7. Nature is Chaos
Everyone backed up slowly as Metal Sonic grinned at them, an aura of mystic energy slowly surrounding him. Sonic was the first to step forward, placing himself between Metal and the others, bracing his hooves firmly. "Well, Metal," he said quietly, "is it down to just you and me now? Or are you going to hide behind more pawns?"
Metal chuckled, a sheer, metallic sound. "How amusing. You think this is still about you and me? Pathetic. I've moved beyond that. Discord showed me the error of my ways, focusing all my efforts on defeating you. You couldn't pose a threat to me now if you tried."
Sonic glowered...then blurred forward, his coat turning golden as his cutie mark glittered and wings sprouted from his back. It seemed he had an advantage...but Metal Sonic caught him by his head and wings.
"Interesting," he whispered, holding Sonic casually in his hands. "It seems you've found a way to enter your Super form without the Chaos Emeralds. Impressive...or it would be, if it mattered." Metal squeezed the hand clutching Sonic's head, and the crack of bone could be heard. Before anyone could react, Metal ripped Sonic's wings from his body and tossed him aside, Sonic's coat returning to blue as the wounds dissapeared.
"SONIC!" Rainbow Dash called in fear, running to his side.
"DAD!" Aurora followed her mother, taking a defensive stance, glaring at Metal.
"You see, Sonic..." Metal seemed to flex his body, and a golden light emmited from him briefly. "The real Chaos Emeralds have been installed in my body for the past ten years. Have you any idea the kind of power that has given me? Can you even conceive of how strong it has made me...how pathetic you are now in comparison? Once you were my rival, your destruction my purpose. Now you are but an insect, to be brushed aside like all others!"
"I THINK NOT!" an enraged voice shouted, and the top of the throne room tore away and was tossed aside. Rarigan stared down at Metal. "You see, we had a deal. All gems of the worlds we conquered to belong to me...remember?"
Metal glowered up at Rarigan. "The Chaos Emeralds are not a part of that arrangement."
Rarigan snorted. "Did you take me for a greed blinded fool? Did you really think I ever trusted you...when I knew you hid gems from me from the first day? You betrayed Nightmare Sparkle. I have no intention of waiting for you to betray me!"
"Now see here-" Metal began, but Rarigan lunged forward, snatching him up in her jaws. Before he could respond, she swallowed him. The lump of his body traveled down her long neck and into her stomach.
"That takes care of you quite nicely," Rarigan said happily. "Before too long, those Chaos Emeralds will be properly digested, a part of my body forever. In the meantime, though, I think it best I begin MY empire." Grinning, she turned towards the cowering ponies, advancing slowly. She paused however, staring at Gem, who had shifted to his halfway state for battle. "Who..." She pulled back momentarily, seeming stunned, and a pink and white gemstone fell from her grasp.
Suddenly, a blue and gray spike erupted from her chest, causing her to shriek in pain. "You know, I think you're right," Metal Sonic's voice said coldly. "The Chaos Emeralds work MUCH better in your body. Your draconic ability to absorb them completely - combined with your natural talent of Gem Affinity - will allow for continuous, maximum usage of the Emeralds power...so I think I'll take your body for my own, if you please. ...or even if you don't!"
More spikes erupted from her body, and metal spread across her, consuming her flesh as she shrieked in anguish. As everyone flinched backwards, the crystal she had dropped shimmered...and shattered. A white unicorn with pink and purple mane lay on the ground, breathing heavily, her eyes shut tight.
"SWEETIE BELLE!" Applebloom and Scootaloo dropped their weapons and rushed forward, pulling one they'd thought lost back out of the way of danger.
Sweetie Belle looked up at them. "A...Applebloom? Scootaloo? But...but Rarity ate you. I...I saw..." She turned back and gasped in shock. "RARITY!" She tried to struggle towards Rarigan as she thrashed, but Applebloom and Scootaloo held her back.
Stardust approached Sweetie Belle. "I take it you are from the dimension Rarigan called home? ...I hesitate to ask, but...can you tell us how this came to pass?"
Sweetie Belle cried as she watched her older sister thrash in agony. "It...it was for Spike. Rarity was in love with him, and they were wed, but...they weren't able to have any children. It was determined that...ponies and dragons weren't cross compatible. But Rarity was determined that she and Spike have a child together, because Spike would outlive her by centuries. She wanted a bloodline descended from the two of them, so that...whenever Spike woke from one of his century long naps, there would be living proof that their love had been real, that it wasn't just something he dreamed. But...magic couldn't turn a dragon into a pony, not even for a short while." Her tears flowed more freely. "Then Discord approached her. He offered an alternative...to turn her into a dragon. Then, not only could they have children, but they could be together forever. She accepted, and it seemed to work flawlessly...until she got back to her boutique, and someone tried to commision a jewel studded dress." She shuddered. "She went out to gather the gems...and started to grow, and hoard. She gathered all the gems she could find, be they dug up or stolen. Spike tried to reason with her, get her to stop...and she lashed out at him, consumed by her dragon greed. He...the blow from her claws took him across his throat, and he died in her arms, her horn no longer having the power to heal." She hid her eyes in her hooves. "She wailed her grief for weeks...and when it finally stopped, all that was left was her greed."
As the story had been told, the metal had continued to consume Rarigan's flesh. Only her head remained her own. Her eyes took on a strange softness as tears fell. "Spike..." she whispered, her voice filled with love and pain. "I'm so sorry..." She closed her eyes as metal consumed her face. Eight blood red eyes opened in their place, as Metal Dragon spread his wings and roared in triumph, taking wing into the air.
"Do you see what you are dealing with now, pathetic fools?" Metal Dragon demanded, rising into the sky as he reached inside, tapping into the power of the chaos emeralds.
"I believe that's my que," Discord spoke as he appeared in the air before him. "I'll take this dance."
Metal Dragon laughed, and when he responded, his voice was singsong.
"I must admit,
Your parlor tricks are amusing"
He easily danced around Discord's attempts to strike him down. A top hat appeared on Discord's head.
"I bet you've got a bunny
under your hat!"
When Discord pulled the hat off, Angel Bunny fell out of it, looking shocked to be back in Equestria.
"Now here's your chance
to get the best of me,
Hope your hand is hot!"
He formed a bullseye on his chest, laughing at Dischord.
"Come on clown,
Let's see what you've got!"
Discord blasted him with raw power, but it didn't even reach him as the Chaos Emeralds energized, pushing the power back.
"You try to slam
With your hardest stuff
But your double whammy
Isn't up to snuff"
Metal backhanded Discord, sending him flying, as Screwball called out to her Daddy in fear.
"I'll set the record straight
You're simply out of date
You're only second rate!"
Discord attempted to attack with his lion's paw, striking physically, but Metal easily deflected it.
"You think your cat's a meanie,
But your tiger's tame
You've got a lot to learn
about the chaos game!"
Metal blasted him backwards with a blast of power that covered Discord with singing flowers.
"So for your information
I'll reiterate
You're only second rate!"
Metal swung towards Discord, using one finger to first flatten him, and then another to flick him away.
"Men cower at the power
In my pinky
My thumb is number one
On every list!
But if you're not convinced
that I'm invincible,
put me to the test!"
Discord shook himself off and changed his shape, appearing as a giant Sonic the Hedgehog to attack Metal.
"I'd love to lay this rivalry to rest!"
He easily forced Discord back into his own form.
"Go ahead and zap me
With the big surprise
Snap me in a trap,
Cut me down to size"
Metal danced around Discord, happily making a fool of him.
"I'll make a big escape
It's just a piece of cake
You're only second rate!"
Discord was plainly struggling, as the chaos fields he drew power from - those of Nightmare Sparkle's world - were too far away to give him strength.
"You know, your hocus-pocus
Isn't tough enough
And your mumbo-jumbo
Doesn't measure up"
Metal laughed at Discord's struggles, treating him like a pest.
"Let me pontificate
Upon your sorry state
You're only second rate!"
Metal began waving his arms, conjuring chaos in various forms to further humiliate Discord.
"Zaba-caba-dabra!"
Granny Smith suddenly appeared, tickling Discord.
"Granny's gonna grab ya!
Alakazam-da-mus"
Metal seemed to swell into immensity.
"And this thing's bigger than the both of us!
So spare me your tremendous scare!
You look horrendous in your underwear!
And I can hardly wait
To discombobulate"
Discord fell back from another blast, seeming to fall to pieces.
"I'll send ya back and packing
In a shipping crate
You'll make a better living
With a spinning plate
You're only second rate!"
Metal laughed insanely as Discord fell back, barely pulling himself together. It looked like the end...but then Discord seemed to fluctuate, as after images surrounded him.
"What?" Metal Dragon demanded, raising a hand to strike.
Discord suddenly surged into the air, expanding into immensity.
"Don't you disrespect ME, little man!"
The power was different, much stronger now, and Discord looked ready to kill.
"Don't you derogate or deride!"
Discord snapped out his hands, and the very fabric of the world flinched at the sheer force of chaos he unleashed.
"You're in my world now,
not your world"
Holes tore in the air around Metal, revealing howling vortices, and streaks of varicolored light began to flow out to surround Metal.
"And I've got Friends on the Other Side!"
Familiar voices echoed from the lights.
"He's got friends on the other side."
Discord smirked at Metal. "Sound familiar, do they? I'd bet. Their blood's on your claws, after all."
Discord floated idly backward, gathering power to himself.
"We've reached the end of your fable,
I am the God you must appease!
But with all your deeds you've enabled me to do anything I please."
Discord popped one eye out, holding it like a crystal ball.
"I have seen your future,
And I'll change it round some, true.
I'll look deep into your heart and soul..."
Discord paused, glancing at Metal Dragon. "Well, soul anyway..."
"Turn even your dreams against you."
Discord reached out, seeming to gather power as he sang.
"I've got Chaos
I've got Harmony
I've got things I ain't even tried!"
He conjured a chair from mid air and sat, smirking as Metal struggled impotently against the lights.
"And I've got friends on the other side!"
The colored lights flared more brightly as they sang.
"He's got friends on the other side!"
Discord pulled out a deck of strange Tarot cards.
"The cards, the cards, the cards will tell,
Your past, your present, and your future as well.
But even without the cards, you see
that your future ended when you tangled with me."
Drawing forth the cards, he revealed one that had an image of Metal Sonic when he was first built.
"Now you young man, were built for power and greed!
You come from an assembly line of imperial creed!"
A card showing Metal's first attempts at world conquest.
"Your ambition was high..."
Big Macintosh sitting on a fallen Metal Sonic.
"But the Fates said 'Nope!'"
Another card, showing Nightmare Sparkle.
"So you looked up a honey
whose magic was dope!"
Discord smirked. "You know, she could have been more than just a tool or pawn, if you'd let her."
Metal Dragon sneered his contempt. Discord shrugged, and continued his song, showing cards of Metal's interactions with Nightmare Sparkle.
"If you hadn't betrayed her,
You might have still had time.
She'd have been loyal all her life."
Discord paused, then shrugged his shoulders, holding up cards of Eggman and Sonic..
"But you betrayed your father,
and were made to kill your brother."
He rolled his eyes.
"Who am I kidding,
you had no heart for a wife.
And now your future, what's left don't you see,
Is short, depressing, lonesome and bleak."
Discord floated over as the lights seemed to shift away from Metal's hands.
"Now I've done deeds, too
So shake my hands."
He extended both hands.
"Won't you shake a fellow sinner's hands?"
Metal's hands shot out, trying to seize Discord, but Discord caught them pulling something out of Metal Dragon and casting his spell in its place.
"Yes!"
The light's swirled, taking on the faces of Nightmare Sparkle, Rarigan, and the fallen of their two worlds, destroyed to feed Metal Dragon's appetite for power.
"Are you ready?"
"Are you ready?"
"Transformation central!"
The lights began to pull Metal Dragon towards the vortex. "Transformation central!"
"Damnation central!" Discord declared, as his skeleton leapt out of his body, leaving only his eyes in the skull.
"Damnation central!"
"Straight to Tartarus central!"
The spirits began to pull Metal Dragon apart as he was dragged through the vortex.
"Can you feel it?
You're changing, you're changing, you're changing all right!
I hope you're satisfied.
But if you ain't, don't blame me."
Discord's eyes flared in fury. "It's you who put my friends on the other side!"
Rarigan's voice called out to Metal. "You got what you wanted!"
Nightmare Sparkle's shade dragged him through. "But you lost what you had!"
The vortecis slammed shut on Metal's howl of impotent rage, leaving behind a deadly hush.
Discord floated down to the ground, the afterimage appearing around him again before seeming to fade away. He stared at the location of the vortex Metal had vanished through. Celestia approached him, still weak. "You...you sent him to Tartarus?"
Discord nodded. "He is in the land of the dead now. And good riddance to that monster."
Celestia nodded. "What an evil machine..."
Discord flinched. "...I've blundered. I've blundered badly."
"What do you mean?"
"Metal Sonic was designed to take any power he encountered that didn't destroy him and make use of it. You know how powerful the world of the dead is!"
"But..."
"And machine's are NON-LIVING things."
"Sweet mother..." Celestia stared at him. "What can we do?"
Discord shook his head. "The only thing we can do. What we've been leading up to here whether we knew it or not. It's time...time to wake the seventh Element."