From The Gates

by Dirty Bit

Chapter 40

Chrysalis noticed the jealous pony leer at her with hate in its eyes and laughed "And who are you to order me around, you worthless pegasus?"

Envy bared its teeth "The name's Envy! And if anypony's worthless, it's you!!"

Chrysalis growled and sneered at Envy's words, but perked up when she looked into the jealous pony's eyes. After a brief moment of staring, she began to laugh.

Envy was agitated by the sudden laughter "What's so funny!? Did you realize you're outnumbered!?"

Chrysalis dropped Rainbow Dash and trotted up to Envy with the same smile on her face "Far from it, child! I've heard word about one of Father's children having the ability to shapeshift!" The other ponies watched in confusion and murmured while Chrysalis continued "And I've recently received word about a rogue changeling that loused up their confrontation with all these other ponies!" She looked around the element bearers before she stopped onto Envy again with the same smile "And I look into your eyes...and the answer is right in front of me..." She then gave a wicked grin as she conjured her jagged horn to lift Envy.

Envy perked up and struggled in the air "Gah! Let me go, you ugly bitch!! What do you want with me!!"

Rainbow Dash noticed and glared "Leave Envy alone!!" She flew up to Chrysalis only to be stopped by another telekinetic hold.

Chrysalis smirked at Rainbow Dash "Save your quarrel for this one, Rainbow Dash!" She then shifted her eyes on Envy "I would hate to see the looks on everypony's faces when they see this frightening truth!" The changeling queen spoke in a teasing tone with a smile that betrayed no joy in Envy's suffering.

Twilight turned to Greed "What is she talking about? Do you know something about this, Greed?"

Greed knew just what was about to happen. He grunted and looked down in defeat as his former cockiness was gone "Just watch..." He said in a despondent tone. Twilight tilted her head at Greed's mood, but chose to do as he said.

Chrysalis then released her hold on Rainbow Dash and leaned her horn towards Envy's forehead. Envy struggled more "Back off!! What do you think you're doing!?"

The changeling queen's eyes narrowed and her smile widened when the tip of her horn connected with Envy's forehead "Revealing your true nature, my child..." She whispered as a small flash developed onto the jealous pony's head and began to shroud it all around.

Envy growled and struggled while the flash gradually covered its body to reveal its true changeling form head to toe. Everypony but the former homunculi gasped at the sight.

Rainbow Dash was speechless 'Envy's a changeling!? How is this possible!?' She stared slack-jawed at the real Envy in front of her eyes.

Chrysalis scoffed and then dropped Envy onto the ground "Yes, a changeling in its true form!" She looked down with a condescending stare "And judging by your fatigue, you haven't had a good meal in a long while. But I suppose you have yourself to blame for not being under my guidance!" She leaned down to Envy with a smile "But that can change, my child...Come with me to Canterlot so that I may embrace you as one of my own! Think of me as a mother while I nurture you-AUGH!!" She yelled in pain as she felt something stab into her side. She shook herself to see what had caused her pain.

Greed jumped back while in his Ultimate Shield form and glared up at Chrysalis with his piercing eyes after he jabbed his horn "That's my family you're messing with! You're fucking stupid to think that you're Envy's mom, let alone ours as well!" He narrowed his eyes "Dad sent you, right? Tell him to wait for us! And make sure you mention Greed in your message! He'll be delighted to get a reply!"

Chrysalis snarled and glared daggers at Greed "You're lucky he wants you alive!!"

Greed managed a smirk under his sharp teeth "Wouldn't want it any other way..."

Chrysalis then leered about the other ponies who cowered at her sight and then looked over at Canterlot in the distance. She noticed the shield beginning to crumble and she forgot her pain with a triumphant laugh "It is all coming together smoothly! Now my changelings may feast well once they arrive!!" She then turned to the element bearers and the former homunculi with a wicked smile "Enjoy your moments together while they last, my little ponies! You all will make fine meals for my changelings!!" She cackled as she unfurled her wings and flew off, though she stumbled a little in her flight because of Greed's injury.

Twilight noticed the shield crumbling and gave a low gasp as she held a look of sadness in her eyes "No...Shining Armor! Cadence! They've failed!"

Greed scoffed "This just keeps getting better and better..."

Gluttony tilted his head "Father's alive? Does he want to be a happy family with us again??" He looked up at Lust with a smile, but it left his face when the lascivious mare shook her head with closed eyes.

Envy grunted as it picked itself up and looked around to see the many faces of fear and anger surround it "What!? What are you all looking at!?" It snapped.

One of the ponies roared out "That changeling's one of them!! We need to take it out before its friends show up!!" They begin to storm after the Envy, but they were stopped by the other former homunculi.

Gluttony glared at the angry mob and stood his ground "Stay away! Envy's one of us! You can't eat Envy!"

A mare from the angry mob then shouted out "I knew they were monsters! They shouldn't be here if they attracted the changeling queen herself! Drive them out of our town!!" The crowd then resounded yells in agreement.

Twilight looked around with stress building inside of her and her friends felt the same way, except for Pinkie, who held a microphone out of nowhere with a face of determination. She shoved it in Twilight's hooves and waved one of her own to signal her to talk. The lavender bookworm was reluctant at first, but she had to remember what she was dealing with: A new crisis involving Celestia, her brother and foalsitter, and the former homunculi. She took a deep breath and found her voice as she spoke into the microphone "Everypony stop!!!" They all turned to Twilight after her command "It wasn't their fault that Chrysalis invaded Ponyville! And we've just explained that they aren't monsters!!"

Another mare in the crowd spoke up "Then how do you explain the changeling being one of their own!? They all could be changelings!!" There were more shouts in agreement.

Twilight grunted and shouted "The others are not changelings! And we shouldn't even be focused on them right now! We have bigger problems to worry about!! That's why we're heading to Canterlot so we can make things right!! And for the record, these 'monsters' have actually helped us with the changelings that showed themselves in town! We owe them our thanks and respect!!" She felt disheartened to know that most of her speech went unheard.

Rarity looked worried and turned to Twilight "Twilight, we're only sending mixed messages with your words! We need to find some other way to quell this uprising!"

Envy never thought that it would cringe against a crowd, feeling weak while being guarded by its own siblings. It grunted in anger and frustration and then turned to look over at Rainbow Dash, who held an uncertain glance while her head was hung. Envy then bared its sharp teeth and growled as it moved its way past Gluttony.

The voracious pony noticed Envy slip away and gallop off into the Everfree forest "Envy! Come back!" He called out to the changeling, but when its figure disappeared into the woods, Gluttony's ears drooped while he watched it leave with a sad frown.

Greed shifted his piercing eyes and canceled out his Ultimate Shield form as he looked ahead with a firm gaze "Now we're down a fighter because of these assholes! I'm not one for comforting Envy, and that pony sure as hell wouldn't want us going in there neither..."

Pinkie turned to Greed "But Envy's a changeling! You can't say she's a pony if she's a changeling!" She spouted cluelessly, oblivious to the thickening tension in town.

Applejack shook her head "Well, whatever he likes bein' called, it don't matter now! We gotta get ready t' head t' Canterlot!"

Fluttershy looked at the forest and couldn't help but feel pain and sympathy for Envy. She was aware of the town's anger and even understood their paranoia towards changelings, but she still favored Envy as a friend. The timid mare turned to Rainbow Dash, who remained silent the whole time "Rainbow Dash, we have to go after her! She could get hurt!!"

Rainbow Dash sighed to relieve some of her stress "Fluttershy, I don't know what to do at this point..." She spoke in a dull tone "Everypony here now knows that Envy's a changeling, and we can't be sure if Envy is with us or not...It's best to just go on without-"

Fluttershy looked stern "So you would just go back against your own promise like that?" Rainbow Dash perked up and snapped to attention as she stared at Fluttershy in surprise "You promised yourself that Envy wouldn't leave your sight when we figured out where she and her siblings would live! While she may have chose to be cruel to us, we still stood by her the whole time! And now just because she's a changeling, you're just gonna leave her to go out into the heart of the Everfree Forest!?"

Rainbow Dash paused before she spoke "Fluttershy, are you listening to yourself?" She asked in a surprised tone.

Fluttershy glared "I could ask you the same question!!" Her outburst made Rainbow Dash flinch "She helped us fight off the ones that invaded Ponyville even when she was one herself. We know Envy can be the meanest pegasus in Equestria, and we even know that she's a changeling now, but she's still our friend no matter what!! She needs us!"

Rainbow wanted to retort Fluttershy's declaration, but the timid mare spoke the truth. Even as a changeling, Rainbow Dash made it clear that she would stay at Envy's side no questions asked. It started out as a minor grudge and a mission to keep Fluttershy safe, but she came to understand Envy better as a pegasus much rather than a changeling. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then smiled at Fluttershy "Thanks for the pep talk, Fluttershy. You're right! Envy's our friend and we're gonna need that changeling if we're gonna tip the scales on this next fight!!" She stood up tall and proud "Let's go into the forest! Envy couldn't have wandered too far!"

Pinkie hopped up with a grin "Me and Gluttony will come with you!"

Fluttershy winced at Pinkie "Umm...No offense, Pinkie, but this is something that me and Rainbow Dash should do on our own..."

Pinkie looked upset before she perked up "Oooooooooh~! It's one of those moments!!" She gave a knowing smile and nodded "Okie Dokie Loki! It's all you, girls!"

Greed smirked at Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash "You two do what you gotta do, then! If all goes well, meet us at the library so we can get this show on the road!"

Rainbow Dash saluted with a confident smile "Gotcha! Don't wait up for us!" She then took to the skies "C'mon, Fluttershy! Let's move!" The two pegasi then made their leave into the forest entrance.

Lust hummed and looked back at the frenzied crowd "Now that that's out of the way, what should we do about the rest of Ponyville?"

Sloth moaned in complaint with how loud the ponyfolk were shouting. Some looked ready to throw things at him and his siblings. The indolent pony groaned as he slowly reared onto his hindlegs and then quickly brought them to the ground with a mighty thud. There was a small tremor that instantly quieted the crowd, the element bearers and former homunculi included, and they all focused their attention on Sloth as he looked at the citizens "You're all noisy...Go home...Get some sleep...Let us take care of this problem ourselves..." He spoke in his monotonous and tired tone.

Greed smiled up at Sloth and directed a stern gaze on the rest of Ponyville "You heard the big guy, people! Just head back to your homes and let us take care of this problem ourselves!!" He called out to them "We may be monsters now, but when we come back from Canterlot, we'll be FAVORED monsters!! Count on it!" He put on his sunglasses and smiled.

Twilight looked at the disoriented crowd and spoke into the microphone she still held "Please, listen to them! They mean you no harm and they want to help us out like last time! We're talking about the fate of Equestria and you choose to alienate these ponies as monsters!!" She looked at the crowd with a pleading glance.

This time, the crowd managed to listen as they murmured among themselves. Slowly and surely, they all donned faces of shame and guilt as they turned back to the group. Mayor Mare trotted up out of the group and gave a knowing nod "Twilight Sparkle, we apologize for this petty conflict...If Equestria really rests on your hooves as well as your friends, then we will not stop you! We wish you the best of luck in fighting off the threat that has befallen Canterlot! You have Ponyville's support!"

Twilight beamed at Mayor Mare and nodded back to her in gratitude. She then turned to Greed as the crowd began to disperse back to their respective homes "Come on! We have to get ready if we're dealing with something big!" Greed nodded, and he along with Twilight and the rest of the group made for Ponyville library.
_____

Envy was almost out of energy as it trudged along the only trail it knew well. The changeling could not see straight with how utterly downcast and weakened it felt 'It's no use...I can barely go on...' It tried to muster its next step and felt something squishy after it placed its hoof down. Envy looked down at what it had stepped in.

It was the remains of one of the changelings that was dumped into the forest after the battle, only it was severely mangled with some of its body parts missing and its innards torn out. There were spots of green blood all around the defiled corpse. Envy noticed there were more bodies in the same condition around other areas ahead and the changeling felt more of a sinking feeling as it collapsed onto its hooves and shuddered in newfound sadness.

"Come on, Envy. If it makes you feel any better, I kinda get caught in my own moments of crying as well. I try not to let these moments get me, but they just happen. Even I don't know why. But with you, I'm kinda surprised...Here I thought you were the worst pegasus I've ever met, totally alien to being sorry, but all this time it was just jealousy. Sheer jealousy. I guess I have a lot to learn from you after all..."

Envy bared its teeth after the random memory coursed through its mind "No..." It uttered breathlessly "No you don't..." Envy almost felt like crying again, but it bit back the tears when it had its end planned out 'I don't have the energy to go out...So I'll just wait for one of them beasts to show up and do the deed...Yeah. Then it'll all be over...' It shuddered again and clenched its eyes shut.

"Where is she?"

Envy thought it heard the distant sound of Fluttershy. If it had the energy, the changeling would grimace 'She'd still stick it out for me even when I'm screwed? This girl's either very crazy or very stupid...'

"Envy could be anywhere around here! We just have to keep looking!"

Envy gave a weakened gasp at the next voice 'No...' It thought it heard the familiar sound of a certain cyan pegasus 'No...' The changeling tried to muster energy to move away from its current spot 'No!!'

Nearby, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash hovered through the woods and scoured over the many corpses of the changelings from yesterday. Both pegasi winced and crinkled their noses at the pungent scent of decay each body gave off. Fluttershy looked around and then noticed a moving changeling "Look! Rainbow Dash, over there! Do you think that's her?"

Rainbow Dash noticed the feebly struggling changeling and halted her advance as she hovered and examined the new sight "Only one way to find out..." She then glided over to the scrambling changeling and looked down "Hey! Envy, is that you?"

Envy grunted while it struggled, but when it heard Rainbow Dash's voice up close, it tried to hiss at her to throw her off. Sadly, it only succeeded in hacking and coughing.

Rainbow Dash deadpanned "Yep. It's you alright..." She then carefully lifted up the weakened changeling and leaned it on its back up against a nearby tree, away from the bodies. Rainbow Dash looked at Envy jerk its head left and right to try and wriggle out of the cyan pegasus' hold. She narrowed her eyes "Man, you're stubborn! About to hit rock bottom and you're still fighting against me?"

Fluttershy came up next to Envy and looked saddened at the changelings' condition "Oh my...Envy! You poor thing!" She almost shedded a tear while she looked upon it.

Envy gave a weak grunt and tried to glare "Wh-What does it matter? You shouldn't even be coming after me-" It coughed again "It was stupid of both of you to follow me out here!"

Rainbow Dash sighed "Trust me, I almost thought about doing just that a moment ago..." She then turned to Fluttershy with a smile "But I remembered I had a promise to keep!" Rainbow Dash looked back at Envy with a stern glare "You aren't supposed to leave my sight no matter what! Not at least until I can trust you to be by yourself!"

Envy stared at Rainbow Dash in silence before it became another glare "You don't trust me anyways...It doesn't even matter anymore...Your town hates me...Your friends hate me-"

Fluttershy blurted out "That's not true!" Envy turned to Fluttershy and tried to manage a quizzical glance. The timid mare smiled warmly at Envy "Envy, we don't hate you at all, even if you haven't been behaving properly. You're still a good friend to us even if you're a changeling..."

Envy coughed and gave a dry chuckle "Funny...that's something I'd expect Pinkie to say..." It then sneered "Where is she anyway? I figured she'd follow you two just to annoy me..."

Fluttershy smiled "I was aware of that. So I told her to stay behind so we could tend to you ourselves...We only want the best for you and your family, Envy."

Rainbow Dash nodded "Yeah, and besides, Greed and the others need you as well! We can't have you back down on us like this when we have to fight your dad and Chrysalis!"

Envy gave a weak growl "It's bad enough to know that bitch thinks she's my mom...but to know that Father's here, too...we might not win this..."

Rainbow Dash tilted her head "What makes you say that? Is your dad THAT strong?"

Envy gave a nod "And knowing how strong your princess is, no doubt he'll be coming after her...You're wasting time on me since I'm too weak to fight or even walk back to town."

Fluttershy looked sad "We know that Ponyville's afraid of you, but we can convince them that you're not the kind of changeling they think you are! We just need you to come back with us!"

Envy grunted "You don't get it, do you? I'm a changeling, not a pony!" It then looked down "I'm not a homunculus either..." It muttered in defeat.

Rainbow Dash scoffed "Of course not!" Envy looked at the cyan pegasus "You're more than just a changeling, a pony, a homunculus, or whatever you are! You're our friend! And we need you..." She smiled "I need you..."

Envy choked at Rainbow Dash's words "N-No...No, you don't need me...Even if you understand me inside and out..."

Rainbow Dash shook her head "I may not know you inside and out, but I know what you are and what you prefer!" She smiled "You're a creature that feeds off of love from other ponies and you prefer mares! Knowing that anypony won't go for you other than us, we can give you all the strength you'll need!"

Envy hacked and gave a curious look at Rainbow Dash "And how much of it could you give me if I even felt like doing this?"

Rainbow Dash paused for a moment and stared back at Envy before she moved in and met her muzzle with Envy's. Fluttershy gasped at the sudden gesture and cover her mouth with her hooves.

Envy's eyes widened and a new feeling coursed through its body along with the whirling strength that was being collected from what Rainbow Dash had offered. Slowly, the changeling transformed into its original pegasus form with the same wide-eyed expression and tears in its eyes while it was being kissed.

After what felt like an eternity to Envy, Rainbow Dash broke the kiss and gave a smirk at the jealous pony "That enough for ya?" Envy only stared back in silence and disbelief while tears streamed down its face.