map appear right in front of him. He grabbed the floating piece of paper and studied it heavily. When he looked up, his eyes were wide, and his smile was even wider. “Shall we head back to Ponyville? I can fast travel all of us again if-” “NO!” every single mare shouted, silencing the chaotic creature. Twilight turned back, noticing Optimus Prime grasping Bumblebee’s hand and nodding to him. She smiled, a sudden joy she once thought was long gone now returning to her heart. Twilight didn’t even look at Discord. “I think it’d be better if we walked,” she said, her voice soft but her smile strong. Discord completely understood. Spreading his misshapen wings, Discord took to the skies and screamed, “Next stop: Ponyville!” With that said, Twilight turned her head back at all of her friends. She smiled and motioned them forward with a nod. They all caught up to her, following right under Discord’s shadow as he led them out of Unicorn Range. Twilight stopped. “Optimus!” she called out. Being so distracted at trying his best to explain things to them, Optimus didn’t even realize that his pony companions were already leaving with Discord leading the way. He noticed Twilight waving him over. He nodded to her, and then turned towards the group of Autobots. “Autobots…let’s roll.” “That’s gonna take some getting used to,” Jetfire muttered, following the Prime as he trekked right behind the Princess of Friendship. Ironhide, as well as Cliffjumper and Jazz remained quiet the entire journey. Something kept stabbing at them, telling them that something wasn’t right. For now…all they could do was wait. Fluttershy stopped. None of her friends noticed her missing. As she watched them follow Discord, giant footsteps came to her rather quickly, startling the Pegasus. Optimus heard a loud squeak below him. When he looked down, all he saw was a terrified Fluttershy staring up at him with shaky eyes. “Sorry,” he told her, stepping over the Pegasus with ease. Fluttershy watched as the other Autobots stepped around her. Jetfire only acknowledged her for a few seconds before bringing his attention elsewhere. Ironhide glared at her, muttering something she couldn’t hear. Jazz and Cliffjumper both shared looks of indifference when they stared at her. But they continued on, not caring about her. That left… Fluttershy looked back and saw him instantly. She smiled warm, knowing he saw her too. Bumblebee just stared at her. He made no sound, no indication of her presence to him, no attempt at saying hello or even waving to her. As he walked past her, Fluttershy realized it was her that had to make the attempt. “Hello.” Bumblebee did hear the tiny voice behind him. He stopped, slowly turning his head back to stare at the smiling Pegasus. She tried her best to hide under her pink mane, only one of her eyes visible. Despite it all, Fluttershy forced herself to wave at him. It was as if he didn’t want to acknowledge that or he just didn’t see it altogether, because the next thing she knew Bumblebee just stared at her, open mouth and all, before he turned around and continued to walk silently away. Fluttershy’s wings fell. Her ears flattened. Her eyes began to tear up. “Oh…okay…” she whimpered, standing back up and slowly following the large group back to Ponyville. While there were friendly talks exchanged between the Autobots and ponies, mostly between Prime and Twilight, there were others who didn’t quite trust the other. Rarity didn’t like the way Cliffjumper threatened to crush her. Applejack didn’t appreciate it how Ironhide looked like he despised their presence. Pinkie didn’t like how Jazz ignored every word she said to him. Rainbow Dash just didn’t like the situation they were in at all. It was like being with no memory-Optimus all over again, but this time the Autobots were feeling slightly threatened, and that made her feel threatened. And none of them noticed the yellow Pegasus crying far behind them.