From The Gates

by Dirty Bit

Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Everything Thereafter

The light finally dimmed, and the element bearers along with the princesses, Shining Armor, and Prince Blueblood opened their eyes to see what the elements have done to Father and the homunculi. They all widened their eyes at the new sight in front of them.

The former homunculi were all scattered around the room with burn marks, sprawled in their location. But in the middle of the room, there stood Father, who looked severely wrinkled all over his body while he gave shuddered breaths. His head was popping with veins, his teeth bared widely in a scowl, and his eyes bulging with shrunken pupils. It was as if he lost complete semblance of his former self as a pony. They shifted about before they locked on Greed's body "Y-You..." He weakly uttered with contempt as he slowly approached him "Y-You~!!" The pale alicorn drew closer.

Twilight saw this and went to stop him, but a hoof from Princess Celestia stopped her in her tracks. She looked ahead with a solemn gaze at what was going to happen next.

Father gasped for air as he glared at Greed with his soulless and bulging eyes "You shall be my next..." He gasped for a moment "...stone!" The pale alicorn reached out with a hoof as his horn began to crackle with red static. But suddenly, his horn stopped glowing and his outstretched hoof began to disintegrate into thin air. Father gasped as he focused on it and shifted his eyes all over to see his body slowly fade away. His wings were next, followed by his tail and hindlegs, then his horn "No..." Father uttered in disbelief "No..." He paused before he raised his head to the sky and yelled "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" He shifted his eyes to Celestia, who looked at him with her solemn gaze. With only his head and left foreleg remaining, he stretched it out with his eyes on her as he vanished "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD~...." The last thing that showed before his voice trailed off was one of his threatening red eyes. It then faded out of existence.

Celestia stared ahead and gave a relieved sigh "It's over..." She muttered with closed eyes.
_____

The pale alicorn found himself in a familiar purgatorial realm with a gate in front of him. He stared up before he gritted his teeth and yelled "It can't be!! No!! It's not fair!!! I was so close!!! I would have become the perfect being once more!!"

"Hehehehehehehe!! A second chance and you STILL don't get it, huh?"

Father turned to see a white silhouette of a pony without a mane, tail, horn, or wings grinning at him "It was so cute of you to think that Princess Celestia of all ponies would be God! Did you forget me for so long?"

Father glared at Truth as his horn crackled with red static "You're not God nor I!! You are not the perfect being that I was about to become!!"

Truth frowned "Sheesh, Sloth was right! You ARE too noisy..." The silhouette then grinned again "But that doesn't mean we can't shut you up..."

The gate behind Father opened to reveal the ominous blackness followed by the large grey eye. Tendrils flew out and began to constrict the pale alicorn as he yelled and struggled "I can't go back there again!! I can't!! I wanted to be perfect!!"

Truth shook its head as it grinned "You haven't learned your lesson in Amestris, and you failed to learn once again in Equestria...Your children are indeed better off without you...I suppose there are other places that are better suited for you..."

Father roared with contempt before his eyes widened in fear "I don't want to go!! I DON'T WANT TO GO!!!" The gates closed in on him as the pale alicorn was sent to a place unknown.

Truth's grin only widened "Too bad..."
_____

In the throne room, everypony looked around at the former homunculi as they laid around unresponsive. Prince Blueblood winced at the damage done to them as well as the entire throne room 'An acceptable loss to get rid of that lunatic, I suppose...' He then looked sad 'I never got to thank them properly for their help...'

Twilight instinctively galloped over to Greed with sadness in her eyes. She sat down and lifted his head with her forelegs while she sniffled "Greed...Greed, no...Don't leave me." Twilight continued to stare at Greed's unmoving body and almost felt like crying right then and there.

Shining Armor trotted to her side along with Cadence and rested a comforting hoof on her shoulder. He then looked to see Wrath's body a few feet away and stared, before he gave a salute with narrowed eyes 'You were the best soldier the Royal Guard could ask for...' Cadence shedded a tear for the furious pony as well.

Applejack took off her hat and held it to her chest "So they're gone, aren't they?" She looked down in sadness "Sloth was big an' lazy, but he did a whole heep o' work in th' end..."

Rarity looked down as well as her ears drooped. She comforted a sobbing Fluttershy while she looked around "Lust was always the smartest one of the group...I suppose what she did was for the better." She said in sadness as she patted Fluttershy's back.

Pinkie's hair went straight as whimpered "I never even got to show Gluttony more of my tricks...or let him eat more of my cupcakes..."

Rainbow Dash stared ahead and bit back tears before she hovered in the air "Where!? Where are you!?" She called out in anger, though sadness was plentifully mixed in. When she noticed the body of a changeling, she darted down and picked it up as she glared at its face with tear-stained eyes "Don't you dare go out on me like this, palm tree head!! Get up!! I said get up!!" She shook the body furiously, but her strength softened as she began to sob "G-Get up..."

Luna noticed the changeling body and gasped in shock 'So that was Envy all this time!? Unbelievable...' She looked at the rest of the former homunculi "A strange family, but they have indeed shown the greatest resolve..."

Celestia nodded "What the homunculi have done was indeed noble. I am happy to proclaim them as heroes of Equestria..." She looked around for a moment, but when her eyes fell on Greed, she felt something and began to smile "I wouldn't cry just yet, my student..."

Twilight turned to Celestia "I-I can't? Why?" She felt Greed's body twitch in her hooves and she instantly turned to it with widened eyes "Huh?" She then noticed Greed's hindlegs twitch before they began to move, his forelegs following suit.

The avaricious pony then murmured before he groaned and stretched, then opened his eyes to blink for a moment. His vision cleared and he looked up at Twilight "Err...Twilight?" He murmured "You okay? What happened?" He weakly raised an eyebrow.

Twilight's lip quivered while her jaw hung open, but she smiled as tears went down her face "Greed..." She whispered as she stared.

Greed rubbed his eyes "The hell are you crying for?" He then inspected his hoof after he rubbed himsef "...And why am I covered in soot? Am I in Tartarus again?"

Twilight pulled Greed into a hug "No...You're in Canterlot. And you're alive...You had me worried..." She began to cry as she buried her face in Greed's chest.

Greed weakly grinned "Well, I told you that I think we were gonna be fine. Did I ever lie to you before?"

Twilight brought herself to face Greed before she smiled again and wiped her eyes "No...I guess not..." She then nuzzled his cheek, despite him being dirty.

Shining Armor looked down in surprise "If you're alive...then that means-" He darted his head to Wrath's body and galloped over to stand over it. In a small moment, the furious pony began to recover with a tired groan. The guard captain was speechless, but he smiled as he held out a hoof.

Wrath was on his knees, and his vision picked up to see Shining Armor's hoof in front of him. He looked up to see him smiling down at him, and offered one of his own as he took the guard captain's hoof and was picked up.

Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy looked around dumbfounded "What in the hay!?" The cowpony galloped over to Sloth and inspected him. She looked infuriated when she heard light snoring "You dirty little-..." Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle as she wiped the tears from her eyes when she heard Sloth snore. The timid mare decided to meet up with Rainbow Dash and Envy.

Pinkie gasped and she galloped to Gluttony with hope flickering from her eyes. When she spotted movement from him, her mane puffed back to normal "Yay!! They're alive! They're alive!!" She hopped around Gluttony with joy.

Gluttony picked himself up and shook his body before he noticed Pinkie and joined her in hopping with laughter. He stopped when he noticed Lust and he whimpered "Lust..." When Pinkie heard the voracious pony, the two ceased their hopping and galloped towards her.

Rarity joined the two earth ponies, and she gasped with a smile to see the lascivious mare recover "Lust!! You're okay!" She then inspected her dress and moaned "Oh dear, and your dress is a complete disaster!!"

Lust grunted as she stretched, but then she inspected herself to see her dress was tattered and dirtied "I wouldn't worry much. It was either the dress or Father..." She smiled up at Rarity "Which would you choose?" Lust was then knocked down by Pinkie and Gluttony as they trapped her in a group hug.

Rarity giggled "I suppose you're right, darling. I can always repair it when we get home!"

Rainbow Dash looked around, and then looked back at Envy, and she grinned when she heard tired moaning "Yeah...that's what I thought..." She murmured with tears of joy. The cyan pegasus noticed Celestia and Luna trot towards her and perked up as she stood her ground "Princesses, please wait!! This isn't what it looks like!"

Celestia smiled "You mean that isn't Envy behind you?"

Luna nodded "Fear not, Rainbow Dash. We mean Envy no harm. In fact, we applaud that thou would express feelings for the changeling behind thee..."

Rainbow Dash was confused at first, but she smiled hopefully "So you won't take Envy away from me?"

Celestia shook her head "That wouldn't be a proper way to treat a hero of Equestria, now would it?"

Rainbow Dash sighed in relief and wrapped Envy in a hug. Slowly, it changed into its original pegasus form and shook its head as it moaned "Did...Did we win?"

Rainbow Dash brought Envy's head off her shoulder to look at it "What do you think?" She smiled at the jealous pony while it rubbed its eyes.

Envy's vision became clear, and then it noticed Rainbow Dash smiling, and Fluttershy trotting towards them "You guys...Never thought you'd stick it out for a changeling like me..."

Rainbow Dash scoffed and gave Envy a light jab at its shoulder "You're our friend, remember? Forget that you're a changeling for once!"

Fluttershy smiled "I'm glad you and the others are okay, Envy...We all thought you were gone forever..."

Envy scoffed and looked over at Twilight embracing Greed "Looks like my dumbass brother was right all along..." It then turned back to Rainbow Dash "So we really did it, huh? Father's nowhere to be found?"

Rainbow Dash looked puzzled "Yeah! He just turned to dust when he wanted to get Greed! He looked super ugly after we hit him, too!"

Envy chuckled "Just like the homunculus he is..."

Rainbow Dash leaned her head forward towards Envy's "Envy..." The jealous pony did the same, but did not expect Rainbow Dash to wince "Your family's weird!!" She then smiled "But you're still awesome!!"

Envy gave a toothy smirk "Well you didn't expect us to fall that easily, did ya, prismatic prick?"

Rainbow Dash flinched and glared "Hey! I cared about you for a moment!!" She got in Envy's face to where their noses touched "If it weren't for us, you'd be gone!"

Envy pushed its face "So would you, but you just couldn't stop looking at me!!"

Rainbow Dash pushed her face back "Well your mane sticks out like a sore hoof! Why wouldn't I stare at it, palm tree head?"

Envy added more force "The least you could've done is focused on more important matters, prismatic prick!!" The two began to bicker, and Celestia and Luna giggled in amusement while Fluttershy looked worried.

Twilight managed to lift Greed up onto his feet, and the two unicorns were approached by Blueblood, who cleared his throat and held out a hoof "I suppose some thanks are in order...You weren't bad for a unicorn, Greed."

Greed stared at the hoof before he gave a friendly scoff and shook it with his own "Not too bad yourself. Guess you're not much of a pansy after all..."

Blueblood sighed "Oh, but it could take weeks to repair all of this damage!"

Greed rolled his eyes "Chill out, would ya? It's only the throne room! Nothing else is messed up around this place!" He then turned to Celestia's throne to see Chrysalis' weakened form and narrowed his eyes "Speaking of..." He called out to Celestia "Hey! Princess! We still got that bitch to worry about!" The avaricious pony pointed at the throne.

Celestia hummed to Greed in question before she realized that Chrysalis was still around "Yes, of course." She trotted over to her throne, and everypony turned to see what the solar princess was about to do next. Celestia stared at the changeling queen as she slowly shifted her eyes and gasped for breath "It saddens me to see you this way...But don't worry..." Her horn glowed, and she tapped it on Chrysalis as her form slowly changed back to normal.

Envy stood up and glared at Celestia "What the hell are you doing!? She's gonna attack us if you bring her back on her feet!!"

Celestia finished healing Chrysalis, and the changeling queen got up looking like herself. She glared at Celestia while she held a neutral gaze "And just what do you hope to accomplish by healing me, Celestia? Do you expect a favor?"

Celestia shook her head "No...I expect you to disperse from my city immediately. Unless you want to be handled by all of us, you will call off your approaching fleet and leave at once!" She narrowed her eyes "This my only token of mercy for what has happened to you earlier. Don't take me lightly..."

Chrysalis flinched before she growled and trotted to the window. She saw that her battalion of changelings were nearly close to Canterlot, and she sighed in defeat before she let out a screech.

Envy plugged its ears and gritted its teeth "Dammit!!!" Rainbow Dash was at its side to comfort the jealous pony.

Soon enough, the battalion halted in the distance and began to fly back the way they came. Everypony watched in astonishment, but then Chrysalis turned to sneer at the group "Don't think that this is a temporary truce between us, ponies!! We shall give you the peace you deserve, but we shall return for what is ours...someday..." She then flew out the window to join her fading fleet of changelings.

Envy galloped over to the window's edge and called out with a glare "Good riddance!! Glad to know you're not my mother, you bitch!!" It tried to ignore Greed's laughter after its outburst.

Rarity turned to Celestia in confusion "But your majesty! Why did you even choose to heal Chrysalis knowing she's your enemy!?"

Applejack nodded "Yeah, princess! Shouldn't she be kept in th' dungeon or executed fer what she did?"

Celestia turned to Applejack and Rarity "I understand where you come from, my little ponies, but even Chrysalis is a ruler of her own domain. If she were to pass on, who would watch over her children?"

Greed grinned "Father's right! You really are naive and sympathetic to your enemies!"

Twilight shot a look at the avaricious pony "Greed!!"

Celestia laughed "Do not worry, my faithful student. Granted, it may seem surprising what I've done, but that doesn't mean we'll be ready to fend them off if they decide to confront us again."

Greed smirked "Yeah, you're probably right! Those changelings really put up much of a fight. They really know how to spice things up!"

Pinkie smiled "This is great! We took down one of the biggest baddies in a while!! Do you know what this calls for?"

Celestia laughed "I think it would be wise to take care of things before we make your thought a reality, Pinkie..."

Pinkie nodded "Okie Dokie Loki!" Everypony joined in laughter to take a load off of what was a close battle.
_____

The citizens of Canterlot came out of their homes and looked up at the castle when they noticed the shield was gone. They all beheld the sight of Celestia with Luna and Cadence at both sides "My subjects! It is with a happy heart that I announce that the horrible threat of the changeling swarm has now subsided!!" The citizens resounded their applause almost instantly "It is also my duty to inform you that Equestria now holds new heroes that have aided the Elements of Harmony on their mission!" She signalled the former homunculi and Blueblood to come in over the balcony. They were hesitant at first, but they cheered as well, knowing that Celestia's words held truth.

Greed gave a cocky smirk at everypony below and nodded "I could get used to this! All I need's a crown..." He felt a light bump on his head and turned to see Twilight casting a stern look at him. The avaricious pony looked away with a disgusted frown.

Gluttony and Pinkie waved frantically at the cheering citizens, while Lust looked down with a thin smile 'I never thought I would be adored like this...Perhaps there is more to life than what I had experienced in the past...'

Envy looked down and sneered at the crowd, but it softened when it heard their cheers 'Guess this is my new life, huh? Well, it beats having to lay around helpless...' The jealous pony managed a smirk as well.

Blueblood held his nose in the air as he was cheered for "Yes! This was the recognition that I was seeking all these years!! They love me! They really love me!"

Sloth groaned at Blueblood "What a pain..."

Rarity rolled her eyes "Tell me about it, darling..."

Wrath looked down "This takes me back...These ponies are very welcoming."

Luna came up to Wrath's side "And they shall remain as such so long as thou offer them protection from threats. We art grateful for thine service in the Royal Guard and the battle against thine father!" She smiled down at the furious pony.

Wrath looked up to Luna with a smile "Much obliged, your majesty. I wish to carry out my services longer as a member of the Royal Guard if necessary."

Shining Armor gave a friendly pat on the furious pony's back "Knowing your strength and skill, I think we can work something out!" Wrath and Shining Armor smiled and waved at the crowd, but the guard captain turned his attention away from the crowd and approached Greed "So, you're the one who taught my sister that spell, huh?"

Greed smirked at Shining Armor "The one and only! She definitely put it to good use, didn't she?"

Shining Armor nodded "Indeed she has! I guess I should thank you. To be honest, I kind of thought you would take advantage of her..."

Greed laughed "Can't really do that considering she's smart as hell!" He smirked despite the glare he earned for his response.

Twilight gave her brother a reassuring smile "Don't worry, B.B.B.F.F. Greed just loves to talk the way he does..." She looked at Greed "But I definitely owe it to him for his help! He's taught me so much in such a small amount of days!"

Greed chuckled, but stopped when he heard the strange term "B.B.B-...What the hell?" He cocked an eyebrow at Twilight.

The lavender bookworm giggled "Big Brother Best Friend Forever! I just hope you two would get along!"

Greed rolled his eyes "I'm sure we will since he likes my brother as well!" He then pointed at Shining Armor "Can I trust you to take good care of Wrath while I'm gone?" He asked mockingly.

Shining Armor laughed and gave a mock salute "He's in good hooves." The two then shared a glance of respect towards one another "You and your family are something else, Greed. Hard to believe you're older than Wrath..."

Greed shrugged "What can you do?"

Shining Armor then smirked "I find it even harder to believe he can easily beat you like he did me..."

Greed flinched and glared at Shining Armor "Hey!!" Twilight and Shining Armor then shared a laugh. He was disgusted, but he smiled "Fine, I'll let it slide for now...Besides, you have him to deal with for the time being."

Twilight turned to Greed "Wouldn't you write to him while you're both separated?"

Greed laughed "You don't know how we work, do you, Twi?"
_____

Later at night, everypony celebrated out in the royal garden with the help of Pinkie and her party cannon. Many ponies danced while others mingled or ate the food. Others steered clear of Gluttony while he ravaged most of it, but was able to be kept under control thanks to Lust and Pinkie.

Sloth rested on the grass, and he moaned as many animals took refuge on his back. Fluttershy and Applejack laughed while this happened "Guess yer not th' only one that wants t' sleep, Sloth!"

Sloth groaned "Partying is a pain..." He then buried his face in the ground "Being used as a bed is a bigger pain..." Fluttershy and Applejack laughed again.

Rainbow Dash and Envy looked at the dancing ponies before they looked at each other. The cyan pegasus looked away for a moment before she looked back at Envy "Hey. Wanna dance?" Envy stared before it looked away with a reluctant wince. Rainbow Dash chuckled in response "Yeah, me neither. I don't really even consider you the dancing type, let alone singing!"

Envy looked at Rainbow Dash with a deadpan expression "You honestly think I'd enjoy such a thing?"

Rainbow Dash huffed "You really gotta broaden your horizons, palm tree head! You're hanging with us now, for Pete's sake!"

Envy rolled its eyes "Yeah, I guess you're right. But I can't really make any promises if you even decide to break out into song and dance!" The jealous pony then smiled as it spoke in a soft tone "Thanks for the help back there. Bad enough you were the first to understand me, but to go for me altogether."

Rainbow Dash held a smug smile "Well I do have a promise to keep, and you're gonna need all the love you can get if you're gonna survive, right?" She then looked serious "But I have a condition..."

Envy raised an eyebrow "A condition? That's a first...What is it?" Rainbow Dash pointed to a dancing Pinkie in the distance behind her while she kept her gaze on the jealous pony, who grimaced and yelled in complaint "Oh come on!!!"

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes "Either make nice with her or this thing ain't happening between us! She's your friend, too, Envy..."

Envy grunted in frustration and looked away "But she's so annoying..." It muttered.

Rainbow Dash sighed "I know that. But like I said before, you'll get used to it! Just let her hyperactive randomness take its course for about a month or two! You'll feel better!"

Envy sneered while it averted Rainbow Dash's gaze "I'll try..." The jealous pony felt heavy trying to accept Pinkie as a friend in exchange for Rainbow Dash's love 'Twist my arm, why don't you...' It was comforting for Envy to notice the cyan pegasus smiling out of the corner of its eye.

On the dance floor, Greed was dancing with Twilight while the avaricious pony was wearing his shades. Greed flashed a grin while he was being stared at "Like what you see?"

Twilight smiled "They look good on you. Did Rarity give them to you?"

Greed smirked "Lust did actually..."

Twilight looked over at Lust keeping an eye on Gluttony "Looks like her generosity lessons are paying off..." She focused back on Greed "But I still have a lot to teach you about magic!"

Greed chuckled "As long as you put it in good context! I know you're smart, but you gotta explain things better!"

Twilight gave a smug smile "Oh? Like how you explained how special I was to you as a possession?"

Greed flinched and looked away "You kinda roped me into it, okay? But I can't help it if you're smarter than Lust! I mean, you mastered my signature move in one night! You're amazing!"

Twilight's stare became half-lidded "Do you mean that?" She asked in a playful tone.

Greed turned back to Twilight with a smirk "You still think of me as a liar, Twi? I'm shocked..." They stared, and Twilight's horn began to glow. Greed was taken by surprise when his head was wrapped in a purple aura, and was even more surprised as he was pulled in to meet his muzzle with Twilight's. The avaricious pony's eyes widened while he was kissing Twilight, but he soon went along with it.

Shining Armor and Cadence were dancing, and the princess smiled as she watched Twilight and Greed "They look so cute together..."

Shining Armor watched with a protective stare "I never thought Twilight would see something in that stallion..."

Cadence giggled "Don't act that way, dear! She's old and strong enough! And she looks so happy!"

The guard captain looked at Cadence before she looked back at his sister as she kissed Greed "Yeah...I suppose you're right." He smiled as he danced with Cadence 'He better watch himself if he tries anything on her, though...'

Twilight and Greed broke the kiss as they stared into each other's eyes. The avaricious pony had to admit that it felt good being kissed by a woman after so long, and by one who taught him some amazing tricks to boot 'Hehehe...I can honestly get used to this life...' The two unicorns looked up at the stars with a smile 'Thanks for the help...Ed and Ling...You both really have taught me the value of friendship before I got here...' His smile widened 'Thanks a lot...Friends of the soul...'

End of Chapter 48

Comments

[Dirty Bit]

Don't worry, folks! I'm sure Spike's having a wonderful time back at the library!

......

[EpicSmiley13]

937245
OMG, he's missing out on so much!

[HighTreason25]

Ass-kicking-epic-awesomeness!

I wonder . . . Will there be a sequel? And if so, will Ed and Al (Along with Winry and Mustang) come along for the ride?

[Literature]

Epiiiiiiiiic

[Dirty Bit]

937463>>937527 For the last time, they're not gonna be involved

But stay tuned for the epilogue

[HighTreason25]

937553 Ok, sorry for bugging you.

Just a thought that keeps popping into my head.
Ed is in Ponyville, just minding his own business, hanging out with the Mane 6.
When suddenly, out of nowhere, a wrench slams into his head, followed by an angry mare!
"EDWAAARRRD!"

[Dirty Bit]

937564 Hehehe...classic Winry

[HighTreason25]

937709 Exactly! Can you imagine the look on the Mane 6's faces?

[DavidPony]

nice feel-good chapter

[Thespurgin]

Me Gusta... Sequel? More Gusta.

[Muhanoid]

First, the "NOOO" moment. http://nooooooooooooooo.com/

Nice happy ending.

[Poise]

Finally, freakin' Truth decides to show up...

[Genesis1212]

Woooooo very satisfying chapter xD and only one more till i rrad the sequel woot xP

[twinn]

AND SO ONCE AGAIN THE DAY IS SAVED THANKS TO PRINCE BLUEBLOOD AND FRIENDS!

[Mr_Moon]

Yay!

Wait...what about spike?