//------------------------------// // Chapter 21 // Story: Giving Chaos // by Dirty Bit //------------------------------// Chapter 21 Gaping Maw Gluttony continued giggling as he advanced on the group, to which they drew themselves back. They tensed up upon seeing his acidic saliva continuously seer into the ground below him, and Greed grunted. "If it weren't for the damn restriction, I would've kicked his ass sooner..." He murmured before turning to the others "We gotta get outta here! We'll lose Gluttony while searching for the other element!" The group instantly turned away and retreated, to which Gluttony gave chase, laughing as he followed. He was able to catch up to them with ease, and noticed how Sloth was the only one that was behind at his sluggish pace. He grinned before he lunged at Sloth and opened his mouth, sinking his teeth into his left hindleg, to which the indolent pony gave a light grunt. Fluttershy looked back in fear. "Oh no! Sloth!" She gasped. "What a pain..." Sloth groaned as he looked back at Gluttony latched onto his hindleg "I'm not food...Get off, Gluttony..." "Dammit. If we can't attack, we should at least be able to defend ourselves!" Greed snarled. He watched Gluttony bite down on Sloth's leg before tearing off his flesh, leaving a deep gash that instantly regenerated. Thankfully, the group did not get a good look at the gory image. "Sloth, run!" Twilight called out "You can't be attacked by Gluttony forever!" "Running...What a pain..." Sloth said as he took a step forward. "Jus' do what she says, ya idjit!" Applejack snapped. She watched how Sloth got into position, to which the group instinctively moved out of the way as Sloth turned into a blur that breezed through the door, though caused some more damage along the way before crashing into a tree outside. "Don't run! I want a taste first!" Gluttony pounced at the group, only to be pinned down by Greed and Wrath respectively. "Discord mentioned that we weren't to fight Gluttony, but that does not mean we're unable to immobilize him." Wrath said as he leered down at the struggling homunculus. "Good enough for me!" Greed said as he forced his weight on Gluttony, looking at Twilight and the others "Grab Sloth and get outta here! We'll catch up!" "Right!" Twilight said as she galloped outside and stood near the bridge, looking over at Sloth as she narrowed her eyes "Alright. I have to make this quick..." She clenched her eyes and grunted as she lit up her horn once again, lifting Sloth from where he had crashed and led him over the gap while the others ran across the bridge. "Hurry, Twi! Gluttony here's getting hard to keep down!" Greed said as he felt Gluttony struggle harder under his and Wrath's weight, growling as he did so. Twilight exhaled hoarsely as she set Sloth down on the other side and rubbed her head with a groan. "Gotta be more careful with my magic output..." Twilight said before looking over at Greed and Wrath "We're all set over here!" "Good, then we should get a headstart of our own!" Greed said as he looked around. He then noticed the tree Gluttony crashed into and grinned in inspiration. Using his magic, he pried the ruined tree after snapping off the bark and carefully set it atop of Gluttony as he struggled under it "It won't hold him for long, but it'll give us some time!" "Excellent thinking. We should move now." Wrath said, to which the two stallions galloped towards the bridge, Twilight following them. Meanwhile, Gluttony struggled under the tree more until he decided to sink his teeth into it, instinctively eating what remained of it voraciously before he rubbed his muzzle. "That was good, but I wasn't really hungry for that..." He said darkly before noticing the three ponies crossing the bridge, holding out a hoof with a look of distress "Hey, wait! I'm supposed to eat you!" As the three ponies made it to the other side of the bridge, Wrath instantly saw fit to use one of his wings to sever the ropes holding up the bridge. The group watched as the torn bridge swing down and collide with the other cliff, then looked over at Gluttony staring at them from the other side. "Wow. That makes this whole thing even easier." Spike said before beaming at Wrath, who stared at Gluttony with a serious gaze "Way to go, Wrath!" "That should keep him away from us for now." Wrath said before looking over at Twilight "In the meantime, we must find the second element quickly." "That's right." Shining Armor nodded solemnly. "Let's get a move on." Twilight said as she and the others retreated into the forest while Gluttony behind as he stared morosely at the supposed morsels leaving his vision. _____ Trudging through the forest, the group scanned high and low for any possible leads on their second hint. They had trouble properly discerning what Discord had meant by 'belly of the beast', and were reluctant to find any roaming creatures, only to end up being wrong in the end. Everywhere they went, they ended up drawing blanks. Upon entering the latest clearing, they decided to take a small break to regain their energy. "Darn it." Rainbow Dash growled "We've been at this for hours, and still no element!" "Ya know it hasn't really been that long, right?" Applejack said before sighing and sitting down in the grass "That's not t' say Ah'm just as bugged about this whole thing." "We all are." Greed said before scratching his head, a tired look on his face "This is getting really old, having to do so much running around. We haven't got any good leads on where to look next." "Maybe we can find Zecora?" Fluttershy offered "I'll bet she could help us." "Who is this 'Zecora'?" Blueblood asked with a tilted head. "A talented apothecary who takes residence in this very forest." Lust explained "She happens to be a zebra, and she keeps the finest teas in her home." "Would she really be of service to us?" Blueblood asked. "Considering the severity of this challenge and the state of chaos we're in, I'm certain she's fighting her own battles, if not trying her hardest to remain safe." Wrath said, looking up at the moonlit sky "We cannot risk involving her in our struggle, especially since Gluttony's involved in our current challenge. We would only endanger her life." "Oh..." Fluttershy said as she looked down, her ears folding back. "Y-Yes, good point..." Blueblood murmured before looking down at the grass, wincing at it out of reluctance. He flinched when he felt a hoof on his back, looking to his left to see Rarity giving a comforting smile. "You don't have to sit if you don't want to. If it makes you feel better, I feel the same way about sitting around this place." She said, to which Blueblood shared her smile with one of his own. "Say...I just realized something." Pinkie said as she rubbed her chin, earning the glances of the others "If we can't exactly fight Gluttony, and since he's very important to us..." Pinkie looked at her friends "Do you think he might be involved with the second element?" "Where are you going with this, Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash asked as she cocked her head to the side. "What I mean is..." Pinkie tapped her chin before pointing a hoof upward "What if the second element is inside Gluttony? I mean, he is a bit of a piggy sometimes." "Pinkie Pie, please don't give us such a gruesome mental image." Rarity pleaded "I cannot bear the thought of finding the next element inside of him, especially since he's out to eat all of us." "What a pain..." Sloth rumbled as he laid down beside a tree "...We need help..." "Wish granted~!" Everyone but Sloth jumped at the jovial voice. Meanwhile, the lazy pony yawned, only to have a familiar face pop out of his mouth. The group gasped at the sight of Discord wearing a construction hat, who grinned at the bewildered ponies and dragon. "Did somepony ask for a helping claw? Because this is basically the last time you'll ever get any assistance from me in this game." Discord explained mockingly, earning glares left and right. He proceeded to slither out of Sloth's open jaw and stretched himself the moment his body was free. He was seen wearing a polka-dotted construction vest "Whoa...Cramped in there!" He said as he stretched his arms, rewarded with a satisfying crack. "What are you doing here, Discord?" Twilight demanded warily. "Exactly as I intended." Discord responded innocently as a sledgehammer appeared in his lion paw "I couldn't help but noticed you poor ponies (and dragon) are suffering the biggest kerfuffle, so I decided to be lenient and hold your hoof for a small minute." He smirked as he slung the sledgehammer over his shoulders "No need to thank me; anything to keep you all going." "And how exactly did ya help us?" Applejack spat venomously, leering at Discord, who rolled his eyes playfully. "Well, while you all were out and about, getting gradually flustered and whatnot, I decided to get a little busy myself with a little...repairs..." Discord added the last part darkly with a wicked grin. "Repairs?" Greed parroted "What are you talking about?" As if his question had been instantly answered, a familiar growl echoed in the woods, causing Greed to grit his teeth "You bastard..." He murmured, to which Discord's grin widened. Everyone else tensed up with their own reactions while the draconequus chortled. "You repaired the bridge!? But we were trying to avoid Gluttony!!" Twilight shouted in panic. "You're welcome!" Discord chirped "But you should probably go back to finding that element now. I'd recommend scattering to lower your chances at becoming an all-you-can-eat buffet. Toodles~!" He waved before snapping his talons and vanishing in a flash of light. "What do we do now?" Rainbow Dash said "He could be anywhere, waiting to pounce!" She darted her head around the clearing. "Don't be too alarmed..." Lust said, looking forward at the pitch black woods in front of her "Notice how it's currently nighttime. If we're to go into the forest now, it would be more dark than before." "Leaving Gluttony to rely on his sense of smell alone." Twilight finished, to which she nodded in understanding "So we have to act upon that, but who will be going with who? As bad as it is, we do have to split ourselves into two groups." 'Damn...I wish Ling were here right now...' Greed growled "Alright, if we're going into two groups, we'll have to have two homunculi each." Another roar was heard, and before anypony could suggest team placement, a vacuum of wind engulfed a good chunk of the trees near their location had been instantly ravaged, leaving nothing but stumps and razed land. As the wind settled, Sloth was nowhere to be found. Greed looked over and widened his eyes "You gotta be shitting me right now..." "Wha-..." Rainbow Dash sputtered as she pointed a hoof "What is that!?" Approaching from the blackness was Gluttony, but with an entirely different appearance. With anger in his pupilless eyes, he stood on his hindlegs while his mouth was wide open, and his teeth - now appearing as sharpened fangs - extended down to his stomach, which was vertically open for all to see; his ribs acted as moving fangs. Inside of his stomach was an ominous grey eye surrounded by unending darkness. The ponies backed up from the frightening image, easily threatened by Gluttony's gaping maw waiting to devour them. "Scatter!!" Greed commanded as the group dispersed, taking any available direction into the woods, leaving Gluttony to roar in anger. "I want to eat!!" Gluttony shouted in a warped voice. Inside of the woods, Greed, Twilight, and Spike were together, running for their lives as they maneuvered through the woods with their adrenaline. "Since when was Gluttony able to do that!?" Spike shouted in fright as he clung to Twilight's neck. "No time for talking; just run!" Greed replied as he continued galloping with Twilight. As they moved, they felt a vacuum of air behind them moving horizontally before subsiding. Gluttony walked on his hindlegs after causing his destruction and noticed Greed, Twilight, and Spike retreating into the dark woods. "Stop running..." He sniffed at the air, catching their scent instantly "I cannot eat you if you do!" He began running after them, following their scent since they were the closest. Meanwhile, the others kept their distance in their own divided groups. Rarity, Lust, and Blueblood stuck together, running around in their own part of the Everfree Forest. "What do we do now?" Rarity whimpered "This is madness!" "We'll have to aid whomever Gluttony is pursuing at the moment. We cannot search for the second element now that our lives are on the line." Lust explained calmly, though was distressed by the sudden turn of events. "But how can we be of any assistance if we cannot directly confront Gluttony?" Blueblood said with widened eyes as he held himself and shivered "We're going to die if we go anywhere near him." He said as he turned pale. "We're already at risk, and we have the advantage on Gluttony since all he can do is rely on his sense of smell." Lust replied as her brow furrowed "As difficult as it may be, we cannot alert our presence by relying on light." "But where do we go?" Rarity asked "We haven't really kept track of our path since we had to distance ourselves from Gluttony post haste." "We'll have to be careful while moving around...Who knows where the others may be right now." Lust said as she looked back "Perhaps the clearing is safe now that we've cleared out so quickly. If we backtrack, we'll consider it a checkpoint to find the others." "I suppose that's our only option at this point, isn't it?" Rarity said as the three unicorns began to pace back from their path "This game is becoming too extreme..." She stated morosely. "And we've yet to finish it completely..." Lust finished with melancholy in her voice. _____ Applejack, Shining Armor, and Wrath ran a small distance from the clearing until they noticed they weren't being followed. Shining Armor looked back warily at the clearing illuminated by the moonlight. "What now? We can't expect to win with Gluttony coming after us like this..." Shining Armor said as he narrowed his eyes "This cripples our chances with this whole challenge." "Indeed." Wrath said "And considering Gluttony is in his true form, we cannot hope to immobilize him without having to resort to drastic measures. And if I've noticed correctly, Gluttony has already devoured Sloth..." "Ah-...Ah know..." Applejack said, her heart sinking upon remembering Sloth vanishing in the vacuum "That's jus' plain sick. Not only are we stuck between a rock an' a hard place, we're gonna be eaten alive until we think o' somethin'." 'Could Discord have truly forced us into a corner?' Wrath thought to himself with a grave expression on his face. He then looked back at the clearing "We have to go back..." "What?" Shining Armor asked incredulously. "Have ya spit yer bit or somethin'!?" Applejack hissed upon Wrath's suggestion, not wanting to draw attention by shouting "If ya haven't already noticed, we're bein' chased by our friend, who wants nothin' more than t' make meals outta us!" "I'm aware, but we're in enough danger just standing around. Besides, it wouldn't help to get lost in this forest during nightfall..." Wrath stated, to which Applejack paused before sighing. "There's gotta be a way t' win this." Applejack said in a sorrowful tone as she followed Wrath and Shining Armor. _____ Rainbow Dash had never been so conflicted in her life. Every part of her body wished to make a Sonic Rainboom if it meant keeping herself away from Gluttony for the longest time, but she remembered that her friends were in just as much peril as she was. She currently flew in the forest with Fluttershy and Pinkie galloping under her. After they've covered enough distance, they stopped to catch their breath over the panic they have endured. "Okay...I think we lost them..." Rainbow Dash breathed as he held her chest with a hoof "Can't believe what we're dealing with right now." She looked down at Fluttershy tearing up and descended down towards her. "Don't worry, Fluttershy. We'll make it through this somehow." Rainbow Dash said. "But what about Sloth?" Pinkie mentioned sadly "He got eaten by Gluttony; his own brother..." The trio folded their ears in unison as Fluttershy wiped her eyes. "He didn't deserve that..." Fluttershy sniffled "Why is Discord doing all of this?" "Because he gets off on it." Rainbow Dash sneered "He's history when we finally get to him." They heard rustling in the bushes in front of them and tensed up before they noticed two figures leaping through the brush, one of which carrying another on their back. All three were instantly relieved when they spotted horns on their heads and didn't hesitate to smother them in a group hug. "Twilight! Greed! Spike! I'm so glad you're safe!" Rainbow Dash shouted with joy, only to have a charcoal hoof in her mouth. "Quiet!" Greed hissed "We're on the run from Gluttony, and we were lucky to get far enough from him. We need to move and find a way to get him out of our hair." "But what about the second element?" Spike whispered "We still haven't searched all of the forest yet." "We'll get to that once everypony's safe. Until then, we need a plan." Greed replied. A rumbling was heard before a portion of trees and bushes behind the group had been enveloped by a gust of wind. Everyone carried a feeling of dread when they spotted an ominous eye in the distance. "Let me eat you!!" Gluttony roared. The group instantly ran off without a word, wanting to distance themselves from Gluttony as much as possible. Twilight felt as if the whole ordeal with Gluttony could be endless while she and her friends were trying to find the second element. She thought back to what she had gathered prior to her situation. "The first can be found by studying history, while the second can be found in the belly of a beast..." "What if the second element is inside Gluttony? I mean, he is a bit of a piggy sometimes." As far as the presented leads go, Twilight was at her wits' end. With the severity of the challenge, she had nothing left to lose except her life. But knowing who was running the challenge, a part of Twilight wondered if it would be much like her previous trial with Discord and the elements before she had met the homunculi. Even she knew that one must expect the unexpected. Mustering her calm, she looked up at Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow! I need you to hold onto Spike for me for a moment!" She called up to the cyan pegasus. "What?" Spike asked "Why, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash looked down and nodded. "You got a plan or something?" Rainbow Dash replied as she carefully descended and scooped up Spike while the group ran "What is it?" "Just keep running! Trust me on this!" Twilight called to her friends, to which they wordlessly complied. They were picking up speed and easily losing Gluttony... Until Twilight skidded to a halt and turned around with a stalwart stance. "Twilight!!" It didn't take long for the others to notice until they looked back at Twilight staying behind, where Gluttony came into view. Greed widened his eyes and instantly bolted back to the lavender unicorn. "Don't do it, you idiot! Think of the others!!" Greed shouted as he galloped back. When he was in range, he dove for Twilight, feeling as if he were frozen in time by her side. Gluttony merely leaned back before he instantly swallowed the two unicorns. The others watched with eyes wide as dinner plates and each of them felt their hearts sink, Spike especially. "No..." Spike uttered as his pupils trembled "No..." Rainbow Dash was at a loss for words herself, but remembering who she was running from, she bit back any tears she felt welling up and turned away, holding Spike tight in her grasp. "Keep running! That was her plan; just keep running!" She took comfort in noticing that Pinkie and Fluttershy complied to her request, though they all felt as if they couldn't go on any longer after what had just been witnessed. They had no choice but to run in order to avoid the grim fate that had befallen both Greed and Twilight. Gluttony had let off a burp as he stood behind in a brief moment of satisfaction. "I'm still hungry..." Gluttony groaned before he resumed his chase. He would not rest until his perpetual appetite had been properly sated. _____ Blackness. It was almost a nostalgic feeling for Greed as he felt so tired. When he regained feeling in his body, he tried to move, only to notice that he was laying in some kind of liquid. He sniffed at the air, only to weakly wrinkle his nose in disgust. 'Blood...Did I fall or something? It freaking reeks here...' He shifted his body to where he sat up an noticed that he stared off into what appeared to be an endless void. There were several ancient ruins, some of which lit with flames while the floor of the area was flooded with blood that went up to Greed's ankles. After regaining his energy and sight, he rose form his sitting position and looked around. "Dear God...What is this place?" Greed asked himself before the memories before his arrival came back to him "Wait a minute...Am I inside Gluttony!?" He asked himself aloud, both surprised and repulsed at the fact that he was swallowed whole. He perked up when he remembered that he wasn't alone. 'Twilight! I gotta find her quickly! I might even be able to find Sloth, too, since he got eaten first...' The avaricious unicorn wasted no time in taking a deep breath before shouting "Hey! Is anypony there!? Answer me!" His voice echoed in the darkness, and was sadly met with no response. He grunted to himself before he decided to gallop at a random direction, the blood splashing beneath his hooves. "Anypony! Can you hear me!?" Greed shouted again, hoping for a response. After galloping for what felt like ten minutes, he caught his breath, feeling the energy drained from his body. He growled to himself in frustration before he brought his head to the heavens, or lack thereof. "Somepony answer me! Twilight! Sloth! Come on!!" Greed shouted with the last of his might. He paused, but hung his head when he heard nothing "Dammit..." The avaricious pony muttered. He thought that all hope was lost until he heard a distant and familiar voice that made his right ear twitch as he instantly drew his head up. "Is somepony there!?" Greed said, darting his head before he heard the same distant voice, albeit higher in volume. He instantly turned to the left and noticed a glowing light, to which he broke into a fierce gallop towards it "Hey!" He called out, then noticed how the glowing light was moving towards him along with the voice. "...is that you?" He heard the voice call back to him. "If it's who I think it is, you're damn right!" Greed called out with vigor and hope. He was happy to see Twilight's familiar face galloping towards him with her horn acting as a light. "Greed!" Twilight beamed as she approached him "You're okay!" When they reached each other, they did not hesitate to embrace each other in a tight hug despite them standing in blood. After their moment, Greed instantly donned a stern look. "I don't know what you were thinking, but I'm pretty sure the others are freaking out right about now." Greed said, to which Twilight folded her ears back and looked down shamefully. "I-...I know what I did was risky, but a part of me wondered if Pinkie was onto something. Not to mention our efforts in the Everfree Forest didn't pay off at all." She then looked up "But after noticing this place, I know without a doubt that Discord may have hid the second element inside here..." She looked up at the blackness above with slight uncertainty in her eyes "Wherever this place is. It's pretty disturbing, to say the least. I don't even think we're in Equestria anymore." "I'm pretty sure we're inside Gluttony's stomach. Then again, I don't see any organs of his laying around." Greed said as he looked up as well "In fact, I think this place seems too weird to be his stomach." He then widened his eyes "Wait a minute..." He looked over at Twilight "How the hell are we gonna get out!?" Greed felt a hoof on his chest and looked at Twilight, who smiled confidently. "We'll find a way once we figure out where the element is." Twilight looked around "Knowing how big this place is, we have a lot of ground to cover." "Yeah..." Greed said as he spotted a worn plateau far behind Twilight "In the meantime, why don't we go someplace dry? I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be caught dead trudging in so much blood." The two unicorns broke the embrace as Twilight grimaced to herself. "Don't remind me. It was hard for me to take it in at first." Twilight looked at Greed with a loving smile "I'm...glad you're here with me right now, Greed." Greed merely smirked back. "I'm pretty sure your brother would chase me to the ends of the earth if I just stood there and watched you go." He quipped before trotting past Twilight "Come on." The two unicorns trekked across the vast abyss until they finally reached the plateau Greed had his eyes on; there were large remains of columns seen on the edges of it. As they got on top of it, they shook their limbs in an attempt to dry themselves, though noticed traits of blood lingered on their hooves. They took a moment to collect themselves until Twilight looked up at one of the columns and gasped. "Hey! There it is!" Twilight said as she pointed a hoof up at the column, spotting her tiara at the top, glistening with a pristine appearance in contrast to the morbid atmosphere. She used her magic to levitate it downward until it landed on her head, grinning in delight "Alright, now all that remains is to find Sloth and leave this place!" She looked over at Greed sitting on his haunches and staring down at the floor in silence, facing away from the lavender unicorn. "Greed?" She asked cautiously, though she didn't receive a reply. A part of her wondered if the guilt Greed had bottled up inside of him had finally taken hold and drained his spirit. She took a deep breath and trotted over to his side. Twilight sat next to Greed as he looked down at the blood-stained stone floor with a hardened gaze, frowning at his silence "...Greed, this isn't your-" "Just shut it, Twilight." Greed interrupted cooly, albeit irritably "You know you're just telling lies, and you know how I feel about lying..." He said without facing Twilight. Meanwhile, she didn't give up as she placed a hoof on his back, gently rubbing him with it. "Think what you want, my point still stands. It might look bad now, but I know we can find a way out of here." She said as she pointed at the golden tiara on her head "We wouldn't have found this if we hadn't come in here sooner, so I know there's a way for us to leave this place." "Don't you get it!?" Greed snapped as he leered at Twilight, who recoiled at his voice "This isn't something you can just easily escape from! We're stuck here! We're stuck here and-....and..." He bared his sharp teeth and hung his head "Dammit...I can't even keep my cool here..." As he paused, he didn't noticed the purple hoof that gently touched his chin and lifted his head towards a serious looking Twilight. "You're not yourself right now, and I get where you're coming from, but far be it from me to watch your bravado crumble away like this." The lavender unicorn said firmly "We've come so far to just give up like this, even if we're in some lost point of reality. You were strong enough to go on an adventure with us to stop Discord and save your family." Her features softened as she smiled warmly. "And not only have you kept your head held high, you've managed to keep us all in good spirits while doing so." She wrapped her forelegs around Greed's neck as they locked eyes "I'll ignore wounding your pride by saying this isn't your fault, but I will say that you're the best friend anypony could ask for. You're my special somepony..." She whispered her last sentence lovingly. "Twi..." Greed said before returning the embrace and sharing a kiss with Twilight. Despite the grim scenery around them, they managed to share their little moment. The sound of approaching stomps and splashing had caused the two unicorns to break their embrace as they looked into the darkness, instantly standing up and bracing themselves for what was trudging through the reddened waters. They were surprised to find a certain pony towering over them before tilting his head at their shock. "Oh...I found you..." End of Chapter 21