//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: Giving Chaos 
// by Dirty Bit 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 6


Our Blood Boils


The group got off of what was once a life-threatening ride and made their way into Ponyville. Twilight winced at the unpleasant scenery; everything was just the way Discord had made Ponyville when he was released before. In place of fine Equestrian soil, the ground was entirely shrouded in a checkered pattern with clashing colors; the skies were pink with cotton candy clouds; Buildings inside of town were either floating in the air at different angles or seen as wooden stands ready to fall at any time.

Greed scoffed "Well, we might as well look around for the elements if we're gonna stop this madness." He looked over at Twilight "Where do we begin from here, Twi?"

Twilight rubbed her chin with a hoof "That's a question even I can't answer, Greed. If we're going so far as to treating this like a game, we're going to need another clue at this point. Otherwise we'll have to possibly spread and search through Ponyville!"

Rarity frowned "Well, we certainly cannot stand around and draw constant blanks while we're already stepping on eggshells! Why don't we just converge in town square and see what we can find?"

Blueblood whimpered "I already feel mortified to be prancing about in a more-than-deformed area of Equestria!"

Rainbow Dash looked over at Blueblood "Remind me again why you chose to come with us to begin with?" She hissed when she felt pain in her injured wing, and caressed it with a hoof "That crummy Discord..." Rainbow Dash muttered in contempt.

Greed trotted ahead "We better get moving, everypony! Don't wanna keep the bastard waiting! We'll go with Rarity's idea and start at town square!" The rest of the group followed after the avaricious pony as they carefully trotted into the chaos-infested town.

Twilight caught up to Greed and trotted next to him, examining his look of determination as they went "You really care about them, don't you?"

Greed scoffed "They can be a bunch of pricks, but yeah, of course I do! Besides, I still gotta take down Discord after I somehow set him free!"

Twilight smiled at Greed "I'm glad your mind is in the right place, Greed..." She then frowned "But you have to remember that this is our problem, too. You shouldn't carry this burden on your own!"

Greed smirked "Have you seen how much I've carried, Twi?"

Twilight snorted and shook her head "You still act macho when we have work to do?" She asked with an amused smile.

Spike appeared in between the two unicorns "Are you two done flirting yet?" He asked with an irritated expression.

Twilight realized what Spike was saying and looked away in embarrassment, whereas Greed chuckled in response to Spike's question.

Rainbow Dash watched the two unicorns ahead of her and looked down despondently while she trotted. Pinkie noticed this and approached her friend "What's the matter, Dashie? Normally, you'd be full of pep around this time!"

The cyan pegasus sighed "I look at Twilight and Greed talking and..." She frowned "I already miss Envy..." She muttered sadly.

Pinkie tilted her head "That I can understand, but aren't the two of you not as lovey dovey as Greed and Twilight?"

Rainbow Dash grunted "That's not the point, Pinkie! It's just...I already feel bad for ignoring Envy back at the Gala. I can't help but feel like this is also my fault!"

Pinkie gave Rainbow Dash a comforting smile "Nopony knew this was going to happen! And we're in this to save Equestria, the princesses, AND Greed's family! I don't think Envy would wanna see you act all Mopey McSadpants right now when she knows you're gonna save her!"

Rainbow Dash thought about what Pinkie had said and felt reinvigorated as she looked ahead "You're right! We've only just started this thing after all! Let's keep this up!"

Pinkie grinned at her friends renewed spirit "That's the Dashie I know and love! We got this!"

The group had finally reached town square after avoiding each obscure sight they've stumbled across in their trek. They stopped to looked around and noticed how the statue at town square was now replaced with a statue of Discord wearing a sombrero and a devious grin. Applejack shuddered and continued scouting the area around her "That jus' ain't right..."

Fluttershy kept a keen, if not reluctant eye on her own surroundings, but then stopped when she noticed a familiar sight trotting up to them from the now-dipalidated City Hall "Everypony! Over there!" She gathered her friends' attention and pointed a hoof.

They saw what appeared to be Wrath calmly trotting up to them with a stoic expression on his face; no smile was seen from behind his bushed moustache. His eyes flickered for a short moment until he stopped at a small distance between him and the group.

Shining Armor looked at Wrath cautiously "Bradley? What are you doing here? Did you and the other homunculi manage to escape?"

Greed eyed Wrath as well before he grew tense "Hold it, Shining! Something's different about Wrath!"

Twilight looked at Greed "What do you mean?"

Greed narrowed his eyes as a scowl formed on his face "Trust me...You don't know this pony like I do. In fact, he's usually like this when he's ready to fight!"

"Very observant of you, Greed! You really do care about your family to study their facial features!"

Greed threw his head to the sky with a glare "What the hell's your game here, Discord!?"

"Well, you've managed to make it this far from your starting point, so I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you. Right now, you're all looking at Wrath the furious: Version 2.0!"

Twilight eyed Wrath and noticed his face was slowly contorting into one of rage "What did you do to him?" She asked with faint anxiety.

"Oh, nothing really...All I did was add a few alterations to both his body and mind! I've basically drawn out the key aspect to his talent in battle in the form of his towering anger!"

The entire group focused on Wrath as he bared his teeth and flared his wings open while glaring daggers at each pony in front of him.

"That's right! I've saturated the anger in his mind tenfold; He's now angry at anything and everything! And since you're the only one's around, he's angry with you! Have fun~!"

Wrath roared as he broke into a speeding gallop towards the group. Greed tensed himself up easily "Scatter!!" The others complied to his order and barely managed to avoid Wrath's charge. Greed grunted to himself "Looks like I'm gonna take care of this one!" He darted his head over at Twilight, who was recovering with some of her friends "Keep an eye on everypony, Twi! This fight's mine!" He activated his Ultimate Shield form with his horn and looked back at Wrath "C'mon, Wrath! Show me what you got!"

The furious pony leered over at Greed and prepared for another charge. Greed held an invisible smirk behind his teeth and decided to take the initiative and issue the charge before his younger brother. The two clashed and tried to force each other back when their foreheads met. Greed grunted while he struggled with Wrath and nearly felt overwhelmed with his opponent's strength 'What is this!? Wrath can't even phase me in this form! How is he this strong?'

Greed tried to push him back, but Wrath took a few steps forward, causing Greed to skid backwards while holding his own "Dammit!" He grunted while trying to remain at a stalwart position "What do you know, Wrath? You're actually handling me decently when I'm not even going all out yet!" He quipped despite his position.

Wrath growled "I've defeated you once, and I was not even using my full strength...This will be no DIFFERENT!" He raised his tone at the last word as he shoved Greed away with his head and tossed him a few feet away.

Greed landed on his hooves as he stared down Wrath "You're gonna eat those words!!" He said as he galloped towards him and readied his horn. Wrath was ready to counter Greed's attack, but he shifted his eyes to his right and took to the air, barely avoiding a purple magic beam; it shot across from the left in front of Greed, filling him with confusion.

The two former homunculi looked over to see Shining Armor's horn glowing "I'm not gonna sit on the sidelines the whole time, you know!"

Greed was impressed, but at the same time annoyed with Shining Armor intervening in the fight "Are you crazy!? You could barely handle him before! What makes you think you can handle Wrath now!?"

Shining Armor smiled "You forget that I've been fighting with Bradley ever since he became a captain of the Royal Guard! I know a few things about how to approach him!"

Greed stared at Shining Armor before he nodded "Alright, but this fight's not gonna be pretty!" He leered up at Wrath "Hope you don't mind the tide of battle changing!!" He shouted up to the furious pony defiantly.

Wrath merely scoffed in a taunt "Like it would even make a difference for you both..." He swooped down towards Shining Armor, deciding to take him down before going back to engage Greed.

Shining Armor was able to dodge out of the way and prepare a magic beam, but it was easily evaded by Wrath while he flew back into the sky. Shining Armor watched the furious pony hover in the sky and glare down at him, then shifted his eyes to Greed "Hey, Greed. I got a plan...I'll let you know when to attack."

Greed had his hooves planted in the ground "Got it. Try not to get yourself killed out there." He watched Wrath carefully while waiting for the signal.

Shining Armor remained perfectly still to await his opponent's next move. When Wrath swooped down towards him, Shining Armor quickly activated his horn and held the furious pony firmly in place with a magical aura. He gritted his teeth and shifted his eyes at Greed "Now!!"

Greed gave a curt nod and galloped up to Wrath, aiming his horn and jabbing it in one of his wings. Wrath only grunted in pain while he was being held, and did so again when Greed dislodged his horn and repeated the same process with Wrath's other wing. He drew himself back and laughed "There we go! Now we can-HUH!?" Greed's eyes widened when he stared at Wrath's wings.

Wrath leered at the two unicorns while both wounds on his wings healed at a breakneck pace as red static danced over them. Greed knew exactly what was going on "Regeneration!? But that's impossible! Back in Amestris, Wrath couldn't even regenerate! What gives!?"

"Clearly you didn't listen to me when I said that I've added a few alterations to Wrath's body and mind. I've turned him into a full-blooded homunculus!"

Greed growled at the sky "You bastard! That's cheating!!"

"Oh, boo-hoo~! It's not like you to whine so often, Greed...Besides, you have enough numbers on your end, don't you? Try and make the best of things!"

The avaricious pony stomped a hoof "Dammit! This is gonna be a close battle unless we do something!"

Wrath growled while he was being held by Shining Armor and began thrashing around. It appeared as a futile attempt to most ponies, but he was somehow giving Shining Armor more pain with how he struggled to keep Wrath in place. He gritted his teeth and strained himself with maintaining his magical hold to the point where he began to bleed from the nose "I-I can't keep this up! He's too strong!" It was not long before he was exhausted of his mental strength and Wrath broke free to bombard Shining Armor and knock him away, sending him rolling across the ground towards the others as he laid unconscious. Everypony around him held faces of shock.

Twilight gasped "Shining!!" She was saddened to see her brother tossed aside so easily, and it gave way to anger as she stepped into the fray without another word. She galloped up next to Greed and activated her own Ultimate Shield.

Greed noticed and felt just as annoyed "You're gonna follow in your brother's hoofsteps!? Don't do anything stupid, Twilight!"

Twilight leered her glowing violet eyes at Greed "It's not like your decision to fight him alone is a smart choice in itself! Besides, this isn't going to be easy if Wrath could break out of a telekinetic hold!" She said as she focused on Wrath's hovering form. Twilight and Greed waited carefully for the furious pony's next move.

From the sidelines, Spike was nervous seeing both Greed and Twilight on the battlefield "Oh, I hope those two will be fine. Wrath's too strong if he can handle Shining Armor and Greed so easily!"

Rainbow Dash watched the two Ultimate Shields with her friends, then back at her injured wing "Darn it! If only I didn't get hit by that stupid pie, I would've helped, too..."

Prince Blueblood looked over at Rainbow Dash and examined her wing "I could try and make your wing prim and proper again. I just so happened to have done the same with Greed while he was on his last legs!"

Rarity blinked "So YOU were the one responsible for helping Greed?" This was unexpected from a stallion that she loathed entirely in her life.

Blueblood nodded "Of course! And if I can do it with him, I can perform the same treatment for this one!" His horn began to glow and he focused it on Rainbow Dash "Hold still, please!"

Rainbow Dash was skeptical of the ignorant prince's arcane repertoire, but she was willing to resort to any method of getting her wing back and helping her friends. She did as she was told and froze in place for Blueblood to work his magic. Rainbow Dash felt a tingling sensation on her wing, followed by a couple of brief, but painful snaps, and a feeling of warmth that gave her comfort. She examined her wing and gave it a flap to feel it was lightly sore "Wow! You really know your magic!" She spoke in an impressed tone.

Blueblood, flattered by Rainbow Dash's praise, simply looked away with a smug smile "Well, it's not like I've acquired some knowledge in my time..." He said in a failed attempt to sound modest.

Applejack was impressed as well "That'll come in handy fer any more tussles in th' future!"

Rarity looked at Rainbow Dash "Are you sure about wanting to step into this fight yourself after just recovering from your small injury, Rainbow? You'll probably end up getting hurt again!"

Rainbow Dash held a determined glance at Rarity "Of course I am! What kind of pony would I be if I didn't help my friends!" She turned to the fight and flared her wings before flying towards the others.

Fluttershy frowned in fear after she brought over Shining Armor's limp body "Oh no...What if Rainbow Dash does end up hurt again?"

Pinkie smiled despite her friend speeding into battle "Then we'll just have to go in after her! We're all in this together!"

Blueblood stared at Pinkie as if he saw a ghost "Are you mad!? You've seen what he's done to Shining Armor! We'll only be moths to a flame if we choose to follow your friend!"

Rarity was flustered on how to approach the situation "Well we cannot just leave it entirely to Greed, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash! Shouldn't we try something?" She looked around at her friends, then noticed how Pinkie was grinning at her. It took a while for Rarity to register the meaning behind her manic friend's smile before she began to back away "No...No, not that. Anything but that!"

Spike and Blueblood shifted their glances between Pinkie and Rarity before looking at each other with bemused eyes. Fluttershy and Applejack were the only ones that knew what Pinkie had in mind involving Rarity, and she hoped it would work.
_____

Wrath felt that his opponents were not going to react until he was going to move first. He went to strike, only to see Rainbow Dash speeding towards him without hesitation. Wrath dodged her and continued to dodge every attempted attack sent his way. He was lucky to dodge, but he was practicaly pinned down with how he was unable to counter Rainbow Dash's onslaught.

Greed - for his part - was thrown off by Rainbow Dash's interruption, but watched how annoyed Wrath was "Hey! He can't do a thing! Maybe we can get a well-aimed hit on him if we're careful enough!"

Twilight watched as well, but squinted her eyes "We can't..."

Greed darted his head to Twilight "Why not? He's only limited to dodging at every turn! There's no hope for him attacking us since Rainbow Dash is all over him!"

Twilight looked back at Greed with a glare "Exactly! Rainbow Dash is moving all around Wrath at an intense speed! We could be as careful as possible with our shots, but with Rainbow's speed, we might end up harming her instead!"

Greed stared at Twilight before looking back up at Rainbow Dash and Wrath "Dammit...What can we do then? She can't keep this up forever!"

Meanwhile in the air, Rainbow Dash continued to try and land a hit on Wrath with more failed results 'Darn it! It's like he's not even trying to predict my every move! I'll get him somehow, though! My friends are counting on me!'

Wrath continued to dodge effortlessly, though grew more infuriated with the fact that he was unable to attack without her coming in for another rush shortly after her earlier attempts. He bared his teeth as he seethed with rage until he finally gained the courage to strike at Rainbow Dash with a hoof. Wrath succeeded, nicking her newly-healed wing and managed to throw the cyan pegasus off-course. While Rainbow Dash was stunned, Wrath flew towards her for another few strikes before bucking her in the chest with his hindlegs, knocking her downwards.

Rainbow Dash felt the air escape her body as she dropped at a fierce velocity, then heaved a pained groan when she collided with the checkered floor 'Wow...Now I know how Shining Armor got his flank handed to him...' Her vision was blurry, but it cleared up to show Wrath bursting down towards her with fire in his eyes. She yelped when she realized she couldn't recover in time, but she was surprised when he ceased his beeline to have a silver blur soar in front of him.

Greed hopped over Rainbow Dash in an attempt to rush at Wrath, but sneered when he knew his effort was in vain "Dammit, Wrath, wake up!" He snapped as he prepared a magic beam and zapped at Wrath. Another dodge was met, eliciting more displeasure from the avaricious pony.

Twilight galloped up to Rainbow Dash and helped her up "Are you hurt at all?"

Rainbow Dash shook herself and gave a wry smirk "Just a little...He's pretty tough for an old guy."

Twilight looked up at Wrath and narrowed her eyes "Strength or not, he's under Discord's power! We need to find a way to weaken him and get him back to normal!"

A clearing of the throat was heard, and Twilight and Rainbow Dash saw Pinkie with a foreleg slung over a reluctant Rarity. Before Twilight could ask, Pinkie brought her close and began whispering in her ear. Twilight's eyes went from curious, to surprised, to amazed before finally speaking "Pinkie Pie, that's brilliant!"

Pinkie shrugged with a smile "It just came to me with Rarity's help!"

Rarity frowned "Now I wish I hadn't thought of it..." She sighed "Then again, if it's anything to bring Wrath to his senses..."

"Hey! What are you girls talking about over there!"

The group of mares looked over at an annoyed Greed "In case you haven't noticed, we're in a fight right now!"

Twilight held an invisible smile as she called out to the avaricious pony "Don't worry, Greed! We've got an idea that's sure to work!"

Wrath caught wind of Twilight's words and leered down at the group of mares before choosing to dive bomb towards them.

Greed noticed and grunted "No you don't!" He galloped towards Wrath and finally managed to land a hit by side checking Wrath before he could touch Twilight "Get back!"

Wrath growled as he recovered in midair and glared at Greed's confident eyes "So you think you've acquired a better chance at winning because you've succeeded in harming me again?"

Greed gave a dry chuckle "That's sort of the point! There's plenty more where that came from!"

Wrath narrowed his eyes to slits "Always the cocky one, aren't you, Greed?" He uttered in a dark tone as he went to strike.

Twilight turned to Greed "Try to keep him busy, Greed! We have a plan!"

Greed nodded "Gotcha! Take all the time you need!" He called out while staring down his younger sibling. The two then clashed with one another, butting their heads without any shred of fatigue.

Twilight watched carefully while the two homunculi clashed and gradually narrowed her eyes "Wait for it..."

Pinkie licked her lips in anticipation for what Twilight had in store, while Rarity and Rainbow Dash tried to maintain calm faces despite the rising tension. While Greed managed to hold his own for a while, he was once again overwhelmed by Wrath's newly-acquired strength and was knocked back after the latest clash. He went to advance for a second strike, but was then held in place by another magic aura "What!?" He looked behind Greed to see Twilight's horn glowing.

Twilight made sure to keep her hold firm before she yelled "Greed! I need your help with this!"

Greed recovered and noticed before complying to Twilight's request and implementing a telekinetic hold of his own, adding more burden to Wrath's captive state.

Pinkie sported a toothy grin, knowing this was her cue. She snagged Rarity and held her in place as her eyes shined with a mischievous glint "Hasta la vista, Wrathy!" She cranked Rarity's tail and her horn began shooting several magic beams in rapid succession.

All of them were aimed directly at Wrath, and each one furiously pelted his chest without end as he roared in a mixture of anger and pain. While he could easily regenerate from each attack, it began to grow more unbearable by the minute. The furious pony already felt his power and focus deteriorating under the weight of Pinkie's barrage.

After Pinkie had exhausted Rarity of her magic supply, Wrath's body trailed with copious amounts of smoke as his body sagged under Twilight and Greed's hold. They noticed that he was knocked out after dealing with so much pain, and they decided to set him down.

Shining Armor managed to regain his senses and noticed that the battle appeared to be over "Huh? Did they do it?" After Applejack and Spike helped him up, Shining Armor gathered with the others to examine Wrath's unconscious form carefully.

They noticed his closed eyes trembled, and everypony grew tense into thinking it wasn't over.

Everypony but Twilight and Pinkie...


End of Chapter 6