Giving Chaos

by Dirty Bit

Chapter 18

Sloth was lashing his chains left and right in sluggish, but powerful swings, to which Shining Armor and Pinkie kept their distance and dodged while Rainbow Dash and Wrath maneuvered in the air.

"What do we do now?" Rainbow Dash asked while she narrowly avoided another chain "None of us can't even get within range without getting smacked around by Sloth."

"I never recalled Sloth to be this focused during combat." Rainbow Dash and Wrath soared higher to avoid any more attacks and looked down at Sloth "Then again, knowing Discord was behind this, I'm certain he may have altered his thinking process." Wrath said as he squinted his eyes at Sloth "I'll try to dive in and relieve Sloth of his element if you're willing to take this risk with me, Rainbow Dash."

"You mean you're actually gonna go for it? I thought you knew how strong Sloth is!" Rainbow Dash said, looking towards Wrath.

"That may be, but that doesn't mean this battle can be won by standing around. Mind you, I still carry my regeneration ability given to me by Discord. That will be my ace in the hole." Wrath explained, to which the cyan pegasus shook her head before smirking.

"And I thought I was the only pony to do crazy stunts. Alright, Wrath, I'm behind you all the way!" She stated with a mock salute, making Wrath smile in amusement.

"Then let's make this short and sweet." The two pegasi kept a keen eye on Sloth, making sure he was distracted by Shining Armor and Pinkie Pie moving about, and they both dove down and flew around Sloth, halting his advance and confusing him.

"Flying is a pain..." Sloth said as he brought up a foreleg and swung a chain upward, catching Wrath and knocking him upward as she spun about. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash managed to get an opening and landed on Sloth's back, taking the necklace by her teeth before lifting his head and flying forward, swiftly recovering the element as she flew off. Sloth looked up and moaned.

"You got it...What a pain..." Sloth said as he watched Rainbow Dash fly. Pinkie hopped up and down with glee while Shining Armor smiled respectfully.

"Woohoo! Alright, Dashie!" Pinkie cheered "Now we just have to wait until AJ comes!" Rainbow Dash landed near her friends and spat out the chain, rubbing her muzzle and trying to get the taste of metal out of her mouth.

"It's thanks to Wrath that I even got this." She said as she looked up at his seemingly prone form "He's more nuts than me." Shining Armor chuckled.

"That's what makes him an experienced soldier..." He said as he looked up at the furious pony's body covered in red static "He'll lay his life down in the field of battle."

Sloth grumbled and reared onto his hindlegs, readying himself for another volley of swing towards, but paid no attention to a sudden push he felt on his back before he was forced back down on all fours. He noticed Wrath quickly fly towards the others and groaned in complaint.

"Not good...Need to stop you..." Sloth said as he got in a stance "You cannot go further..."

"Yeah? Just try and stop us!" Rainbow Dash said with a hoof pointed at Sloth, though ignored the serious looks on Wrath and Shining Armor respectively.

"Your bravado is admirable, Rainbow Dash, but we're not enough for this Sloth alone. We were lucky to subjugate the element from him before any major damage had been dealt." Wrath explained matter-of-factly.

"Yeah...Looking back on it, I wonder if Twilight and Greed are faring any better than us..." Shining Armor said as he gritted his teeth in worry, mentally kicking himself for bringing up his sister 'Twilight, please be okay...'

The ponies watched Sloth getting ready to attack, only to have their attention diverted by a loud crash heard behind them.

"Gang way!"

Sloth halted his attack and turned around upon hearing Greed's voice. He saw him running with Twilight, Applejack, and Braeburn tailing behind him. Rainbow Dash grinned at their arrival and flew upward, waving at them.

"Hey, everypony! We got the Element of Honesty!" She called out to them ecstatically.

"That's good and all, but you guys might wanna move!" Greed warned as he galloped. Before he could answer further, Greed's group quickly dispersed as an intense blur came from behind. Sloth moaned in question before the blur instantly collided with him and sent him flying as he bellowed in a mixture of surprise and pain.

Shining Armor, Pinkie, and Wrath instinctively cleared out of the lazy behemoth's path as his back slammed into an empty house, wrecking it in the process. The dust had settled to reveal it was the other Sloth with his own necklace, groaning as he rubbed his head.

"It worked!" Greed said triumphantly "We just need one Sloth to beat the other." He looked over at the other Sloth shaking his head while he caressed his temple.

"That hurt...More than before..." Sloth rumbled as he looked up at the other group of ponies "Oh...over there..."

"Wait, what?" Rainbow Dash said as she hovered "Why'd you bring this Sloth here?"

"It was the only way we can them both down at the same time." Twilight explained "We already know how strong Sloth is, so it's only wise we use his own strength against him!" Wrath flew upward and smiled down at Twilight.

"Impressive. We should have drawn towards the same conclusion during our own fight." He complimented.

"Yeah, we can definitely use this to our advantage." Greed said enthusiastically before turning to Applejack and Braeburn "AJ, you should probably get Braeburn to that Salt Lick place you're talking about. Applejack perked up before she nodded.

"And how! C'mon, Braeburn!" Applejack said as she and her cousin turned the other way and galloped off.

From where he stood, Shining Armor donned a relieved sigh at the sight of his sister unharmed. He then heard a groan and noticed Sloth about to attack him, getting ready to shield himself.

Pinkie was about to stand beside him, until she heard the sound of lumber shifting. She looked over at the wrecked house and noticed the second Sloth already out of the building's remains, ready to tackle his opponents. A glint was seen in Pinkie's eyes, and she quickly assessed the location of the first Sloth before hopping near him, shaking her flank tauntingly at the second homunculus from afar.

Pinkie easily got the second Sloth's attention as he grumbled and got in a stance.

"Taunting is a pain..." Sloth groaned before he sped towards Pinkie Pie. Sadly for him, the party pony easily hopped out of the way and near Shining Armor the moment the first Sloth attacked; Shining Armor made a barrier protecting himself and Pinkie while the second Sloth slammed into the first one, sending him flying.

Applejack and Braeburn noticed the Salt Lick up ahead, thankful that it still remained intact while they were running away from Sloth.

"Thank goodness! Now we can finally put a stop t' this thing!" Applejack rejoiced.

Braeburn went to share his cousin's sentiments, until he looked back and noticed a large pony-shaped object closing in on her. He gasped and called out Applejack's name before nudging her away in his gallop and getting crushed.

Applejack tumbled across the dirt until she stopped and noticed that the second Sloth had sat upon Braeburn, her eyes widening.

"NO! BRAEBURN!" She said as she galloped over and bucked Sloth off in a fit of adrenaline before the lazy behemoth could recover. Applejack looked down at where he once stood to find Braeburn not only badly injured, but glowing purple.

"S-Sorry 'bout that, cuz. Ah couldn't warn ya sooner..." He said weakly, hacking in pain "Ah know Ah'm a pawn in this game, but Ah can't just sit by an' watch ya get hurt."

"Consarnit, Braeburn..." Applejack whispered as she stared at his battered form and sniffled "Pawn or not, ya didn't have t' do that. Ya know Ah'm tougher than Ah look." She said with a sniffle.

"Doesn't stop th' fact that yer still precious t' me. Besides, Discord's after ya, remember?" Braeburn hacked again "Doncha worry, Ah'll be right as rain once Ah get enough rest, but ya got a game t' win." Braeburn said reassuringly despite his condition.

"But y'all were th' last pony we needed! How can we win without ya!?" Applejack snapped out of frustration and sadness.

"Ah may be th' last pony, but that don't mean th' game's over. Ya know that, doncha, cuz?" Braeburn said, leading Applejack to pause "We both know ya gotta fight th' good fight. Jus' don't worry about me too much." Applejack took a deep breath and looked down at Braeburn.

"Alright...But Ah gotta get ya outta here first." She looked over at Sloth getting up with a moan and narrowed her eyes "Right after Ah teach this dang stallion some manners!" She carefully hopped over Braeburn and got in a stance as steam flared from her nostrils.

Sloth reared onto his hindlegs and prepared to swing one of his chains, only to see Applejack quickly close in on him and turn away, bucking him square in the stomach as he groaned in pain. His body bent down from the hit, and his head was near Applejack's hindlegs as she reared them back and bucked Sloth in the face, sending him teetering backward.

While Sloth was stumbling, Applejack instantly turned around and leaped at him with a foreleg reeled back. From there, she hit Sloth in the chest again, making him fall on his back with a loud thud. Before he could get up, the lazy behemoth noticed Applejack from above in his vision before he felt another painful sensation in his chest. He groaned before red static coated his body.

"What a pain..." Sloth said in sluggish agony.

"Trust me, there's gonna be more where that came from once we figure out another plan to win this thing!" Applejack snarled before she hopped off of Sloth's back and went to Braeburn's side, carefully lifting him up onto her back.

"Ah don't give a rat's tail about what Discord says, Ah'm gettin' my cousin t' safety!" She declared as she galloped towards the Salt Lick. From a distance, Greed and Twilight noticed the scene, the former grunting.

"You're kidding me. Now what are we gonna do?" Greed asked in frustration.

"There hasn't been any indication of loss in this challenge, so we'll have to work with that for now." Twilight replied as she looked back at the other Sloth "We got more problems to deal with..."

"Yeah." Greed muttered "I'll bring that Sloth AJ beat up back here. You think you can keep this one busy?" If Twilight had a mouth, she would be smiling.

"We still have this, don't we? Just be quick." She said to Greed as he gave a curt nod and galloped back over to the distant Sloth.

"What is this?" The first Sloth asked "...Why am I hitting myself?" He looked on at his identical counterpart while Greed rushed towards him. His confusion lasted until he glanced at Twilight standing in front of him, to which she received his undivided attention.

"Foolish...You cannot win..." Sloth raised a foreleg over Twilight "Discord cannot be beaten..."

"I beg to differ." Twilight responded before she teleported, leaving Sloth's foreleg to smack into the ground, leaving noticeable cracks. He grumbled to himself before looking behind him and seeing Twilight gathered with her friends.

"Stop moving...Resistance is a pain..." Sloth groaned.

"Darn it..." Shining Armor growled in frustration. He then looked behind Sloth, noticing something approaching him "Greed?"

Sloth paused before turning around and seeing Greed running from the other Sloth, who got in position for a tackle. For the first time in the challenge, Sloth was ready to anticipate the next blow, unbeknownst to the group of ponies that he was fighting. He saw Greed move out of the way the moment the other Sloth became a blur and held out his forelegs.

Everypony gasped when Sloth only skidded a few feet towards them as he caught his clone, though he still ended up getting hurt in the process as traces of red static was seen on his body while he growled.

"Wait...You're my enemy?" The second Sloth asked while resting in the first's grasp "What a pain..."

"This is confusing...Do we fight each other?" The first Sloth asked genuinely.

"No...Discord said that they were the enemy..." The second Sloth managed to respond after a small pause. While they talked, the group of ponies stared blankly at the exchange, save for Wrath.

"...Is your brother really that dumb?" Rainbow Dash asked Greed.

"Compared to Gluttony? Yes." The avaricious pony answered flatly.

The group's blankness was short-lived when both Sloths turned to face them side-by-side, staring them down with their uncovered blank eyes. Everypony was uneasy in the presence of the two until they heard thundering hoofbeats from behind. They turned around and noticed what appeared to be a small group of buffalo stampeding towards them.

Two of them were leading the stampede; a stronger looking buffalo with a feathered headdress with a young female calf at his right side with a bandanna containing one feather. Both of them had looks of determination on their face as they approached the group. The very sight was comforting to their eyes, especially Twilight.

"Chief Thunderhooves is here!" She proclaimed joyously.

"And Little Strongheart's here, too! We're in the clear!" Rainbow Dash chimed jubilantly. Both Sloths looked upon the stampede settling just behind their opponents and noticed several eyes glaring at them with contempt.

"We arrived when we've noticed many a disturbance during our stampede." Chief Thunderhooves stated in a deep voice "Are these two responsible for the unrest caused around Appleloosa?"

"Lucky guess. We were just about to take them down." Greed replied "I'd let you join us, but they're tougher than they look."

"We'll do so without you telling us." Chief Thunderhooves shot back as he took a stance "They must be punished for their crimes. Some of our brethren were in this very town while those two were around. This is our fight as much as it is yours."

"Guess we can't convince you otherwise, huh?" Greed sighed as he looked over at Little Strongheart, pointing a foreleg at her "I'd recommend getting her to the Salt Lick, though. No offense to you, but I don't think she can handle this fight." He noticed the young calf look taken aback before narrowing her eyes at Greed.

"What Greed means is that we're caught in this twisted game, and we need Little Strongheart's cooperation." Twilight added "It's difficult to explain, but it's imperative she gets to the Salt Lick while we're fighting these Sloths." As happy as she was to broaden the explanation, Twilight was not too fond of Greed's bluntness towards others in the face of danger.

"I see..." Chief Thunderhooves murmured, eyeing his new opponents carefully before looking down at Little Strongheart "I'm afraid they raise a valid point, Little Strongheart. Make haste to the Salt Lick, and we shall meet you there. We won't be long, I assure you." Little Strongheart looked up at Chief Thunderhooves before she nodded to him politely.

"Understood, father." She said before squinting her eyes at the Sloth clones, scanning for any possible openings for her to dash through. She chose to deftly move towards the leftmost gap, nearing the left Sloth as he looked upon her.

"You shall not pass..." Sloth went to hit Little Strongheart, only to be rammed in the chest by a buffalo and toppled over. He grunted as his attack was halted and watched the young calf run off.

"What a pain..." The second Sloth moaned as he turned around and went to tackle Little Strongheart. Before he could get into position, he felt two weights on his back in the form of Twilight and Greed. He was then rammed from behind by another buffalo as the two unicorns hopped off.

"Keep them at bay! Do not yield, my brethren!" Chief Thunderhooves called to his fellow buffalo charismatically, to which they replied with battle cries before charging towards both Sloths. Shining Armor and Pinkie quickly moved out of their way while Rainbow Dash and Wrath stayed in the air.

The buffalo crowded themselves amongst both Sloths and rammed into them from different angles, landing hits that managed to scathe their bodies to the point of regeneration. However, either Sloth managed to land a hit of their own on certain buffalo and knocking them away, causing their bodies to glow purple as they laid on the ground in pain.

Little Strongheart glanced at the distant battle from behind and managed to reach the Salt Lick's doors, only instead of walking in, she was greeted by a familiar presence trotting out.

"Applejack?" She said before smiling warmly "It has been a while, has it not?" Needless to say, the farmpony was surprised before she spoke.

"Little Strongheart? Yer father here, too?" Little Strongheart nodded to Applejack's question.

"What remained of our tribe outside of Appleloosa were enjoying a stampede before we've noticed the sudden pandemonium overtaking the desert. We've came here as soon as we could." The young calf looked behind Applejack "In fact, they said I was to come into this very building for the reasons of a...game?"

"Y'all wouldn't be wrong. Discord's playin' us all fer dang fools." She gritted her teeth "Even got my cousin hurt in th' mix..." Little Strongheart gasped.

"Braeburn is injured!? Is he safe, at least?" She asked in concern.

"Yeah, he's inside." Applejack answered before a relieved smile was on her face "Ah'm just glad y'all came here b'fore things got worse. Ah gotta go back there an' help my friends!"

"Of course. The best of luck to you and your friends, Applejack." Little Strongheart said before she made her way inside while Applejack galloped away from the building, feeling energy build up inside of her after hearing a satisfying ring of a bell when she left.

While she felt herself ready for battle, Applejack was surprised to see both Sloth clones bombarded by the buffalo despite their gradually dwindling numbers.

"Well Ah'll be...Ah better get on over there an help 'em!" She said as she resumed her gallop.

Both Sloths were down to five buffalo left, with Chief Thunderhooves as part of the remaining group. They were lucky to wear the lazy behemoths out with their onslaught, but they, too, felt some fatigue from the strong exterior of the homunculi.

"It appears we've underestimated the physical prowess of these ponies..." Chief Thunderhooves grunted "Are they even fazed by our endeavors?"

"Nopony can tell with Sloth, I know that much." Greed said as he trotted up to his side "But I'd say you've done some damage on both of them. All we have to do now is give it our all and make sure they stay down!" He said as he squinted his eyes "Let's make it a good one."

"Then Ah'm joinin', too!"

The group noticed Applejack gallop to her friends' side and stared down the Sloth clones as well. Pinkie looked over at the farmpony shyly, a look of penitence on her face.

"Applejack...I-"

"We can worry about that another time, Pinkie; t'ain't your fault." Applejack narrowed her eyes to slits "There's a fight we gotta win." She said with determination.

"Then let us win this battle for Appleloosa!" Chief Thunderhooves boomed before he charged with his small group of buffalo, with the ponies following suit.

The four buffalo took on the first Sloth, surrounding him before taking turns before ramming him from different angles as he was being tossed around. Pinkie was a few feet away from them, firing well-aimed pies from her party cannon whenever Sloth was open for attack.

Meanwhile, the second Sloth was engaged by the combined efforts of Applejack's bucking and Chief Thunderhooves' charging, both of which were inflicting noticeable damage onto Sloth's body as he keeps getting knocked away a few feet by each attack. Greed and Twilight doubled their efforts by striking Sloth's face, knowing that they could deal the most damage there, with Shining Armor shooting magic beams in any open wound.

While he was stunned, Wrath swooped in and grabbed the other chain necklace containing the Element of Honesty from the second Sloth before he could retaliate. Both pegasi with the elements in their grasp chose to stay back and keep them safe for their friends.

After what felt like an eternity, the entire group halted their attacks and noticed how the two Sloths remained immobile in their stance. After a moment of silence, one of them took a step forward...

...only to fall face-first into the dirt.

The second Sloth had done the same seconds after the first had collapsed. As they stared at their fallen forms, the whole group felt the tension leave their bodies as they congratulated each other on their efforts. In a surprising turn of events, the buffalos that were glowing purple were suddenly relieved of their color, and felt as if a weight had been lifted off of their shoulders.

"It fills me with joy to have triumphed in this ordeal with your help, my friends." Chief Thunderhooves said as the buffalo gathered at his side "This shall be a battle to remembered for all that reside in this town."

"Heh, I'll bet." Greed said as he canceled out of his Ultimate Shield form, Twilight doing the same "Wouldn't mind a good reputation around these parts."

"It's hard to understand completely, but one of those two is our friend, who is being controlled by Discord." Twilight explained politely "I hope you're not too troubled by this." Chief Thunderhooves closed his eyes and raised a hoof to Twilight.

"If an outside influence is responsible for all of this, then I shall hold no ill will towards the one you would call Sloth." He stated calmly before looking towards the two Sloths "Especially when you peer into his gaze and see nothing but indolence. Whomever or whatever had drove him to cause all of this must be stopped."

"That's our job." Greed replied with a serious expression "This guy named Discord is bad news."

"I'm glad you understand, Chief." Twilight said with a smile before looking over at the collapsed masses "In the meantime, I better bring either one to their senses." She said before she noticed their bodies being coated in red static. The static then faded before the two Sloths began to disintegrate and vanish into thin air, surprising the group altogether.

"What the hell? They're both dying!" Greed said as he watched what remained of the two Sloths get carried by the wind before fading into nothingness "Did we overdo it somehow?"

"Oh no...What if we have?" Twilight asked anxiously "We were so caught up in bringing them down, that we forgot to realize that one of them could be the real one."

"Considering they had both died out so quickly leads me to believe that the two of them may both be fakes..." Wrath stated as he looked down at the element in his hooves "We shouldn't lose ourselves while we're partaking in an unpredictable battle."

"Well, at least we have the elements, right?" Rainbow Dash said as she looked down at her own "We'll figure out which one's the real one, and maybe we can find the real Sloth afterwards." She noticed the gem encrusted inside the element began to lose its color, fading into a lifeless gray "Huh?" She noticed the gold necklace crack like a brittle piece of glass before shattering to pieces, startling her with a yelp before she calmed herself.

"Guess that one's the fake..." She muttered irritably.

Wrath inspected his own element, and noticed how the gold necklace began to move flexibly on its own, the sides moving up and down like a pair of wings as it flew out of both the chain it was attached to and Wrath's grasp, flying off into the sky. Wrath merely looked up with a neutral gaze.

"Apparently, mine is, too..." He said flatly.

"Wait a minute." Pinkie said with her head tilted "If both Sloths and the elements were fakes, does this mean that this whole challenge was just one big joke?"

"Well now, I wouldn't say that~..."

"Discord!" Twilight snapped upon hearing Discord's coy voice, glaring at the sky "What's going on?"

"What's going on is that you're all not looking hard enough for the genuine articles. Did you honestly think I would just flash a delicious cupcake in front of your eyes for you to grab it just like that?"

Pinkie stared up at the sky blankly.

"...Maybe?" Pinkie pouted when she heard a hearty laugh echo in the skies.

"Typical Pinkie. But the thing is, my little ponies, I never exactly stated the exact amount of Sloths in this current challenge, and I'm fully aware of the fact that all of you divvied yourselves up before coming here. Perhaps you should put your heads together for what's missing?"

The group of ponies stood for a moment before their eyes had widened. Without giving Chief Thunderhooves a proper goodbye, they galloped towards the train station.
_____

The train was quiet, even with the five occupants that chose to stay behind. Rarity kept to herself while staying at Blueblood's side, much to Spike's disappointment. Fluttershy chose to sit with Spike and Lust at a bench on the side opposite of the two unicorns, curious about their talk despite her taking solace in the peaceful silence.

"Spike? Lust? I don't mean to intrude, but..." Fluttershy whispered "Is everything alright with you both?" Spike gave the timid pegasus a reassuring smile.

"Nothing to worry about. Lust and I were just talking back there." Spike said, looking over at Lust "We were on the topic of second chances." Fluttershy blinked before she got the message, sharing Spike's smile with one of her own.

"I have faith in you both. We can't let Discord pull the same trick twice, or else everypony will be in danger." She said softly before stealing a sideways glance at Rarity, her smile vanishing "I just hope Rarity won't hold anything against Lust..."

Blueblood looked over at the three at the other bench, noticing the forlorn expression on Fluttershy's face and hopefulness in Spike's, while Lust remained stoic as ever. He sighed to himself before gathering resolve and facing Rarity.

"Rarity...Would you grant this fool your time to talk?" He asked in a serious tone, to which Rarity gasped.

"Now why would you go and label yourself as a fool, Blueblood? You know full well that what you've done for me is far from foolish." She chided.

"Because what I'm about to say may change your perspective of me depending on how you take this..." He took a deep breath and faced Rarity again "Rarity, I-...I ask that you find it in your heart to forgive Lust for her actions." As expected, the fashionista went silent, staring at Blueblood as if he were an endless abyss. His words earned the rapt attention of Fluttershy, Spike, and Lust as they watched in silence.

"...What are your reasons? Mind you, she was the one that did this to you." She stated, to which Blueblood looked down at his patched wound.

"Yes, I'm aware..." He said before looking at Rarity "But I'm also aware that the two of you were nearly inseparable before this whole thing had escalated. I'm not one to defend myself in my condition, but you mustn't hold any further contempt towards Lust because of my own actions."

"But..." Rarity hesitated "You would actually forgive her for causing that much pain towards you?"

"Wounds like this heal eventually." Blueblood stated before looking towards Fluttershy "Besides, this doesn't affect me much as it does the rest of your friends. Was Discord not responsible for Lust's savage behavior back in Manehattan?"

"As true as that may be, he even brought up how she had enjoyed such a thing before coming to Equestria." Rarity shot back, to which Blueblood did not yield.

"Be that as it may, we can't afford any distrust amongst ourselves as allies." He placed a hoof on his chest "Back then, you despised me for what I've put you through, and you've every reason to be, but I've somehow managed to change in your eyes. Who's to say that Lust hasn't done the same?" Spike and Fluttershy were dumbfounded by Blueblood's sudden defense while Lust stared at him from her seat.

Rarity herself stared at Blueblood before she hung her head pensively, albeit irritably. At one point, she did not expect Blueblood defending Lust after she had caused so much trouble for the two unicorns, nor how he even brought up his own past misdeeds to validate his request. Though despite the mild dispute, Blueblood had a point: Equestria was in danger, and if it's last hope were to remain fragmented, who would save everypony from unending chaos.

She took a deep breath and faced her friends, all of whom had their eyes on her and anticipating whatever words would come out of her mouth. But before she could speak, the cart had rumbled violently as a loud crash was heard in the next cart before the engine.

"Wh-Wh-What was that?" Fluttershy whimpered. Lust instantly jumped from her seat and braced herself for whatever rested behind the door. The cart's entire wall, door included was destroyed. What was seen behind was none other than Sloth, who was found wearing the Element of Honesty on a chain necklace. His presence easily shocked the group.

"What a pain..." Sloth rumbled "All I want is to take a nap...But I have to work on exterminating you all first..."