//------------------------------//
// Chapter 44 
// Story: From The Gates 
// by Dirty Bit 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 44


Adversity


The group watched the shards on the ground and their hearts sank as Father lifted them up with a smug smile.

Pinkie inspected the elements before she smiled herself "HA! Joke's on you, papa! You can smash all those elements into itty bitty pieces, but they'll keep coming back so long as we channel our-"

"Friendship? I'm well-aware..."

Everypony present looked shocked at Father's interruption as his smile widened "What? You didn't think I would just shatter the elements and not expect you to bring them back with your spirit? Thanks to Celestia's memory, I know your precious elements inside and out...I'm actually enthralled by their unimaginable power."

Twilight glared at Father "How were you able to get Celestia's memories!?"

Father gave a light scoff "It does not matter...What matters now is disposing of the elements' remains."

Pinkie flailed her hooves "But didn't you hear me last time? You can smash them into-"

Father finished with a bored tone with an expression to match "-Itty bitty pieces? That was only the first step..." He then gave a devious grin as he swirled them around himself "The next is keeping them out of your reach." He jerked his head to the left and the shards flew out the window at bullet speed.

Greed watched and galloped for the window "No!" He was then lifted up by a red aura and dragged over to Father. He gritted his teeth while he glared "You bastard..."

Father smiled "Don't despair, Greed...I've only gotten rid of the obstacle in front of me. As for you and your siblings, I'm willing to give you a second chance..."

Greed narrowed his eyes "You know damn well what my answer is, don't you?"

Father shook his head with a smile "You only run at the mouth...You forget what I can grant you if you would just cease this pitiful 'delayed rebellious state' and listen to reason..."

Twilight watched with worry "No! Greed!" She galloped over, but then she was stopped by Chrysalis, who smiled sadistically while she stood in front of her with a glowing horn.

Greed scoffed "Just what the hell are you getting at, old man? Do you honestly think I'll believe you when you say you'll actually give me what I want?"

Father's smile widened "You don't have to take my word for it...I know you full well, Greed. You were born from my own avarice, and you've proven to be a capable child despite your upbringing. You wanted immortality all your life, haven't you?" Greed flinched at his words "Yes, aside from the world you live in, you've also craved to live forever so you can bask in your possessions. I'm willing to forgive you and cast aside my doubts on you if you're willing to come back to me...You don't need these ponies, Greed. And they don't need you..."

Greed pondered about what Father had said up to his last sentence. He looked back at Twilight, who looked over Chrysalis with sadness in her eyes. The avaricious pony flashed Twilight his signature cocky smirk 'Fucking liar...No way she doesn't need me...' He then turned back to face Father, only to inhale through his nose and spit in his eye, eliciting a grunt of displeasure from the pale alicorn as he turned his head away"Bite me, pops!! I may have wanted immortality and the world..." He narrowed his eyes with a smile "But I wanted friends, too...and plenty of them! These ponies behind me belong to me! They're my possessions AND my friends! And I'll be damned if you think I'm giving them up for your sake!!" Twilight and the others heard Greed's every word and smiled at him despite his position.

Father slowly turned back to Greed and give him the most hate-filled glare Greed had ever seen with his open eye. He spoke in a low and dangerous tone "Why you insolent little BRAT!!!" He jerked his head to the left and threw Greed out with his magic. Instead of going out the window, he was slammed harshly through a wall as he soared out of the tower. The group watched in surprise and shock.

Twilight gasped and watched Greed fly out "Greed!!!" Tears welled up in her eyes while she stared at the hole the avaricious pony had made.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes "Oh, boo-hoo~...He had it coming for a while, didn't he?" She spoke nonchalantly before she giggled at Twilight's misfortune.

Gluttony looked sad "The elements are gone..." His ears drooped as he looked down "And now Greed's gone, too..." He whimpered.

Rarity looked almost devastated "What do we do now!?"

Lust sighed "The only thing we can do..." Her horn glowed as it then extended into her Ultimate Spear. She looked ahead with conviction "We fight. There is no other alternative we have left if we wish to save Equestria..."

Sloth groaned "Fighting is a pain..." He then took a step forward "But Father's a bigger pain..."

Father looked down at the group with contempt "You, too, would engage in a futile struggle? I gladly welcome you to try...You'll only end up just like those wretched humans..."

Twilight clenched her eyes shut while her tears dripped from her face. Soon, her horn began to glow.

Greed gave a low whistle at what he had beheld "Not bad! You actually got it all down to the letter! I'd say this all-nighter was a good idea after all!"

"I have you to thank. This wouldn't have been possible without your help!"

Greed rolled his eyes and waved "Yeah, yeah! You gave me a place to stay and food to eat so I suppose I SHOULD owe you. Not to mention, I don't wanna get on Celestia's bad side being myself!" He chuckled to himself.

"What do you see in Celestia?"

Greed smirked "Enough power to do whatever I damn well please, that's for sure!"

"Language!"

Greed groaned "Would you relax? We're all adults in this house! I'd say your buddy Spike's well on his way to becoming a man himself!"

"Hehehe, I suppose you're right...Now about this spell..."

Greed snapped to attention "Oh, right! Well, if you got all the info down while you casted it, I'm sure you've got nothing to worry about! You're a living shield now like me!" He smirked again "Congrats, Twi! Now all we gotta do is wait til you have to use it again!"

Twilight sniffled while her horn glew brighter '...til you have to use it again...' She bared her teeth as she hissed in anger "You're a monster..." Father looked down at Twilight and hummed in question. Twilight raised her voice along with her horn's brightness "You're an unconscionable monster! To do that to your own child, along with the rest of Canterlot!! What kind of pony are you!?"

Father looked bored "An alicorn, last I checked...why do you ask?"

Twilight growled while she stood her ground and almost overwhelmed Chrysalis "I fail to see how you could even call yourself a Father after giving birth to children and treating them like dirt!! And for your own personal gain, no less!! It sickens me to think that there are ponies like you that exist in Equestria!!" Her body was gradually consumed in her own flash "With the help of my friends, I'm going to put an end to your sick goal!!" The flash subsided, and a new pony stood in place of Twilight.

Her body was a brilliant violet and her mane and tail were not seen on her at all. There was no mouth seen on her muzzle, and her eyes were blackened with glowing lavender pupils. Her horn was sharp, and her cutie mark glistened along with the rest of her body.

The element bearers dropped their jaws at the sight while the former homunculi (save for Sloth) watched in awe.

Rarity stammered "T-T-T-T-...Twilight!? Is that really you!?"

Gluttony blurted out "Hey! She's just like Greed! Look at her!"

Envy and Rainbow Dash stared in disbelief and spoke simultaneously "No way..."

Lust was just as stupified "Incredible...She mastered Greed's Ultimate Shield form..." She uttered to herself.

The new Twilight's eyes narrowed to a fierce glare at Father as she spoke in an altered metallic voice despite not having a mouth "Okay, Father! We're ready for you!!"

Father was almost stunned, and he nodded "Impressive...It would seem that Greed is beginning to rub off on you...Let us see if your magic is as good as Celestia claims, Twilight Sparkle!!" His horn crackled with static as he fired a beam.

Twilight shoved Chrysalis aside and made a dash for Father. She dodged to her left away from Father's beam as she galloped further.

Rainbow Dash saw this and yelled "Come on! We gotta help her!!" She dashed forward, only to be held in a telekinetic grasp courtesy of Chrysalis.

The changeling queen smiled viciously "You think I would let you just forget about me, you simpletons!? Come! Come and fight me-AUGH!!!" She was swept away by a chain that came from the right and knocked her into a wall.

Rainbow Dash moved freely again and looked to see Sloth reel his right foreleg back along with his chain. She smiled gratefully "Thanks for the assist, Sloth!"

Sloth groaned "Obstacles are a pain..." He looked ahead "Help Twilight..."

Rainbow Dash looked ahead and nodded "Right! Got it!!" She dashed ahead to Twilight's aid.

The new Ultimate Shield dodged more beams sent by Father before she directed her horn at him in a charge. He fired a last beam at her, and it ricocheted off her forehead. She collided with a shield while Father glared down at her. He then lifted her up with his magic and canceled his shield "As I thought...His dense mind is beginning to corrupt your intellect...What were you thinking?"

If Twilight had a mouth, she would smile "This!" On cue, a multicolored blur breezed over Twilight and collided with Father's head before it flew up and back. Twilight dropped from the pale alicorn's hold and focused her horn to charge and fire a beam at his chest, singing his coat and his flesh as he gave a pained grunt. 

His wound mended while covered in red static as he sneered at Twilight "Clever girl..." He conjured his horn and threw Twilight back towards the others with his telekinesis. After that, he focused up at the blur that flew around before he conjured his horn and stopped Rainbow Dash in her tracks as well. Father then slammed her to the floor and tossed her back to the group.

Envy jumped up and caught Rainbow Dash before she could collide with the floor again "You okay!?" It spoke in an obnoxious tone, yet it showed genuine care.

Rainbow Dash recovered and rubbed her head "I'll be fine! Your dad's something else if he can actually catch me!"

Envy gave an eager smile "Nothing a little bum rush couldn't fix! Let's go!!"

Rainbow Dash smiled back at Envy and the two shared a hoof bump before they flew back into battle. The rest of the group followed suit with vigor.

Chrysalis picked herself up from the wall and growled "Not so fast!! I'm still he-AUGH!" She was then flung to the wall again by Sloth, only with his left foreleg.

The indolent pony groaned "Stay down..." He then began wailing on Chrysalis with his forelegs. It was a surprise to him, but Sloth was reminded of how he did the same to Alex Louis Armstrong in his previous life.

Chrysalis never thought she would be given this much pain from just one pony. It was an outrage to her. She mustered her strength during Sloth's onslaught and managed to halt his advance with a telekinetic hold "I refuse to be defeated by a mere earth pony!! Begone with you!!" She then threw him away as he flew near the others.

Applejack noticed and widened her eyes "Look out, y'all!!" They scrambled and barely managed to avoid succumbing to Sloth's massive build as it collided with one of the walls.

Chrysalis growled as she charged a beam and shot it at Sloth while he was down. The blast knocked him further into the wall and buried him under the crumbling rubble.

Twilight saw this and narrowed her eyes. She then turned to her friends "Applejack! Gluttony! Go help Sloth!" The two earth ponies complied and galloped towards the indolent pony.

Envy saw this and glared at Chrysalis before it turned to Twilight "I'm going, too! Sloth's my brother, and I need to teach this whore a lesson myself!!"

Rainbow Dash nodded "I'm helping, too! Envy can't do this without me!"

Envy perked up and glared at Rainbow Dash, but it left when she gave a sly smirk. At that, the jealous pony grinned back "Yeah...Alright, we're doing this together!" It turned to Twilight "These guys are a threat if paired up! We're gonna be trimming the fat before we can actually fight! Just give him a good one for me, okay?" The two pegasi then flew towards Chrysalis without hesitation.

Twilight had no time to argue and felt that Envy's judgement was clear enough. They needed to fight in groups and manage themselves if they can fight off both Chrysalis and Father. She then joined the others that were charging for the pale alicorn while he simply waited for them to approach.

Father saw that Lust extended her horn and narrowed his eyes as another shield appeared and clashed with the lascivious mare's Ultimate Spear. He then noticed that Twilight joined alongside her and charged into the shield in hopes of dimming it down. Rarity joined them as she focused her horn and shot a basic magic beam at Father's shield. Fluttershy kept her distance with fear building in her heart, and Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be found.

The pale alicorn shifted his eyes between the mares while they tried to match his shield's force "How admirable...You understand the gravity of the situation, and yet you all choose to fight down to your last breath. This only reminds me how much of a waste your lives truly are!" His shield gave off a wave that pushed back all three unicorns and had them all sprawled on the floor.

Fluttershy saw this with a small gasp and glared at Father "How dare you..." Father looked ahead at the timid mare as she flew up and repeated at a higher volume devoid of her former paranoia "How dare you!?" She trotted up to Father with courage and anger "Now listen here, mister! Just because you're a big and powerful alicorn doesn't mean that you should cause all of this destruction!! Who do you think you are!?"

Father lifted Fluttershy up with his telekinesis, and surprisingly, she did not waver while she kept her glare on the pale alicorn. He gave a light sneer "I am close to becoming a being of the highest power, and here you are scolding me like a mere child...Am I to be afraid of you?" He raised an eyebrow at the timid mare.

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes for a brief moment before she opened them wide and graced Father with 'The Stare'. The pale alicorn was caught off-guard and fell victim to it, dropping Fluttershy out of his grasp while he stared back with wide eyes. The timid mare landed on her hooves and kept her stare on Father so he could remain in place, extremely vulnerable to attack.

Twilight saw this and gasped in realization as she turned to Rarity and Lust "He's open! Get up and let him have it!!" The three mares hopped onto their hooves and galloped back into the fray.


End of Chapter 44