• ...
11
 303
 5,071

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Ephemeral Boons

Wrath was busy fighting head-to-head with his human double, the two of them executing deft movement and swift strikes at different directions which resulted in either harsh clashes or expert dodging.

The former grunted with each strike that was either given by him or taken through his defense while his opponent had barely registered any reactions of his own 'Discord must've searched my mind well to get my previous form firm to the letter. He isn't showing any sign of fatigue or hesitation.' He thought to himself as he tried coming up with a strategy for countering the other Wrath's moves. Nothing came to mind in the heat of battle so far, since this was a battle with himself and no one else.

When he spotted an opening in his doppelganger's chest region, he went to strike there, only to find it was easily blocked and countered with a blade towards his face. Wrath's reflexes kicked in and moved back to dodge before the two went back to their heavy clashing 'It really is like looking into a cosmic mirror. And this is without a doubt my greatest challenge yet.' He thought as he got a better look at his opponent's hardened gaze through his fight 'All of that turmoil...All of the tribulations I've faced before turning into the first human homunculus...' His own eyes narrowed 'It's about time I conquer my past in order to move on...'

Wrath jumped back and flared his wings before he lunged in a swift gliding motion to slash his opponent on his right side as he landed a few feet behind him. When he looked back, his eyes widened when he spotted no blood in the deep cut that was made. What made it more unnerving was the fact that his opponent looked like he hadn't felt a thing; He slowly turned around with his unchanged expression before running at Wrath with his blades drawn as if he were some kind of puppet.

Before the furious pony could avoid it, he was back to clashing at another part of the room 'This is inconceivable...It's as if I'm fighting some kind of spirit!' He said as he continued to defend himself, though was slightly deterred by his opponent's invulnerability. As he continued to fight, he was met with a leg sweep from his opponent, to which he jumped in the air, followed by banking to the right and narrowly dodging a stab from one of the doppelganger's blades. He swooped down and managed to score another hit on his opponent's left side, though no reaction of pain was noted as Wrath made his pass.

He landed in the center of the room and quickly turned to face the other Wrath and waited for him to rush at him in a somnambulistic fashion. The furious pony gritted his teeth before he commenced with matching his opponent with another onslaught of strikes and dodges.

The doppelganger growled before he broke away from the clash and instantly lunged in to stab Wrath in the chest, the blade going through his body. The furious pony snarled in pain as it went through his back and was forcibly yanked out as he fell to the ground, but not before getting kicked aside by his opponent, landing on his back. Wrath wondered if it was finally over for him as he laid down...

Until he felt it.

A familiar sound reached his ears, and he looked down at his stomach to see the deep stab wound patching itself up while being coated in red static, staring at it incredulously 'It cannot be...I still have some of Discord's power left in me?'

Not wishing to question good fortune, Wrath instantly jumped up on his feet and charged at his doppelganger with newfound resolve. He swiftly clashed with him once more and allowed his opponent to stab at his right foreleg in order to grant him an opening to attack at his Ultimate Eye while he was distracted.

The other Wrath pulled his blade away from the furious pony's impaled foreleg and distanced himself as he covered his eye while leering at his attacker, who smirked triumphantly 'Now let's see how far he goes without his own eye...' Wrath thought as he galloped towards his doppelganger and clashed once more. He was met with more of the intense strength from their earlier clash, but when he chose to move to the right, an advantage was found from when he damaged the doppelganger's eye; his obstructed vision rendered him open to more attacks unless he were to swiftly turn his body to defend.

Wrath continuously circled around his opponent, scoring available hits whenever they presented themselves while dodging any oncoming retaliation. When the doppelganger stood while decorated in injuries, he gave out labored breaths while maintaining a vicious glare at the hovering pony. Wrath squinted his eyes at the imposter and merely uttered "This battle is mine..." He flared out his wings and flew in to slash at the other Wrath's neck, landing behind him after he made his hit.

The doppelganger's head soared in the air with an expression of shock before bouncing onto the floor. Wrath knew that no blood was seen, but he hoped that the battle was over.

After a moment of silence, a party blower was heard as copious amounts of confetti shot out of the doppelganger's neck before the body fell down in a sprawled position on the ground. Wrath looked back at his fallen foe in silence, then his ears perked up when he noticed the door he entered open up by itself, revealing the dipalidated city of Manehattan outside "Ah...So after emerging victorious, I've managed to complete my challenge." He said to himself as he trotted outside, leaving behind the feudal room and the chaotic corpse inside of it.

He stretched his limbs when he was back outside and looked around 'I wonder if Mustang has completed his challenge yet...' Wrath thought to himself as he decided to gallop back to where he parted ways with Shining Armor.
_____

The four chimeras all laid in a daze, piled up by one another as their bodies were severely injured. Greed stood in front of them while remaining in his Ultimate Shield form, catching his breath as he stared them down 'I have to admit, those idiots were as fierce as I remembered...' An invisible smirk was seen behind his teeth 'At least now they know why I was the boss of them...' A click was heard, and Greed looked back at the door he entered, seeing that it was opening by itself. His eyes widened slightly "It's over? Sweet!" He said as he galloped out of the room without hesitation.

Once he was out in the darkened city, he canceled out of his form and darted his head around, contemplating on his next stop with slight anxiety on his mind over the thought of his friends' challenges "Where to go now...?" He said to himself as he decided to go what he perceived to be north of his current destination, galloping as he looked for each number.

He thought back to the numbers that his friends have drawn while he carefully scanned each number that was passed 'I had 8...Spike had 7...Rarity and that pansy both got 13...Twilight had...' Greed squinted his eyes at each number he passed, until he noticed a door containing the number 3. He skidded to a halt and looked up with a grin "What luck I have!" He cheered before looking serious 'I better go inside and see if she needs help...'

Steeling himself for the trial ahead, Greed opened the door in front of him without hesitation. He noticed a large flurry of books big and small converging at the center of the room "What the hell?" He muttered to himself at the obscurity of the scene. Following their trail towards the center, a certain unicorn was seen struggling the books that flew at her at projectile speed; She was seen blasting each one that got in her range, but was sweating from exhaustion. Greed perked up and activated his Ultimate Shield once more "Twilight!" He called out as he made a beeline for his marefriend, knocking away the books in his path as the door behind him shut itself.

Twilight blasted another book before she heard a metallic voice "Greed?" She looked over at an oncoming force, but yelped when one book was flying at her, quickly shooting a beam to incinerate the hostile piece of literature. The force revealed itself to be the mentioned stallion, who turned to stand by her side while fighting off more books that came their way. Twilight fought off more of her own before focusing on Greed "You've completed your challenge already?" She shot another beam when she spotted a book at the corner of her eye.

Greed grinned "Sure did! I'd say Discord whipped me into shape by making me look at my past." He quipped as he knocked away more books, then shifted his glance at Twilight "But I don't know why you're having it rough with this challenge here. Are you even trying?" He asked, still bothered by Twilight's challenge.

Twilight groaned at Greed's question while defending herself, not facing the avaricious pony while doing so "You have no idea how much I despise this challenge, or Discord for even making me go through with this!" She answered irritably.

Greed chuckled despite the situation, then scouted the area until his eyes landed on the ominous receptionist desk nearby, with the digit reel currently at 176 and decreasing at a steady pace "Wait...Is that thing connected with these books?"

Twilight grunted as she magically held one book coming her way and used it as an instrument of defense towards more "Yes. I have to conquer each book until the reel hits zero, otherwise I'm stuck here!" She said, the disdain over the conditions clear in her voice.

Greed shook his head at Twilight's misfortune "You poor girl..." He muttered to himself before turning to Twilight "Activate your shield, Twi." Greed requested nonchalantly as he squinted his eyes "We're gonna end this thing together!"

Twilight finished defending another small group of books before donning a smile and wordlessly activating her own Ultimate Shield, bracing herself for impact on all angles as Greed stayed right at her side. The two nodded to each other before they worked together in destroying every book that closed in on them, either through physical or magical means; The digit reel - now at 158 - began to decrease drastically due to the doubled efforts of both unicorns.

Greed roared as he tore through more of the projectiles in his direction with ferocity greater than that of the mare next to him. He impaled one book before magically prying it off and using it to thrash more books that came his way, knocking back each wave one mighty swing at a time.

Twilight held her own and continued shooting precisely-aimed magic beams and absorbing the impact from the books that have gotten close to her before smashing them into the ground with her hooves. When she felt that her magic supply was running low, she relied on her enchanced physical prowess to fend off the remaining books.

Through their combined efforts, the books that were left to fight had fallen in droves until the digit reel on the receptionist desk had finally decreased to 1. Greed and Twilight caught their breath as they surveyed the area and tried to spot the last book needed. Greed was still tensed up from having to treat what was once boring literature as a sizeable threat to him and his loved ones. When he turned to look at Twilight, he noticed a large encyclopedia that flew towards her, his eyes widening "Twilight, behind you!" He blurted out as he quickly assumed a defensive stance and lit up his horn to shoot a magic beam of his own at the massive book past Twilight, only to see that he had slowed its flying speed.
He was taken by surprise when he spotted a magic beam larger than his own pierce through the encyclopedia before it had bursted into flames and instantly fell into ashes.

Greed looked over to see the pony responsible cancel out her form to take a deep breath. He then darted his head over at the receptionist desk to see the third reel finally go from 1 to 0, leaving only three 0's altogether. Greed canceled out of his Ultimate Shield form and heaved a content sigh of his own "Talk about intense reading." He chuckled at his own joke "This challenge was much harder than my own." Greed looked over at Twilight "Hey, are you oka-"

He didn't anticipate a purple blur dive at him and constrict him in a hug. He saw how Twilight wrapped her hooves around his neck as she held him close, then smiled as he gingerly returned the embrace with a hoof over your back "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It wasn't your fault, and you know it." Twilight said as she brought her head up to face Greed, a grateful smile and a loving gaze seen as her current features "Thank you so much for coming at my time of need, Greed. I didn't think I could last any longer." She said as she gave him a peck on the cheek.

Greed chuckled "Well, one of us had to take the reins and show these books who's boss." He looked away with a smug smirk "I'd say my work here is done..." A strike to his chest snapped him out of his boasting and he saw Twilight with narrowed eyes, to which he laughed "Okay, I'm sorry. All in all, at least we took down this challenge together..."

Twilight smiled "Right." A click was heard and the two unicorns saw the door they entered open by itself. They shared a glance before exiting the twisted library and going outside. Twilight frowned in frustration "This city's huge and no doubt everypony's struggling with their own challenges at different parts of this place. Where should we go from here?"

Greed rubbed his chin as he thought to himself before saying "Something tells me we should go help your little assistant out of his jam."

Twilight turned to Greed, starting to feel worried after bringing up Spike's safety "Good idea. For all we know, Spike could have the worst challenge yet despite having lucky number 7."

Their destination set, Twilight and Greed galloped in search of Spike's door, the former fearing the worst for her number one assistant.
_____

Shining Armor gritted his teeth as he tried to cope with both the intense light looming over him and the pain in his forelegs from his many errors in crossing the tiles he stood on.

So far, he was a good distance from his halfway point - his trail only consisting of a long straight path followed by a left turn, then a right turn after a few steps - but from what he had endured throughout his challenge, he was close to standing still and waiting for his strength to return, but his mind refused to yield. After noticing his current path was green, he tried to distinguish the next blinking tile and waiting to step on it when it landed on the desired color.

Shining Armor took a step, but was met with more pain as he grunted and drew back his hoof from his wrong move 'I have to keep moving. Everypony's lives depend on it!' He thought to himself as he waited patiently for his next step, managing to get it right. The trail he made then switched to blue, and the guard captain bided his time for his next move.

He couldn't make out how close he was to his goal, but he was confident that his challenge was almost over. Shining Armor stepped down on another tile and managed to touch the right color; the trail made had now switched to indigo. He squinted his eyes and noticed how close he was to the other end of the room; from where he had stood, it was only another five steps.

Shining Armor felt a surge of adrenaline from noticing that his goal was nearly complete and instantly shifted his attention back to the changing tile below him. He brought a hoof up and took a deep breath before he slammed it down and caused the tile's color to land on indigo. When the trail had changed to violet, Shining Armor repeated the strategy of his last move and was met with another successful step.

The trail was now red, and only three steps remained. He raised a hoof and took another deep breath before slamming it down on the tile, only to be met with a surge of pain that was lightly cushioned from his adrenaline 'Damn, too early. I just have to focus...' Shining Armor closed his eyes and slowly raised his hoof before he brought it down on the tile, getting the correct color as it changed his trail to orange. He performed the same tactic for the next tile with the same results.
Only one tile was left before the challenge was complete.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut while the last tile in front of him changed constantly, and with a growl, Shining Armor brought his hoof down as if he were striking an opponent on the ground, and he felt a jolt of pain, to which he quickly switched hooves and struck at the tile again, only this time getting the correct color of yellow.

There was a pause, and the intense light from the disco ball had died down while a small victory theme had played in the room. Shining Armor caught his breath and rubbed his eyes along with his forehead as he looked at the path he had made, then noticed the door at the opposite end disappear "Huh? What is this!?" He snarled in outrage. A whooshing sound was heard next to him, and he spotted an identical door, to which he calmed himself "Oh..." After he felt relieved of his burdened challenge, he opened the door and stepped outside to see that not only was he in the exact area he had entered from, but a certain pegasus was about to enter himself "Bradley?" He said in a puzzled tone before he smirked "I see you've bested your challenge without a hitch." Shining Armor said in a respecting tone.

Wrath shared a smile himself "You'd be surprised what I've discovered through my own trail..." He said as he looked serious "I still hold some of Discord's magical traits inside of me..."

Shining Armor widened his eyes "You mean...?"

Wrath nodded "Yes, I can still regenerate my wounds at an ample rate." He looked away as his eyes narrowed "And if my theory is correct, one of my family may be residing in this city with a healing factor of their own. We should hurry to their aid and quickly."

Shining Armor frowned "But where do we go from here? What door could the next homunculus be inside of?"

Wrath pondered over Shining Armor's question until an idea had formed "The unlucky number..." He muttered to himself in a grave tone. Before Shining Armor could question him, the furious pony darted his head towards him "We must find door number 13 immediately!"

Shining Armor noted the urgency in Wrath's voice and gave a curt nod before they galloped to their own destination.
_____

Pinkie was moving around in a circle at the fastest velocity imaginable, watching only the swirling blurs in front of her past the front window while she was stuck in her seat. She was unable to laugh to her hearts content due to her vocal chords feeling restrained from how fast she was going, but that didn't stop her from enjoying this challenge.

Many thoughts had crossed her mind as she continued to move around in a circle: What could Discord be planning next? Which homunculus could be in Manehattan since Wrath was found in Ponyville? When would this story end? But while her questions were unanswered, she felt herself beginning to grow dizzy and queasy from how long she had spun around.

She almost felt as if she were about to fail, but Pinkie felt the contraption begin to slow down. While it had done so, she was able to get herself out of the seat after being stuck inside for so long. When the contraption had finally slowed to a stop, the glass opened for her, and Pinkie practically slinked her way out of it and picked herself up to walk in a haphazardly fashion, still dizzy and sickened from her challenge "Looks like..." She said as she paused in her daze "Looks like Pinkie wins this round..." The party pony laughed halfheartedly while she felt her face turn green.

The door she entered had opened by itself, and Pinkie Pie took her time in exiting the building as she swayed about in her daze. Once outside, she set off at a random direction and moaned to herself while swaying about in the city "Houston...We have a problem..." She muttered to herself as she went further inside the city.

End of Chapter 12

Author's Note:

I'll bet you're wondering about the chapter's title. For those that are, simply stay tuned.

But it WAS a boon for me to finally post this thing. I still have some ideas churning, they're just hard to incorporate at times.

What will become of the remaining challengers, you ask? Second verse same as the first! :pinkiecrazy:

Enjoy this chapter. Peace! :twilightsmile: