Fun vs Serious
In his usual spot behind the forest, Shadow was standing upright as he crossed his arms. He appeared to be deep in thought with a stern expression on his face. He was thinking about Discord's presence in their world. He remembered how he was so easily able to bend reality to his very will. He also took into account how most of the things that came from Equestria usually caused a lot of problems as well.
"(He's a super-powerful being with abilities that even I recognize as impressive. Yet, he say's he's only here just to have a 'vacation'. I'm not sure I buy that exactly...)" Shadow pondered to himself.
Shadow then stared down into the small lake and watched his reflection as he began to go over things once more.
"Discord..what do you want exactly?" Shadow muttered.
"Why to make new friends of course!" Discords reflection from the water suddenly said, startling Shadow as he took a few steps back.
Shadow turned around but he didn't see Discord behind him, leaving him somewhat confused. He then approached the body of water to see the reflection of Discord, who chuckled.
"Oh, excuse me." Discord said as he rose from his reflection out of the water to become solid and stretched out to become comfortable. Shadow just stared at him with a deadpan expression.
"Wasn't that cool?" Discord asked as Shadow didn't look too interested.
"I don't have time for this." Shadow said in a dull tone, much to Discord's surprise. He started to walk off before Discord suddenly popped in front of him.
"You know, this is the second time you've seen me do my tricks and still nothing. Most beings I've met think it's cool to see an all-powerful creature that can tear the very fabric of reality." Discord stated as he ripped a tiny hole in space. He then fixed it up using floating stitches. Shadow just hmphed.
"Well, I'm not like most beings. I am the Ultimate Lifeform." Shadow declared as Discord raised an eyebrow.
"Ultimate Lifeform. You?" Discord questioned as he pointed his finger at Shadow.
Discord then started to laugh slightly before it erupted into full blown laughter as he held his sides. As he did, he generated a series of mouths as he did, all laughing out loud in an obnoxious manner. Shadow observed this and grew a mildly angry look on his face.
"What's so funny?" He asked in a subtle but threatening manner.
Discord wiped some tears from his eyes as the mouths vanished and he stood up to face Shadow.
"Sorry, it's just that that after seeing me, can you really call yourself 'Ultimate'?" Discord said as he did air quotes while Shadow glared.
"I mean, I literally treat reality as my toy. Wouldn't you say that's 'Ultimate'? Compared to me, I would say you're the 'below average' Lifeform." Discord went on as he pulled out a scale. One end had a smiling Discord with the word 'ultimate' underneath him while the other end had a frowning Shadow with a minus sign underneath.
"Deny me all you want. I find it hard to believe a being who calls himself ultimate only purpose is just to be a childish prankster." Shadow retorted as Discord seemed a little taken back by Shadow's words.
"Now, hold on just a moment. I think there are valid reasons for me being here." Discord countered as he made a miniature version of Princess Twilight.
"I'm friends with the Princess of Friendship and one thing her friends love to do is solve Friendship problems." He explained. "And I think I've found the mother of all Friendship Problems."
Suddenly, a large glowing mechanical arrow was pointing to Shadow as it beeped. He noticed this and moved out of its way.
"As I said, I am the Ultimate Lifeform. There's nothing wrong with me." Shadow insisted while Discord just shook his head.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Aside from giving yourself a misnomer, just look at you. I saw you before and you don't seem to get along with others well." Discord said as he eyed Shadow "In fact, I think I could get cut just from how edgy you are. Ow, the edge!
Discord then split himself into many pieces which fell on the floor before he put himself back together. Shadow annoyance was clear by the expression on his face.
"Not to mention, you've just been brooding this entire time." Discord said as he turned himself into a statue that was in a brooding position and then back to normal.
"Enough. Spare me your nonsense." Shadow harshly said.
Discord then put his hands on hips as he frowned.
"What? Oh, are you too cool for Friendship? It's not hardcore for someone like you, Mr. Edgy. Is this more your speed?" Discord mocked as he snapped his fingers. The scenery then changed to a dark area with a red sky and misty clouds. Shadow found himself with a pistol in his hands, leaving him stumped. His response was to throw it away with disdain before he folded his arms once more. As Discord continued to observe Shadow, he began to tap his chin rapidly.
"If I could be friends with such a hard case like you, I'm sure Princess Twilight would be so impressed that I ended up solving the Friendship Problem of the century. Or better yet, this world's Fluttershy could see just how good I can really be and that I am serious about friendship." Discord thought out loud as he made himself stand on top of a golden platform with 'number 1' written on it while he posed triumphantly. He then pulled Shadow close to him for a victory pose.
"Oh, would it also kill you to smile?" Discord said as he stretched Shadow's mouth to from a wide grin.
"You're even worse than Pinkie" Shadow rebuffed as he shoved Discord away from him. "Don't you have anything better to do than bother me?"
"Not while I have such a golden opportunity right in front of me. Also, I just remembered. I don't even know your name." Discord realized as he leaned in Shadow's face.
"Hmph. It's Shadow. Now if you'll excuse me." Shadow told Discord before he vanished in a green flash. Discord then blinked twice.
"Wait, you're the key to Fluttershy and I's friendship!" Discord called out as he teleported in a white flash.
Shadow reappeared on the rooftop of Canterlot High as he landed down on the ground. He looked around to see he was the only one.
"So far-" Shadow started to say before a white flash appeared in front of him, revealing itself to be Discord as Shadow lowered his eyelids.
"-So good." He finished with a sigh as Discord floated before him.
"I remember your little disappearing act. See, we already have so much in common! We're both teleporters. Two peas in a pod" Discord commented as he and Shadow were both close to each other in a floating pod.
"Though magic is how I do mine. What's your secret?" He asked as he gave Shadow a poke in the ribs before giving him some space while Shadow just glared at him even more.
"Hmph. It's simple really. As the Ultimate Lifeform, I can freely activate the power of Chaos Control." Shadow boasted.
Hearing this statement caused Discord to freeze suddenly before he backed up in an astonished manner while he gripped his horns together. He looked at Shadow as if he had just committed cold-blooded murder.
"Did you just combine the words Chaos and Control?!" He asked as he generated the two words on his side. One was made of water while the other was made of oil. Shadow looked puzzled.
"What of it?" Shadow replied in a quizzical tone.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Discord yelled as his brain jumped out his skull. "You can't do that! Chaos can't be controlled! That's what makes it Chaos!"
Discord then snapped his fingers, changing the scenery once more. This time, clouds were acting like dogs as they chased each other, the entire floor was made of some green jelly like substance and there were a series of merry go rounds that housed different mismatched animals. Discord then snapped his finger, undoing the mess.
"See?!" He pointed out to Shadow.
"Hmph. Someone who claims to be all powerful can't comprehend Chaos Control? This power is what allows me to manipulate time and space easily.It is not difficult for me to have mastery over Chaos itself. Now, do you understand why I am called the Ultimate Lifeform? It appears that even someone like yourself must bow down to my strength." Shadow scoffed as he formed a smug look on his face.
Discord's face started to turn red as steam emerged from his ears as his eyes turned smaller, indicating that he was becoming angry.
"This is absurd! This is an insult to everything that Chaos stands for!" Discord snapped but Shadow didn't seem too fazed by his words.
"If you can't understand the power of Chaos Control, that's your flaw. I'm done wasting my time with you." Shadow said as he turned around and teleported in a green flash.
Shadow shortly reappeared in a smaller flash. What he didn't understand was that he was still on the Canterlot rooftop. Also, he appeared to be much closer to the ground than he originally was.
"What is thi-" Shadow began before he turned around to see something that left him completely stupefied as his eyes widened.
Shadow was staring at the lower half of his body...but it was detached from him! Where his top half should have been was a glowing green energy swirl. Shadow then looked at himself to see that in the place of his lower half was the same energy swirl.
"What's going on?! What happened to my body?!" Shadow screamed.
Discord then floated down in front of him as he was staring at his fingernails cooly, causing Shadow to scowl heavily.
"You, what is the meaning of this!" Shadow demanded.
"Simple. I can't stand your mockery of Chaos and disharmony with that silly technique of yours." Discord explained.
"Fix me now!" Shadow ordered but Discord just turned away from him.
"This is a good look for you. Full bodies are overrated anyway." Discord said as he split his body into multiple sections before coming back together.
Shadow then noticed that Discord was getting ready to snap his fingers again, most likely to make something worse happen to him. As he was about to, Shadow suddenly generated a Chaos Spear in his hands which he then quickly tossed in Discord's direction. The spear ended up going between Discord's fingers just as he snapped, generating a yellow flash rather than a white one as Discord was slightly blown back due to the force. When the flash died down, Shadow was back to normal again, much to his relief. Discord shook his head and then noticed Shadow's state before he glared at him intensely.
"That was...uncalled for." He said in a slightly angry tone.
"I already told you, I am the Ultimate Lifeform and even you must acknowledge my superiority!" Shadow said once more as Discord's face grew angrier.
"That attack was a warning. I don't have time to waste on your anymore. Later and I hope you now know your place." Shadow rubbed in as he teleported in a green flash.
Hearing that caused Discord to glower as his eyes glowed while he grit his teeth.
"You're the one who needs to know his place!" Discord yelled as he snapped his fingers and vanished in a white flash.
Shadow was traveling in a high-speed dimension that contained inverted colors. Just then, he felt himself crash into something, stopping him in his tracks as he fell back. When Shadow rose to his feet, he saw that it was Discord towering over him.
"What are you doing here?!" Shadow said as his voice made an echo, clearly not expecting to see spirit of Chaos.
"Well, I just wanted to learn more about this 'Chaos Control' of yours. So this is how you do it." Discord said as he eyed the dimension before making eye contact with Shadow. "And I've decided instead of being friends with you, I can't let you run amok any longer and drag the name of Chaos in the mud."
"Hmph. Is that a threat? Are you planning on stopping me? I'd love to see you try. This could be a good test of my skills. " Shadow challenged as he got in a fighting stance.
"Oh no, no, no. I'm much too busy to entertain your ego." Discord said with a handwave. "Let's just say you'll need to get comfortable."
Shadow raised an eyebrow, not sure what Discord meant by that as he flashed a malicious smile to Shadow. Discord then backed up rapidly as he reached the exit of hyper dimension and came out of it. As he did, he then formed a zipper as he started to close it. Shadow's eyes widened as he now realized Discord's trick and desperately rushed to the end, but it was no use. By the time he reached it, Discord had finished zipping up the exit.
"Don't you dare do it, you da-" Shadow said before his curse was cut off by Discord closing the hole. He then dusted his hands.
"Ah, that wasn't too difficult." Discord said. He then looked to see a frozen green flash right in front of him and put his hand to his chin.
"Well, I'm sure no one will notice this. Who comes on the rooftop anyway?" Discord said with a shrug. "But just to be safe...."
Discord then generated a sheet over the flash and he looked pretty pleased with himself for coming up with that idea.
"Problem solved."
Inside the Hidden Palace Zone of Angel Island, Knuckles was standing guard in front of the Master Emerald while having his arms crossed. He was pretty concentrated on his duty and as usual, it had been pretty uneventful. As a result, Knuckles didn't notice the mini-version of Discord which was tip-toeing near his ear. Discord faced the screen and did a 'shhh' motion. As he got closer to Knuckles's ears, he suddenly created a loud trumpet in front. Discord then suddenly blew the horn loudly, almost giving Knuckles a heart attack due to how unexpected it was.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"Knuckles shrieked as he jumped in the air and fell down while Discord grinned.
Knuckles then began to breathe heavily before he looked up to see Discord staring down at him. His face showed that he was far from happy to see them here as he scowled.
"Why are you here?" Knuckles asked in a hostile tone as he picked up himself from the ground.
"Oh, I just felt like checking up on my new friends. Say, you aren't still salty about this fiasco from this morning?" Discord questioned as he made a series of salt shakers float around Knuckles and began to pour them on him. Knuckles began to seethe with rage before he angrily slapped them away and shot Discord a look.
"Beat it. I'm not interested in your tricks."Knuckles ordered
"Oh, it's just harmless fun. Lighten up, Chuckles." Discord answered.
Hearing him call him that reminded Knuckles just how much he dislikes when Sonic does as his expression hardened.
"I said beat it."Knuckles firmly said while Discord gave him a slightly stumped expression.
"Come on, I only just want to spend time with my new friends. What's wrong with that? You look like you could use some fun." Discord stated as he reached to coil his arms around Knuckles, who backed away.
"I don't like repeating myself." Knuckles sternly replied while Discord frowned.
"Ah, you're one of 'those' types huh?" Discord said as he suddenly was dressed up in the attire of a rapper.
"You're rougher than the rest of them, the best of them, tougher than leather. They call you Knuckles, unlike the others, you don't chuckle. You'd rather flex your muscles." Discord rapped before he enlarged himself to gain large muscles while Knuckles still look annoyed.
"(Maybe If I just ignore him, he'll go away.)" Knuckles decided as he just went back to the original position he was in, which Discord noticed. His eyes then landed on the Master Emerald behind Knuckles, which from his viewpoint, transformed into a lock on symbol.
"Say, what's this nice looking thing?" Knuckles heard Discord ask, causing his eyes to widen as he turned around to see the draconequus placing his hands on the Master Emerald.
"I know a pony from Equestria who would love to get their hands on this." He added as he formed an eyeglass to inspect it as Knuckles formed a bewildered look.
"Get away from the Master Emerald!" Knuckles yelled as Discord now turned to face him.
"Sheesh, no need to be uptight. I was just looking." Discord said in a defensive tone as he floated down to face Knuckles.
"No way. The last thing I need is for someone like you to mess with the Master Emerald!" Knuckles exclaimed before his eyebrows raised with curiosity.
"Wait, how did you even find this place? This is a hidden area." Knuckles asked as Discord smiled.
"Oh, well, when you're in control of reality, it's easy to go to places I want. I remembered you saying you needed to guard something, so I just decided I wanted to be where you were. Simple really." Discord elaborated while Knuckles appeared even more cautious around him.
"So, what is so important about this rock anyway?" Discord said in a quizzical tone as he started to move closer to the Emerald but Knuckles blocked his path and stared him down.
"First, the Master Emerald is what keeps this Island floating. Second, it is an object of sacred power, the most powerful artifact on this planet, more powerful than the Chaos Emerald.." Knuckles informed him.
"Chaos Emeralds? I like the sound of that. Sounds like you could have a good time with those."Discord said as his eyes transformed into thumbs up.
"Well, the Master Emerald has the power to nullify and control the Chaos Emeralds. That's a way to make sure Emerald's powers don't fall into the wrongs hands." Knuckles concluded as he not so subtly stared at Discord.
Hearing this from Knuckles caused Discord to groan out loud as he stretched back and landed on the floor.
"What is it with this world and always trying to control Chaos? You're supposed to just let it run free! That's much more interesting." Discord said as he first made a bird cage which trapped the word 'Chaos', which was in the shape of a bird. He then snapped his fingers as the cage fell apart and the word flew off.
"Without the Master Emerald, who knows what could happen?" Knuckles commented.
Discord then began to rub his chin before his expression changed to show that he had thought of something.
"Well, wouldn't you like to find out?" He said as he turned into a giant box with a question mark. He then emerged out of it, appearing directly in front of Knuckles, causing him to back up.
"I mean, wouldn't you like to see the result if that rock was removed from the picture?" Discord continued as he held up a picture that showed a peaceful and serene garden with the Master Emerald at the top. He then flipped it over to reveal another portrait that was missing the Master Emerald and it was total chaos. The grounds were split apart with some parts as checkerboards, the sky was different mismatched colors and it was raining juice upwards with green clouds.
Knuckles stared at Discord as if he had just uttered the most insane thing he had ever heard.
"Are you crazy?! You can't remove the Master Emerald! Guarding it is my purpose and I will not let it fall under harm again!" Knuckles screamed as Discord backed up due to the force of Knuckles's voice.
"First. I think we both now the answer to that. Second, you make it sound as if it's been in trouble before. If so, then I guess it means you aren't a very good guardian." Discord taunted as he ruffled Knuckles' head before he came behind. Knuckle's temper was beginning to rise as he turned to see Discord.
"Lastly. If it's gone, then you can focus on having other hobbies. Has anyone ever told you that you would make an excellent cheerleader?"Discord said as he snapped his fingers and Knuckles was dressed up in a pink cheerleading outfit. Knuckles looked astonished as he saw his new outfit before his focus was back to Discord.
That was it. Knuckle's face began to scrunch up as his anger had reached its limit. He began to grit his teeth as he started to growl heavily and clench his fist tightly. He looked like he was going to burst at any moment. Discord saw this and formed a look of concern as he did.
"Oh wow. You need to chill out." Discord quipped as he waved his hand.
As he did, Knuckles suddenly found himself trapped in a giant block of ice while Discord looked on.
"Hehe. Gotta love the classics. Now, where was I? Oh, right, about to see what chaos could happen if that thing is gone!" Discord remembered as he pointed to the Master Emerald.
Discord then floated to the Emerald and knocked on it to determine how hard it was. He then stroked his thin beard before he generated a giant metallic mallet out of thin air. He then aimed it.
"Ok then. Easy...easy..." Discord as he readied the mallet.
In the back, the ice block that Knuckles was in started to crack slightly. The cracks then grew larger before it shattered into pieces as Knuckles was now free and back to his normal clothes. He began to pant before he noticed what Discord was going to do and his eyes widened with fear.
"Nooo! Not again!!" Knuckles roared as he jumped as fast as he could between Discord and the Master Emerald with his fist out.
Knuckles's fist collided with Discord's hammer just as he brought it down towards the Master Emerald. The result was a giant green flash which covered the entire area.
When the flash was over, Discord stood there as his eyes started to move around rapidly in a dazed manner. He then removed them from his sockets as he polished them before placing them back in his head.
"Well, that was unexpected. He takes his job way too seriously." Discord muttered before he looked down in front of him to see that the Master Emerald was still in one piece.
"What?! Nothing?!" Discord cried out as he grabbed his face with disappointment. "Well, that's no fu-"
Discord's sentence was cut off as he noticed something with the Master Emerald that caught his eye. Inside of it, he could see Knuckles. He appeared to be frozen inside of it as he was yelling out with his arms extended. Discord examined the image with curiosity.
"Oh, this is unexpected." Discord said as he got closer to Knuckles. There was no reaction from him at all.
Discord then heard a dripping sound as his face perked up. He went behind the Master Emerald and noticed there was a large puddle underneath.
"What is this? A leak?" Discord said with distaste as he got a magnifying glass to observe it.
Suddenly, the puddle rose up as a large gush of water which nearly hit Discord as he split his face into two to avoid the impact. He then turned around to see the body of water was dashing away out of the Hidden Palace in a crazed manner. He then folded his arms.
"Oh...looks like I was wrong about there being no fun." Discord stated as he shrugged.