//------------------------------//
// Chapter 32 
// Story: From The Gates 
// by Dirty Bit 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 32


A New Risk


Greed took a deep breath as he tried to think of a good explanation about him and his siblings as homunculi 'How to narrow it down...I'm not exactly one for lectures...' He thought for a moment, and then smiled to himself when he had an acceptable lead "Okay, a homunculus is basically...well..." He stopped for a moment when he realized a flaw. The avaricious pony was not sure if the other ponies in Equestria, even the regal sisters, were not familiar or affiliated with humans. He decided to improvise so his words would not come off as gibberish "You know how you have a regular pony, be it an earth pony, a pegasus, or a unicorn?" Twilight gave a curt nod in confirmation "Well, a homunculus is different. Very different, actually. We were born with our own special strengths like what you've just seen us use in the battle against those changelings!"

Rarity was intrigued along with the other element bearers "So you really are both unique and one-of-a-kind...But you retain such similar qualities seen in other ponies!"

Greed nodded "Sure, maybe somepony else could have Sloth's strength or Envy's bitchiness-"

Envy glared at Greed "Fuck you!"

Greed continued with a smirk "-but we were specially born, not that I'd love to brag or anything! That's more up Pride's alley!"

Twilight tilted her head "Is Pride another one of your siblings?"

Greed nodded "Yep, but he's an arrogant bastard. Not only is he the oldest out of us, but he's the favorite as well..."

Envy growled "Don't remind me..." It muttered in a harsh tone.

Applejack spoke up "But if Pride's yer oldest brother, then where is he? Why haven't we met 'im yet?"

Lust noticed a flaw in Greed's explanation and recovered for his sake "Pride did not make it. His overconfidence became his downfall..." It was an acceptable lie for the element bearers knowing that Pride was too arrogant for his own good.

Applejack flinched and looked down with guilt "A-Ah'm sorry. Ah shouldn't have brought that up..."

Envy turned to Applejack "We don't give a shit about him, nor did he us. You got nothing to worry about..." It then looked ahead "I don't think it's right to bring him up anyway."

Gluttony whimpered at the unpleasant memory with him and Pride "I don't like Pride..." He muttered sadly. He was not happy to know that his own brother decided to eat him without hesitation.

Rainbow Dash eyed Envy "Are you serious? What kind of messed up family do you live with?"

Lust smiled to herself "Such a peculiar and redundant question. We've already covered the mutual respect for one another. Is that not enough?"

Rarity spoke up "Now that you mention it, I'm afraid it isn't. But I suppose it can wait. Greed's lecture on homunculi seems almost enthralling!"

Twilight smiled "I couldn't agree more!" She looked up at Greed "Could you please continue for us, Greed?"

Greed nodded "Meh, sure. Anyway, we homunculi were born from none other than..." He grimaced and looked down as he spoke in a grave tone "Father..." The other homunculi kept silent and held neutral stares all around.

Twilight looked concerned "Was your father a homunculus as well? With the way you're sounding, you don't seem to like your father that much..."

Greed gave a dark chuckle "I guess it shows, doesn't it? I don't exactly know about the rest of these guys, but I'd say I'm not too fond of dear old dad myself! But yeah, he's a homunculus since we're born from him and stuff."

Gluttony smiled "He usually fixes us up when we're hurt or weak! And he gives us food and shelter!"

Applejack raised an eyebrow "Gluttony sure as hay likes his pappy! What's yer take on 'im, Sloth?" She looked up at the indolent pony for an answer.

Sloth groaned "Father is...strong...smart...but he makes me work too much...It's a pain..." He remained as monotonous as he had in the past.

Lust spoke up "He is as wise as he is resourceful, but that is my only explanation on him. I am not as fond of him as Gluttony, nor am I aware of his whereabouts..." She then felt slightly tense 'It does raise a good question, though...Where is Father?' The lascivious mare was unaware of herself on how to react were she ever to run into him again.

Envy scoffed "He usually makes us run errands, not even considering us as his children sometimes." The jealous pony then felt conflicted when it held a distant memory.

"Ishval? I've never had a more delightful job than that one. Do you know what the trigger was that started the uprising?"

"As far as I'm concerned a military officer accidentally shot an Ishvalan child."

"Yes. And I am the very person who shot that child."

"That felt so good. The civil war flared up right before my eyes, all over a single bullet. Man, that was a real thrill. And incidentally, the officer I turned into was a moderate who opposed the military's intervention in Ishval. And the guy...he couldn't even account for himself, and was court-martialed!"

"You humans are easily manipulated creatures!"

Envy held a gut-wrenching feeling at the memory it once considered fond 'Why am I feeling this way!? Is-...Is this guilt? I feel guilty for starting a war!?' The jealous pony could not fathom the feelings that coursed through its head while it trotted with the others.

Rainbow Dash looked down at Envy "Hey, Envy. Are you okay?"

Envy snapped out of its thought and grunted "I'm fine. Was just thinking about the old fart..."

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy traded glances before the timid mare spoke "Do you-"

Envy interrupted in a distant tone "No...I don't like him." It continued its pace in silence 'And I doubt they'll like me if they knew me too well...' Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked at Envy with concern in their eyes.

Greed chuckled "Yeah, call it dysfunctional, but we have our views on Father. But enough about him! As for my explanation, what makes us homunculi so awesome is that we can't die so easily!"

Twilight thought that Greed's explanation wasn't too clear "Are you referring to enhanced health or a heightened lifespan?"

Greed smirked "Both! Hell, I think I can recover from a minor scratch!" He said as he decided to nip on his left foreleg as an example. He opened a small wound with his sharp teeth.

Twilight noticed and gasped "Greed, what are you doing?"

Greed gave a confident smirk "Just watch..." When he watched the blood from his small wound trickle down his leg, his face slowly changed from confidence, to confusion, and to contained worry 'What the hell!?' The avaricious pony could not believe what he saw.

Twilight looked mildly worried "Greed, why did you have to hurt yourself? One moment..." She conjured her horn and focused it on his foreleg, using her magic to seal the small wound shut "There, that should stop the bleeding. We'll get you a washcloth to clean your leg. Just don't do something like that again!

He thought he retained all of his previous traits as a homunculus, but Greed was only limited to his memories and Ultimate Shield 'So that means...' He turned to the others when he came to a realization "You guys! We need to talk before we move things along!"

Lust noticed the anxiety in Greed's eyes and gave a curt nod "Understood..." She turned to Rarity "If I may be excused?"

Rarity was baffled at the sudden need for the former homunculi to gather themselves "Well, if it is a personal matter regarding familial issues, I shouldn't interfere."

Applejack nodded "Jus' make it quick, y'all! We'll need all th' help we can get with this party!" She smiled at the group.

Pinkie chimed in "Yeah! I wanna make this a party to remember since you guys helped us out against those meanie changelings!! That was so much fun!"

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow "A family meeting? That's a first..."

Greed looked up at the cyan pegasus "It won't be too long. You have my word. Just let me take Envy off of your hooves for a moment again."

Rainbow Dash sighed and rolled her eyes "And here I thought you two fight a lot..."

The former homunculi gathered themselves with Greed taking point "You might as well tell everypony to come out of their homes while we go talk at the library. We'll meet you at Sugarcube Corner when we're done! I promise!"

Pinkie Pie hopped up to the avaricious pony with a smile "Do you Pinkie promise?"

Greed craned his head back when Pinkie got close "Wha-no! Look, I said I promise! That should be eno-"

Pinkie shook her head "Nope nope nope! A promise can be made by anypony, but a PINKIE promise can only be made and carried out without regrets or lies!" She looked at Greed with light sternness in her eyes "So Pinkie promise me and my friends you'll meet us at Sugarcube Corner!"

Greed winced and groaned at Pinkie's persistence, then noticed Gluttony trot up to him with his wide smile "Don't worry, Greed! It's easy! Like this!" He performed the gestures "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

Greed stated flatly "I know how to do it, Gluttony. It just ain't my style. A guy like me's too cool for that sort of thing!" He proclaimed smugly as he held his head up proudly.

Rarity scoffed and rolled her eyes "Some stallions..." She spoke in a disappointed tone.

Twilight found it amusing to see Greed act like an adolescent child, but then spoke up "I'd say you'd earn our trust by doing a Pinkie Promise, Greed. Sure it seems foalish at first, but you'll get used to it. Give it a try!"

Greed stared at Twilight for a moment before he sighed. He then performed his own series of gestures both halfhearted and reluctantly as he spoke in a bored tone "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." He then looked at Pinkie with a raised eyebrow "You happy now?"

Pinkie nodded "Yeppers! We'll see you all at Sugarcube Corner! Don't be late~!" She hopped away with the other ponies and Spike while the former homunculi made their way to the library.

Lust looked at Greed "I've never seen you so anxious before, Greed...What is it?"

Greed turned to Lust "What do you mean? Did you not see what I just did back there!?" He hissed.

Lust smirked "You mean besides making a fool of yourself and attempting to perform a good lecture?"

Greed glared "I'm talking about my leg!" He held up the leg he bit earlier "Didn't you see anything different about it?"

Envy stared at Greed "What are you talking about? All you did was bite your leg and let some blood flow! What's so different about that?"

Gluttony smiled "I never tasted myself before! Did you taste good, Greed?"

Greed growled "Listen, all of you! We're homunculi, right? Able to come back from any kind of pain? Well, what do you make of my leg!?"

It even took Lust along with the rest of the homunculi a while before they realized the same conclusion. The lascivious mare hid her anxiety as she closed her eyes "We lack regeneration. We are no longer the homunculi we make ourselves out to be..."


End of Chapter 32