From The Gates

by Dirty Bit

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Building Bridges

With what had transpired between most of the former homunculi, time flew by as it was already getting late for the ponies in Ponyville. Like the night before, everypony departed from Sugarcube Corner to head back to their own respective homes, Pinkie and Gluttony seeing them off with hearty goodbyes.

Greed watched them all leave with a smirk on his face. Twilight was at his side and looked over at Greed with a smile of her own "Making sure your possessions don't hurt themselves?"

The avaricious pony turned to Twilight and flinched as he looked ahead "Yeah, they're not doing anything extreme. It's a start."

Twilight looked down and kicked a hoof at the ground "Greed, while I know it's getting late, do you think you can do me a favor?" The avaricious pony looked at Twilight with a quizzical glance as she looked back up at him "I know it's getting late, but I want to gather more data on your Ultimate Shield spell! When we get back, you think we could-"

Greed gave an amused grin "You're still on about that? I know you you're study-happy, but you're gonna lose a lot of sleep if you decide to take your time with me."

Twilight gave a confident smile "It's an acceptable loss to obtain a satisfactory amount of fruitful data for research and study! If I understand the spell well enough, I could incorporate it as my own in no time!"

Greed stared at Twilight 'God, she's a nerd...But she's got balls to think she can match my power...' He tilted his head with his grin unchanged "You sure about this, Twi? Don't get me wrong, but I think this suggestion of yours might take a toll on you."

Twilight nodded "This wouldn't be the first time I pulled an all-nighter to gather resourceful data..." She looked at Greed with a smirk that almost imitated Greed's cockiness.

The avaricious pony took notice of her determination and audacity and reeled his head back to laugh "Fair enough! Looks like we're in for a hell of a night, you and I!"

Twilight laughed with Greed "For once, I agree with you. This spell won't be easy to master quickly, but I think I'll manage!"

Spike watched Twilight and Greed and shook his head in exasperation "Those two, I swear..." He muttered to himself.

Twilight shifted her glances to Spike and Greed "Come on, you two. Let's go home!" She then turned to Pinkie and Gluttony "Thanks for another amazing party today, Pinkie!"

Pinkie held up a hoof "Anytime, Twilight! Have fun with Greedy!"

Twilight nodded and her along with Greed and Spike left for the library. Gluttony watched them leave and tilted his head "I wonder what Twilight tastes like..."

Pinkie looked at Gluttony with a stern warning glance "Gluttony~..." She said in an expectant tone.

Gluttony looked down "I'm sorry. Those cupcakes weren't enough for me!"

Pinkie giggled "That's one of the reasons why you're a good friend, Gluttony! I wonder what would happen if Celestia would let you eat the moon!"

Gluttony looked at Pinkie "She can do that!?"

Pinkie shook her head "Well, no...But it would be super duper hilarious if she could, though! Then again, most ponies enjoy a good night now and then..."

Lust looked at Pinkie and Gluttony and smiled to herself "An endearing sight, if I do say so myself..." She turned to Rarity "Shall we?"

Rarity nodded "But of course. Let us make for the boutique!" She waved to Pinkie "Another wonderful soiree, Pinkie! Thank you!"

Pinkie waved back "No prob! Love the dress you made for Lusty!"

Gluttony waved as well "You look pretty, Lusty!" Lust stifled a chuckle before she departed with Rarity. Gluttony's own smile widened "I love to see Lusty all happy! It makes me happy, too!"

Pinkie nodded "You and me both, Gluttony! Nothing says nice like making your friends smile!" She looked around "Speaking of..." She noticed Rainbow Dash talking with Envy and waved over "Hey! Dashie and Envy! Did you enjoy the party as well?"

Rainbow Dash waved back with a smile "Sure did, Pinkie! Awesome as always! Me and Envy are gonna go home now! We got some stuff to do!" She then unfurled her wings "See ya tomorrow! Let's get going, Envy." The cyan pegasus then flew into the air.

Envy said nothing to the party pony while it unfurled its wings as well and went to fly off, but not before Pinkie called out to it "Bye, Envy!" She smiled at the jealous pony.

Envy sneered at Pinkie "Fuck off..." It then flew into the air after Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie tilted her head and looked at Gluttony with a confused glance "Is that how Envy usually says goodbye? I heard her say that around Fluttershy once!"

Gluttony looked down in blank thought before he looked back up at Pinkie and shook his head "I don't know! Envy can be silly with words sometimes!"

Fluttershy stared up at the sleeping mass that was Sloth and examined its peaceful slumber "Aww, he's like a giant bear!" She smiled at Sloth's snoring.

Applejack trotted up with a firm expression "Well THIS bear ain't hibernatin' on me now! C'mon, Sloth! We're goin' home! We got more work t' do tomorro'!" She only received more snoring as she looked angry "Don't make me jump on ya again..." She smiled when she heard Sloth moan and raise himself.

Fluttershy yelped when she noticed Sloth waking up and jumped back a little as he rose to his towering height. The indolent pony cracked his neck left and right "What a pain..." He shifted his blank stare from Applejack to Fluttershy "Which one is-..." Sloth turned to Applejack "Oh...over there..."

Applejack smiled to herself "Glad t' know y'all can get that mind o' yers workin' like yer body, sugarcube! Now let's saddle up on back t' th' farm!" She took off her hat with a hoof and waved it at Pinkie before she put it back on her head and trotted off "Happy trails, Fluttershy! Good luck with Envy tomorro'!" Sloth slowly followed after Applejack.

Fluttershy nodded with a smile "Thank you, Applejack. And good night to you, too..." She looked back at Pinkie and waved before she trotted off herself 'Maybe I could have a better chance at making Envy a better mare tomorrow...'
_____

At the library, Twilight had entered into the library followed by Greed and Spike. With a yawn, the purple dragon decided to go up the stairs and get some sleep after enjoying another good party.

Twilight looked up and smiled contently to herself at the notion of Spike earning himself a good rest. She then turned to Greed "Okay, Greed. Let's move on down to the laboratory so I can get started. I'm looking forward to what I can collect from this session!"

Greed shrugged "Alright. Try not to hurt yourself with how much you want to learn."

Twiight scoffed "I'll have you know I'm fully capable of handling myself when it comes to research! Now let's get moving." The two unicorns then made their way down into the basement.

In the laboratory, Twilight made sure that her machines were all in order for use at the desired moment. Greed looked around with a bored expression at all of the blinking lights and beeping sounds. When Twilight was finished calibrating her last machine, she turned to Greed with a smile "Everything's in order! Can you change into your Ultimate Shield form for me, please?"

Greed nodded "Sure thing." He then conjured the magic in his horn and transformed himself into his Ultimate Shield form.

Twilight nodded with satisfaction "Good! Now I just want you to head to the machine over there so I can go over your properties." She pointed over to the familiar machine with the metal cuffs and the helmet with blinking lights.

Greed groaned in his metallic tone "Again? Didn't we do this already? You have notes from me doing this earlier today!"

Twilight frowned "I just need some courtesy notes to go by just in case! It's a little habit of mine to make sure I double-check, if not triple-check certain matters so that I know everything's in order!"

Greed stared with his piercing eyes "...Seriously?" He spoke in a deadpan tone.

Twilight grunted "Don't contempt me for what I do! Just get yourself ready so I can collect my data!"

Greed sighed and rolled his eyes as he trotted over to the machine where he laid his forelegs onto the metal cuffs that closed themselves up with Twilight's magic. He was then met with the familiar and goofy-looking helmet on his head as he waited for the small test to take place. After a moment of waiting, Twilight had a content smile on her face "You get what you need that fast?"

Twilight turned to Greed "Mhm. now we can move onto the next phase!"

Greed raised a nonexistent eyebrow "Next phase? The data from this one's not enough from you?"

Twilight freed the avaricious pony from the metal cuffs and levitated the helmet off of his head "Greed, you have to understand that I'm doing research. And researching even topics that nopony understands can take the longest time for them! Simple results alone won't help me to fully understand your spell!"

Greed shrugged "Knowing your brainpower, I'd figure this would be a minor feat."

Twilight narrowed her eyes at Greed "You make it sound so easy-" She stopped herself as she stared up "Do...Do you think I'm that smart?"

Greed smirked under his sharp teeth "Is that a trick question? I mean, if you're Celestia's personal student, then there's no doubt in my mind that you could probably put local teachers to shame! But I digress. You said that my Ultimate Shield was similar to an advanced carbonizing spell, right?" Twilight nodded in response "Well, why not take the data you got from me and mix it in with whatever book has the spell you're talking about? Maybe things will go a lot quicker if you find out anything related to my form!"

Twilight thought it over before she perked up with a brightened smile on her face. She then galloped over and hugged Greed "Greed, that's brilliant! I never thought you would come up with an idea like that on your own!"

Greed grimaced at both the sudden hugging and what Twilight had said 'Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Twi...' He then gingerly returned the embrace "Well, I happen to have some good ideas now and then. What say we get cracking while we still have the night?"

Twilight broke the embrace and smiled up at Greed "Right. I'll be right back down with some books to look over!" She trotted up the steps and stopped near the door as she looked back at Greed "Oh, and Greed?" The avaricious pony stared up inquisitively before Twilight finished with a warm smile "Thank you for letting me study your spell. While you seem childish at times and not so well-mannered to generosity, you're a nice stallion to me. You make me happy with learning something new and exciting! Wait here for a moment til I get back, okay?" She then opened the door and made her way into the library.

Greed stood and looked up from the basement floor and grunted to himself 'A guy like me shouldn't even be feeling this way...I can't believe she even likes me that much! But I guess she's not so bad herself, even if she is a nerd...' He looked away with a distant stare as he pondered about himself.
_____

Father managed to fly quick enough to where he was only an hour away from Canterlot, but hovered down towards the ground as he curled up his wings and stared up at the large and divine castle with his red eyes. His body crackled with red static 'It was probably the wrong move to exert too much energy for this flight...' He then descended into a resting position 'But I shouldn't be worried. I will be met with all that I wish for come tomorrow...More stones, a familiar face, and the glorious moment of becoming one with God once again...' He smiled to himself as he shut his eyes 'I want the people of Canterlot to watch as I ascend to my rightful place...For now, they can rest peacefully knowing the dawning of a new age starts tomorrow.' The pale alicorn slept with a wide and ambitious smile on his face as he dreamt of his goal being realized without fail.

End of Chapter 35

Comments

[Dirty Bit]

Forgive the shortness. Moving things along

Also, I'm gonna leave this here...

images.wikia.com/dragonball/images/8/88/PIccolo12.jpg

Okay, peace!

[Leo Archon]

Father vs. the Princesses, Wrath, and perhaps Shining Armor and Cadence as well. This is going to be a doozy. Pinkie might end up drilling through the floor.

Looking forward to more, and I hope the ex-homonculi have happier endings than Dr. Facilier.

[DavidPony]

877549 i see your picallo and i raise you a chibi derpy!
[img] http://static4.fjcdn.com/thumbnails/comments/Cute+Derpy+thread+Go+_97efeac47012925e65cc6799b763b66d.png [/img]

[Dirty Bit]

877636 Ah yes, I forgot you enjoyed my first fic as well. Well stay tuned, faithful reader

877852 Thanks for the chibi

[Thespurgin]

Oh dear... Father moves quickly. This can NOT be good.

[Dirty Bit]

877960 876705 No no no, nothing like that. Envy's contemplating more about RD's aspect of loyalty (Or in Envy's sense, RD's persistence) and the fact that its been reduced to feeding off of love. Nothing about gender identity unless you're just referring to sexual preferences in general. But yes, even Envy is confused by the logic of thinking about starting a relationship with our friendly neighborhood Rainbow Dash

Stay tuned, for shit is about to get real soon enough.

[Genesis1212]

O.o and father is on the move!