Mind over Matter

The morning came again and Soundwave was the first to awake. After the events of last night, Soundwave couldn't make out these emotions that he was feeling. On one hoof he would want to conquer the planet for Megatron and the Decepticons but on the other hoof, for some reason, something is telling him that its wrong “Maybe my processors are glitching up.” He decided to scan his programs but found none of his processors were glitchy.

“*Yawn* Soundwave?” Soundwave turned his attention towards Twilight Sparkle who was coming down the stairs, eyes barely open as she reached the final step. “You’re up early.”

“Yeah I’ve just been having troubles sleeping.” Soundwave lied.

“How come?” Twilight said as she walked into the kitchen, Soundwave followed afterwards. Once he entered the kitchen Twilight was preparing the coffee maker for some coffee.

“Just troubles adjusting here.”

“Really, why?”

“I don’t know, its just that this place is a lot a diffrent then Cybertr- I mean Hooftin.”

“How can it be different?”

“Well, everyone in Hooftin is all about themselves. They don’t care for each other like here and arguments tend to break out rather quickly.”

“Really, I heard it was nice in Hooftin, you know with friendly neighbours and beautiful buildings. I didn't know it was like that?”

“Just a charade as Shockwave would put it. They don’t really like other ponies knowing about what’s really going on.”

“Well if thats the case then why did you and Shockwave stay there?” Twilight asked as she was shocked after hearing such things about Hooftin.

“Because of Megatron.” Soundwave said before quickly realizing what he just said as he put his hoove over his mouth “Oh scrap!”

“Megatron? Is he the name of a friend?”

“Ummmm….Not exactly. He is umm… the mayor of Hooftin. He has a tendency to be cruel sometimes.”

“Cruel? What do you mean by that?”

“Well its kinda hard to explain. You see-”

“*Yawn*.....What are you guys talking about?” Soundwave and Twilight turned their attention to see Spike coming down the stairs while rubbing his eyes.

“Soundwave was just telling me the difference between here and Hooftin and apparently its not as good as we thought.”

“Really? I thought all of Equestria was suppose to be peaceful and stuff?”

“I thought so too, I guess I should let Princess Celestia know about this so she can deal with it before it gets out of hand.”

“Who runs the place?” Spike asked

“By a stallion named Megatron, he’s the mayor of Hooftin. He’s been making life miserable for the ponies there and that’s why me and Shockwave wanted to come visit here to see how it is.” Soundwave said bit noticed Spike smirking.

“What’s so funny?”

“Megatron, thats his name? What kind of a name is that, thats the kind of name you give to a supervillain that wants to rule the world or something.”

“Might as well be with the way he runs a town. In fact when we first heard his name upon his election, we all agreed he must have been a villain.”

“Hey Soundwave does he talk like this-” Spike asked as he jumped on top of the counter while waving his arm while crossing his eyes “I’m Megatron, leader of Hooftin, bow down to me or you will suffer my wrath, I like to make other ponies miserable while I sit on my butt all day watching tv.” Spike continued until he noticed Soundwave and Twilight staring at him in fear.

“Uh…Spike -” Soundwave whispered loudly as he and Twilight watched Shockwave glaring down at Spike with a shine in one of his eyes.

“Oh come on, you don’t think thats funny? Ok how about this one “I’m Megatron, leader of Hooftin, I act all tough around other ponies but when I’m alone I like to play with dolls and have little tea parties!” Hows that for funny?”

Twilight and Soundwave started frantically pointing their hooves at Spike.

“What, do I have something on my face?” Spike asked as he turned around only to come face to face with Shockwave as his mane was in a mess and his eyes were bloodshot red. And by his facial expression, he was not in a good mood.

“Were you insulting our leader?!”

“Leader?” Twilight asked with a confused look on her face. Soundwave frantically waved his hooves into the air, signaling Shockwave about his mistake.

“I mean mayor. That’s right, mayor of Hooftin. So were you making fun of him, you can tell me I’m always up for a good laugh.”

“Um… -” Spike tried to think of another joke but Shockwave’s scowl and red eyes were scaring him silent “- I wasn’t joking about your mayor at all. I was saying that he… uh was a good guy and stuff.” Spike stuttered but was interrupted when Shockwave got up close to his face, grinning.

“Oh really, like what?”

“Oh, like how he kept your town from being dead broke.”

“Go on.”

“Um… He tends to the poor, um… He loves the children and Twilight, help!”

Twilight walked over and scooted Spike to the side. “Uh, Shockwave, maybe you should go wash up -” magically constructs a mirror “- You look like you’ve seen better days.”

“Perhaps you’re right, I’ll go and wash up. But remind the little one that jokes about our ‘Mayor’ are strictly off limits, Twilight.”

“Sure thing, I’m sure Spike won’t do that again, right Spike?.”

“Yeah, sure.” Spike said, still trembling in fear.

“Good, Soundwave follow me.” Shockwave walked away with Soundwave following after him. They made their way to the bathroom which was on the upper floor. They both walk into the bathroom and as soon as Soundwave stepped, in Shockwave used his magic to slam the door behind him as he darted right in front of Soundwave.

“What in the name of unicron happened, how does he know about Megatron?”

“I may have mentioned it when I was talking to Twilight…”

“What?!”

“I didn’t say he was trying to take over just that he was our mayor and that he was cruel.”

“You what?”

“Look I was tired and it rolled off my tongue alright, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?! You were so close to revealing our secret. You have to be more careful with what you say or else this mission will end in complete failu-” Shockwave stopped to see Soundwave sniffling as his eyes began to water.

“What are you doing, Decepticons don’t cry.” Soundwave realizing it didn't work stopped sniffling and wiped his eyes.

“Alright look I get it, I almost risked the mission. I understand that and I want you to know that I want to conquer this planet just as much as you do.”

“Then you promise to not screw this up. We are so close to having a new energon reservoir and we cannot afford to lose it because of you.” Shockwave stated but noticed Soundwave’s ear flop down as he kinda felt bad, knowing he shouldn't blame Soundwave.

“*Sigh*.....Soundwave, I’m not mad at you and to be honest you are the only Decepticon that I can call friend and kinda….You know, care about.”

“Really?” Soundwave cocked an eyebrow at what Shockwave said.

“To be fair, you’re the only one who hasn’t irritated me like Starscream. You don’t go around proclaiming yourself superior like that overbearing pile of scrap.”

“Thanks Shockwave.”Soundwave said as the looked into each others eyes as Shockwave grew a grin.

“Hey Soundwave...Remember that thing we did before the war?”

“What thing?”

“Oh come on Soundwave...You know, our thing. That thing you do best.”

“Oh that. What about it.”

“You want to do it?” Shockwave leaned in.

“Right now?”

“Why not, this is the perfect place to do it. So you want to do it?” Shockwave asked as Soundwave grinned.

“Sure.”

“I’m telling you Twilight, that guy is a jerk.” Spike said angrily.

“He’s not a jerk Spike, he’s must be really stressed about leaving his friends or some pony back in Hooftin.”

“I don’t buy it, he seemed really ticked off when I brought up that Megatron guy in my joke. Didn’t Soundwave say they didn’t like him?”

“Maybe he just doesn’t want you bringing him up at all. You do have to respect that Spike.”

“Well he could have asked me nicely. Hey Twilight are you sure he’s the same age as you because he acts more like an old man.”

“Spike, he’s more like all those ponies from Canterlot, you know the kind that act stuck up and are more about the money.”

“Aren’t they all old ponies?” Spike said with a bored expression on his face.

“Spike, mind your manners, they’re not all old, heck some are a year younger than me.”

“Yes, mom.” Spike grumbled under his breath as he bit down on another gem.

Twilight looked towards the bathroom on the upper floor with a worried look on her face. “Those two have been in the bathroom for a long time now.”

“Yeah what do you think is taking them so long just to freshen up?”

“I don’t know, maybe-”

“OH YES!” Spike nearly dropped his spoon but quickly regained himself. Both he and Twilight looked at the bathroom. “RIGHT THERE!” the voice yelled out again.

“What in Equestria is going on up there?”

“A LITTLE HARDER PLEASE!”

“Are those two…”

“Spike cover your ears, I’m going to go check what’s going on.” Spike just watched as Twilight walked up the steps while another loud, “YOU WANT ME TO GO LOWER?!” was heard. She finally reached the door and slowly turned the knob. “YES OH YES!” She couldn't take it anymore as she bursted through the door.

“WHAT ARE YOU GUY DO-” She stopped midsentence to see Shockwave and Soundwave both sitting in the bathtub as Soundwave was washing Shockwaves back while Shockwave had a blissful expression. Soundwave and Shockwave then turned to meet her shocked and confused face however Soundwave’s arms didn’t stop washing Shockwave’s back.

“Oh Twilight...Did you need something?”

“Ummmm...What's going on here?”

“What do you mean?”

“You two were really loud and it sounded… very sexual.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, me and Spike heard you all the way downstairs.”

“Oh well, that is embarrassing. I was just enjoying having my back washed.”

“Did you have to be so loud? I thought you guys were having...You know.” Twilight said with a slight blush.

“Know what?”

“Ummm...Nevermind then, just forget I came in here.”

“Uh… Okay. I’ll make sure to lower my voice next time besides we’re almost done away, right Soundwave?”

“You still have to do my back.”

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot.”

“Just don’t get too loud, I don’t want Spike getting the wrong ideas in his head about you two.”

“About what….Does he not like backwashes?”

“He washes himself so I wouldn’t know and besides that, he’s not that loud when he’s in here.”

“Oh, well me and Soundwave will keep our voices down then.” Shockwave said while blushing.

“Ok, well finish up soon, you two can’t stay in here forever.” Twilight walked out the bathroom and closed it behind her with her magic.

The two decepticons turned to each other as Shockwave said, “That was illogical.”

“Yeah, you would think she would knock first.” Soundwave said as he was still washing Shockwaves back.

“Oh Primus that feels good. Let’s finish this up before she decides to barge in again.”

Five Minutes Later

Soundwave followed Shockwave downstairs where Twilight was talking to Spike next to a bookshelf.

“They were what?”

“Yup..Washing each others backs, just so you don't get the wrong idea Spike.”

“Do stallions usually do that cause it seems rather weird?”

“I don’t know, the only stallions I know really well is Big Mac and he’s tough to understand as it is.”

“I trust this conversation you two are having isn’t about me and Soundwave, is it?” Shockwave asked as he finally made it down the stairs. “Because if you must know, I can’t reach my back when I’m washing so I need extra hooves to help me out.”

“Well why don't you just use your magic then to reach it?” Spike asked

“Why should I when I have Soundwave to reach the spots on my back that I can’t see?”

“Yeah its feels really nice, you should try it.” Soundwave suggested to Twilight.

Twilight blushed slightly with a large smile on her face, “I think I’ll pass Soundwave.”

“Why, I’m really good at it, if you're worried about me missing any spots then you shouldn't worry...I’m really good at cleaning tight spots.” Soundwave said with a smile.

Twilight blushed like mad as she tried to cover her face, as Spike chuckled under his breath. “How tight does it usually get?” Spike asked in between his chuckling.

“I usually have to clean really tight areas. Sometimes I have to get inside to get everywhere.”

“Speaking of everywhere-” Shockwave butted in “-Twilight, you know everypony in this town right?”

“Of course, I’ve been living here for a while so I know everypony in Ponyville.”

“Great. So let me ask you...Do you know Octavia?”

“Octavia? Hm… yeah I know her. I use to go to her concertos back in Canterlot. Hard to believe she lives with a pony that rivals Pinkie Pie.”

“Yes….Well last night at the party she asked me to come over to her place so I wanted to ask you where it is.”

“Yeah, all you have to do is go down the street till you come across Rarity’s boutique which is the only home that stands out then make a right and you’ll see Sugarcube Corner. Make a left and it’ll be the third house to the left.” Twilight gave a small smile as she explained the directions to them.

“Thanks Twilight. Alright then I’m going to go head ou-”

“Wait!” Shockwave turns to Soundwave.

“What is it Soundwave?” Shockwave asked as he raised an eyebrow.

“Can I come with you. Vinyl lives with her and I want to see her.”

“No.” Shockwave said bluntly.

“Why not?!” Soundwave asked angrily.

“Because I just want to talk to Octavia and if if I heard correctly, Vinyl is a female version of you, Soundwave.”

“So…”

“I don’t need you two being loud and annoying and ruining my time with Octavia.And if my predictions are correct, you two are going to be loud with your obnoxious wubs.”

“Who doesn’t like wubs? They are what make everything more fun!”

“Both I and Octavia hate wubs. All they do is give us splitting headaches.”

“Oh come Shockwave, just let him come with you.” Twilight said as she stepped beside soundwave.

“If he agrees to not use those annoying wubs while we’re there than he can come with me.”

“Oh come on Shockwave, you can’t make me do that. It’ll be boring if I agree to that.”

“I don’t care, you will not ruin the only fun I’ll have. Now do you agree or not?”

Soundwave scratches his head for a few seconds before giving in and lowering his head. “Okay, I promise to not use wubs.”

“Good. Alright then that settles it, Soundwave lets go.” Shockwave motioned to Soundwave as he uses his magic to open the front door “We’ll be back Twilight.”

“Okay, try not to cause any trouble guys.” Twilight waited until the door fully closed before she sighed in relief. “Thank Celestia, those two can be quite the handful. Humph….maybe I should take up on Soundwave’s offer, backwash does sound nice. Hey Spike!”

“Nope.” Spike quickly replied as he read his comic book.

“If I was Rarity you would jump for the opportunity.” Twilight groaned as Spike tried to hide his blush under his comic book.

“Are you sure you know where we are going?”

“Of course I do, unlike you I have a good memory, after all I did create my pets.”

“What’s the names of the other thousands of pets you have then?”

“........”

“........”

“Shut up, look lets just ask someone then. Will that make you happy?”

“Fine, the first pony we see is the one you’ll ask for help.”

Okay then, let’s see……” Shockwave said as gazed around, looking on who to ask.

“Hope you have better luck remembering that pony’s name.” Soundwave said with a sly grin on his face.

“Will you shut up about that alre-” In his fit of anger, Shockwave didn’t see a pony walking out of the house they were passing by and bumps into her. “- Ugh… I apologize for walking into you.”

The pony regains herself before saying, “It’s alright, I wasn’t paying attention either. I was thinking about my class lessons today and I didn’t see you walking. My name is Cheerilee ”

“Nice to meet you Cheerilee. I’m Shock-”

“Wait...I know you two, Shockwave and Soundwave. You two were from the party yesterday. Soundwave, you were amazing with Vinyl’s Bass Cannon. It made me feel so alive.”

“Thank you. Glad I could help you out with that.” Soundwave smiled, so did Cheerilee as she  then looked at Shockwave.

“I’ve heard alot about you Mr. Shockwave.”

“Really. We’ve hardly been here in Ponyville long enough to warrant that.”

“Oh, well Twilight told me during the party about how smart you are with history and apparently science.”

“She did?” Shockwave asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Yeah, and I was kinda hoping to bump into you like this. Because you see..I need your help.” Cheerilee said as she rubbed the back of her head.

“What kind of help?”

“Well I need someone to teach my class about science since I have overdue papers to grade. Plus the fillies and colts could learn from some pony who’s had more experience with science like you.”

“Hehehe...Why thank you but to be honest I don't really...teach.”

“Could you give it a try? I could really use the help and who knows, you might be good at it, considering on how smart you are.” Cheerilee said as she gave a cute wink towards Shockwave.

Shockwave puffed out his chest and raised a hoof to his head. “Then I will do it so that the children grow up knowing how to be creators!”

“Hopefully they know their creations’ names by then.” Soundwave whispered.

“Shut up!”

“So You’ll help?” Cheerilee asked with her eyes and smile widened.

“I’ll do it my best, when do you want me to start?”

“Actually right now. Class is about to start so the children should be waiting in their chairs right about now.”

“Well I was heading to visit some pony today but I guess it can wait until later on -” Shockwave suddenly heard a small groan coming from Soundwave and got a little annoyed “- Miss Cheerilee please lead the way.”

“But Shockwave, what about our plan?”

“They can wait and besides, if I can teach you anything then teaching children is just about the same, if not easier.”

“Great, follow me then.” Cheerilee said happily as she walked towards the school. Soundwave and Shockwave followed after.

“Hey Shockwave you can do your thing, I’ll catch you later.” Soundwave said as he was about to take off until he was stopped by Shockwave as he held his tail.

“Where do you think your going?”

“Just because you agreed to teach children doesn’t mean that I have to, I didn’t agree to it!”

Shockwave tugged harder, causing Soundwave to fall on his haunches. “I don’t care, you can’t be trusted alone and think of this as a learning experience for your rather wild mind.”

“Oh so in that case,you wouldn't mind me teaching them about wubs and how classical music is boring?”

“........”

“........”

“Frag it, fine I’ll go alone but I swear if I hear anythi-”

“Relax I’m just going to go hang out with Dash until you're done.”

“Fine.” Shockwave groaned as Soundwave turned to Cheerilee.

“Cheerilee, do you know where Dash’s house is?”

Cheerilee scratches her chin, “Well she lives in Cloudsdale but from what I know, you could easily find her sleeping in the clouds around Ponyville. She snores so loudly that you can’t miss her.”

“Alright thanks, when does your class end?”

“Usually around evening, we let the children know through the bell ringing. I believe the third time is when school is over.”

“Third bell, got it.” Soundwave was about to take off until he looked back at Shockwave and grinned “Have fun Shockwave.” Soundwave took off, leaving Cheerilee with an annoyed Shockwave.

“He really grinds my circuits sometimes… Anyway Miss Cheerilee, can you lead the way?”

“Of course, follow me.” Cheerilee said as she walked away.

Shockwave followed behind with smile on his face. “Teaching children should be an easy task to do, I mean how bad could it be?”