//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15 
// Story: Giving Chaos 
// by Dirty Bit 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 15


Bearing the Cross


Greed, Twilight, and Spike had finally managed to reach a door with the number 13 and braced themselves for whatever was looming within. Spike gulped nervously as he sat on Twilight's back "Do you think they'll be okay in there?"

Twilight took a deep breath before she stared at the door with unease "No point in thinking about it when we have a job to do." She said calmly.

Greed grinned his sharp teeth "That's the spirit, Twi. Time to crash this little party." He said as he turned around and bucked the door open. The trio looked inside at the ensuing battle and Greed scowled when he noticed two particular stallions with Rarity and Blueblood "Freaking figures! Wrath and your brother beat us to the punch!" He complained as he watched the furious pony battling Lust while the other unicorns stood on the sidelines.

Shining Armor heard Greed's voice and noticed the group, smiling at the sight of his sister "You're all safe! Thank Celestia..."

Rarity noticed the others as well "Twilight? Spike and Greed, too?" Her eyes filled with hope "We just might make it out of Manehattan soon enough."

Blueblood grunted as he felt sore "But where are the other elements? Could they be on their way?"

Lust and Wrath ceased their battle upon the trio's entrance, and the former sneered "This is becoming a nuisance...You mean to tell me that every single one of you have managed to complete your trials?"

Greed flashed a cocky grin towards the lascivious mare "You are supposed to be the smart one, Lust. Don't you think it's time to face the music?"

Lust narrowed her eyes at Greed "You deluded fool. Are you so shortsighted that you'd think I would back down?" She noticed Wrath going to attack before she clashed with the furious pony "And you just cannot wait for another opportunity to strike, can't you?"

Wrath's hardened gaze wasn't lost to Lust as he added more force to his push "We're in the middle of a fight, and Greed's intrusion was a minor distraction..."

Lust gave off a smoky laugh "And you think your's is any better?"

Greed looked over at Wrath and noticed how he was continuing his struggle with Lust. He activated his horn and went into his Ultimate Shield form as his piercing red eyes stared down the lascivious mare.

Twilight looked over at Greed "You're not actually going to intervene like this, are you?"

Greed shifted his eyes at Twilight "Lust got a boost of strength courtesy of Discord, and Wrath's been fighting her for God knows how long. Besides, we're all in this shitty game, so of course I'm gonna jump into the fray." He said matter-of-factly before he bolted towards Wrath and Lust with his horn pointed.

Lust was about to score a hit on Wrath until she noticed the avaricious pony lunging towards her, causing her to back away from her two brothers and bracing herself for more combat. She growled before she readied her Ultimate Spear and confronted the two at the same time.

Spike grimaced as he watched Greed join the fight "What do you see in him, Twilight?" He asked in befuddlement.

Twilight stared at the three former homunculi fighting before she smiled "I see somepony who's willing to make a change for the better along with his siblings." She looked down with a frown "The homunculi might've had their own horrific stories, but we can't let that bother us while we're dealing with Discord; He's the reason they're acting like monsters right now."

Spike stared at the fight and sighed "I guess you're right. Greed's got a lot on his plate since he and Envy set Discord free again, but I'm sure he can pull through in a jam." He said hopefully with a smile to match. The purple dragon noticed Blueblood laying on the floor and flinched "Wh-What happened to him?"

Twilight spotted the wounded prince as well "Blueblood?" She then looked over at Lust with dread in her eyes "It must've been Lust who did this. Discord's going too far to just let the homunculi harm innocent ponies." She said angrily.

Greed and Wrath were gaining an advantage on Lust as she was pushed back. The former quickly shot forward after spotting an opening on the lascivious mare's neck and impaled her with his horn. Meanwhile, Wrath quickly turned around and bucked Lust out of her wound as she coughed during her regeneration. Greed sneered "That doesn't surprise me, but it really pisses me off."

Wrath looked back and smirked "Don't worry, Greed. Discord had a small flaw in his little plan..." Greed looked over at Wrath as his smile remained unchanged "You may not have noticed, but I still have my own regeneration despite being free from Discord's control. We just need to bring Lust to her senses and the odds shall be in our favor."

Greed perked up before he flashed a nonexistent grin "Then let's wrap this up." He looked over at Twilight "You better get that horn ready, Twi! I promise you this'll be quick!" The avaricious pony called out to her. Him and Wrath shared a nod before they took a stance and sped towards Lust for another onslaught; Greed went first as he scored a few hits while taking some of Lust's swipes, then fell back when Wrath moved in to land some hits of his own, most of them being cuts that used up more of Lust's power. The process repeated itself twice until she knocked away Wrath, only to notice Greed ready himself to buck Lust square in the face.

The wall behind her was instantly adorned with winding cracks after the intense hit, and much to Greed's pleasure, it had managed to knock out Lust as she slumped onto the ground. Greed and Wrath caught their breath as the former canceled out of his Ultimate Shield form and turned to his right to smirk at Twilight "Hey, you're up."

Twilight nodded and trotted towards Lust's unconscious body while Spike hopped off and went to comfort Rarity and examine Blueblood's condition for himself. She lit up her horn and leaned down towards Lust's forehead and tapped her once as the magic coursed through her body "That should do it. Now we just have to wake her up, find the rest of our friends, and get out of here." She smiled at Greed "Another victory for us!"

Greed grinned "Hell yeah! I'll bet Discord's shaking in his boots right now." He said in amusement.

"You talk as if I actually wear boots. Clearly you're unaware of my taste in fashion."

Twilight scowled at the ceiling "Speak of the devil..."

"What? No 'Hello, Discord.'? No 'How was your day, Discord?'?"

"How about you show yourself so you can receive a proper greeting?" Greed said threateningly as he narrowed his eyes at the ceiling.

"As much as I'd love to meet you all face-to-face, it's time for a little trivia before I see you off to your next point..."
_____

Rainbow Dash flew over her friends as she diligently scanned each building and door she passed "You sure you remember the door number, AJ? I don't seen any thirteens around here."

"Trust me, Rainbow, Manehattan's a big place an' there can be plenty o' doors t' choose from." Applejack replied as she galloped ahead of Fluttershy and a pronking Pinkie "We should be happy we ain't dealin' with no fake doors right now."

Rainbow Dash looked down in shock "Fake doors? So there's a chance we won't make it in time?" She groaned "That Discord really knows how to tick me off!"

"Attention, ladies~! It's time for some more trivia~!"

Discord's singsong voice managed to stop the group in their tracks as they looked up at the blackened sky "Trivia?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked down at her friends "Are we already done with this challenge?"

Applejack, feeling slightly invigorated on the possibility remained calm "We don't know fer sure. Let's jus' hear what th' big galoot has t' say." She said as she looked up with her friends.

"You know your friend Lust, don't you? Beauty and brains in a wondrous combination? Funny enough, those were her exact tools in her previous life that led to all sorts of misery for weak-minded individuals that eventually trailed to their unexpected ends. Needless to say, she enjoyed every moment of her job."

"So it's Lust this time, huh?" Rainbow Dash asked "And she's more of a monster than we already know?"

Fluttershy frowned "But why would she do such a thing other than helping her father? What did she hope to accomplish?"

"She enjoyed instigating and manipulating the humans of her old life just because she considered them to be frail and predictable, much like you ponies. Who knows? Could she be thinking of a way to manipulate you all despite being your 'friend'?"

"Of course not!" Pinkie piped up "How can she call herself a friend if she was even acting that way around us, especially since she helped us save Equestria way back when? You can't expect us to fall for a trick question, you know." She said with a confident smile. The other mares shared her confidence as they stared defiantly into the sky.

"Meh, feel free to think what you like, but you should be more careful from here on out. You realize there are more trials and tragic trivia to come."

After they felt Discord was gone, Rainbow Dash snorted "What an idiot! Like whatever he says is gonna make us think about the homunculi differently! Lust couldn't possibly be plotting against right now..." She paused before she cast an unsure glance towards her friends "...right?" The cyan pegasus uttered with faint anxiety.

Applejack appeared as stalwart as her older brother "Th' only time we can see Lust act that way is iffin Discord messed with her mind, too. Pinkie's right about one thing: Lust an' th' rest o' her family are our friends no matter what." She smiled "It's about time we mean that by catchin' up with th' others and freein' her from Discord's control."

Rainbow Dash, motivated by Applejack's speech, grinned brightly as she shot a foreleg in the air "And how! Let's get a move on!" She said vigorously as she resumed her flight while the others followed on the roads below.
_____

After Discord had concluded his explanation on Lust's backstory, Twilight and the others took the time to regroup and check on one another while they waited for Lust to wake up. Shining Armor and Spike helped Blueblood up while Twilight looked over at the lascivious mare's unconscious body and shuddered to herself "I can't believe she was like that before we met her..." She looked over at Rarity and Blueblood with a concerned frown "I'm sorry you two were affected by this the most."

Rarity took a deep breath as she appeared stoic "We were bound to find out about her sadistic nature eventually, darling. Thanks to you all, we can live to see tomorrow." She paused before looking annoyed "Whenever that might be in this now-chaotic world."

Greed scanned Rarity's body "I'm surprised you're not severely hurt at all after dealing with Lust before we got here in time."

Twilight shot a look at Greed, but softened when Rarity spoke up "That's because I was defended..." She looked over at Blueblood with a grateful smile "...and by a valiant prince, no less."

Greed turned to Blueblood, then pointed a hoof at him while staring at Rarity as if she grew a second head "Him?" After he received a nod of confirmation, the avaricious pony turned to Blueblood and smirked proudly "Once again, I was wrong about you. Whenever it's least expected, you actually pull through in the end. I think you're making a big change here." He said respectfully.

Blueblood stumbled in his stance due to the pain in his patched wound, but he managed to keep a straight face "I couldn't stand idly by and watch Miss Rarity get harmed by that monster of a mare." He looked at Greed "No offense to you, of course."

"None taken. Lust can be a real bitch sometimes." Greed said nonchalantly.

Spike huffed, but donned a smile of his own "I might not have been there to do it myself, but thanks for protecting Rarity, Blueblood." He said genuinely. Between Blueblood and Rarity's challenge and who they wound up fighting against, he was happy to see his unrequited crush safe and sound.

Blueblood managed to keep his smile, until his mouth twitched before his facial features instantly contorted to that of a helpless colt in pain "Ouch!" He squealed as he brought a hoof to wear his wound was patched "I should've worn body armor before I left from home; it still hurts!" He whined loudly.

Greed stared at Blueblood with a dull expression '...Maybe I was wrong about him changing...'

Rarity placed a hoof on his shoulder with a look of concern "I cannot exactly fathom your pain, but you've done a great service nonetheless. Let's get you back on the train so you can rest there."

Shining Armor nodded "Yeah. We're done here already, so we should make our leave." He heard a tired moan and looked over at Lust stirring from her coma, the rest of the group following suit.

Lust managed to get on her hooves and rubbed her temple "Where...am I?" She murmured before she looked around. When her eyes landed on the group, she perked up "What happened? Where are we? The last thing I remembered was being trapped in Discord's clutches..."

Greed held up a hoof "Manehattan. We were just about to get out of here, too."

After making a head count of the ponies and dragon present, Lust looked around the half-lit room "Where are Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy?"

"Currently looking for us, no doubt. But considering this is a large city that has been swarmed with chaotic magic, they would have a tough time deducing our exact whereabouts." Wrath said with his eyes closed before opening them "If anything, we should find them first before we make our departure."

Rarity stared at Lust in silence before she nodded in agreement with Wrath "Of course. We should probably get moving now..." She said abruptly after her pause.

Twilight looked over at Rarity after her response "Are you okay, Rarity?" She asked curiously.

Rarity regarded the lavender unicorn with a thin smile "As I'll ever be, darling. I believe it's time to say goodbye to Manehattan now, don't you?"

Spike fidgeted his claws with a look of unease "I'll say. I've had about enough of this city for one day."

Greed pointed at the door "So what are we doing standing around then? We got a game to play." He said with a mixture of vigor and impatience as he made for the door with the rest of the group following suit.

Before Greed could open it, the door instantly swung open to reveal a grinning Pinkie standing on her hindlegs and Rainbow Dash hovering over her "We're here to save you, Rarity and Blueblood!" She proclaimed heroically. Her bravado vanished when she got a better look at her friends, and Pinkie dropped back to all fours with a pout "Aw, bummer! We were too late."

Applejack and Fluttershy were seen behind Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. The former smiled upon seeing Lust appearing tame "At least everypony's accounted fer. Saves us th' trouble o' searching th' place."

Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs bitterly before she sighed in relief "Yeah, but I wanted in on the action, too..." She looked over at Lust and flinched "I-I mean, are you alright, Lust?" She asked.

Lust waved a hoof with a small smile "You've nothing to worry about at the moment, Rainbow Dash, I'm perfectly fine. She got a better look at the darkened scenery outside of the building "So this is Manehattan?"

Wrath nodded to Lust "In Discord's image. Our next destination won't be any better, so to speak."

Twilight rubbed her chin with a hoof "Speaking of new destination, shouldn't we be expecting another clue to appear in front of us?" On cue, there was a flash of light before it subsided and gave way to a scroll floating in the air. Taking it with her magic, Twilight unraveled the parchment and read the contents.

"The city of darkness proved to be no fun,
So the next destination shall contain Celestia's sun.
Though on barren land, there are fruits laid bare,
And many buffalo roam without a care."

Rainbow Dash snickered "Okay, that's too easy, doncha think? There's only one place with buffalo we know about!"

Applejack nodded "Darn tootin'. Saddle up, y'all; we're headed fer Appleloosa." She said as she trotted with the group to the train station. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of her distant relatives being terrorized by Discord's chaotic magic, but Applejack steeled herself knowing that she will be able to save them with the help of her friends.

Rarity was also silent throughout the trek despite being next to Blueblood and Spike. She looked ahead at Lust trotting with Greed and Wrath and supressed a piercing feeling in her heart as she continued on. All she could do was focus on the matter at hoof.
_____

Discord watched from his mirror as the group made it to the train station and smirked "Oh, this shall be quite the interesting game..." He said as he looked upon Rarity and donned a devilish toothy grin "Interesting indeed..."

"What are you blabbering about now?"

The draconequus looked back at the three remaining ponies trapped in his cage, namely Envy, and shrugged "Oh you know, just talking to myself since you lot barely wish to talk."

Gluttony tilted his head innocently "What were you talking about just now? Were you talking about our friends winning in your game?"

Discord busted out laughing before he snaked his eagle claw past the bars and patted Gluttony on the head "Simple little Gluttony, always the optimistic one. I can see how much Pinkie adores you..." He instantly drew back his claw and smiled condescendingly "But no, what I'm talking about is what measures I have to take to make sure that both them and myself remain entertained." He stroked his goatee and hummed before a rubber duck appeared over his head with a barking sound as inspiration filled his eyes "Of course! Since I have to raise the stakes..." He squinted his eyes at Sloth "I'm going to need more muscle for the job..." Discord muttered deviously.

Sloth merely brought up his head and moaned in question while he sat down, completely unaware of the current situation and his eventual involvement forthwith. It only took the image of Discord's advancing lion paw for him to slowly process what was going on "...What a pain..."


End of Chapter 15