Endless Greed

     Quick disclaimer: none of the following is my fault.

        Yes, on a technicality I did break into Princess Twilight's castle. Yes, I technically fled the scene of the crime, injuring several guards and one Spike the Dragon. Yes, I did fight Princess Celestia in glorious fashion. Yes, I do in fact claim that none of these events are my fault, per se.

        So, the question is how did I do those things, and agree to doing them and yet simultaneously claiming innocence. The answer is quite simple really. I didn't break into the castle, he appeared there. I didn't fight my way out, nor did I fight the Princess as a way of getting out of my crimes, he did. One may ask, who is this person? How is he you? The answer is simple, he's my other half. He's a symbiote and I'm his host.

        He is a Homunculus, a fake person created with Alchemy and who does nothing but want more.

        I am, or was, a Human, a being from another world with no clue about the world in which we find ourselves.

        We are Greed, the person responsible and yet not. The one who drives some to nightmares, and who others place their hopes upon. We aren't a hero, here to save the world. We're here to protect what's ours, it just so happens that everything falls into that category.

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        However, we weren't always this way. Once upon a time it was just me. No powers, no immortality, no Stones, just the average guy who's face blends with the crowd. That is, if no one listened to what I had to say.

        Let's just say I was ambitious. If someone were to ask me what I wanted to do, I'd say rule the world. If that person asked why I wanted to, I would answer with the generic 'so no one fights anymore' or some bullshit like that. In reality, I just wanted to, but then again, doesn't everyone?

        I digress, the point is I wasn't always Greed, but that doesn't mean I never wanted big things like power and glory. Back then, I never thought it was possible. Afterall, what can one average person do to armies, different cultures etc.

        That all changed, of course. Why else would I be telling you all this?

        I remember the day it did as if it was yesterday, in all honesty I have no idea why. Maybe it’s because of the suddenness of it all, maybe it’s because of his face when he sent me to the Land of Cute and Adorable Ponies.

        I was on my way to a costume party, much the same with any my age. It was on the way that I spotted something on the side of the road that piqued my interest; among the modern shops along Main Street, was an ageing brick storefront, and the name of Flamel’s above the door. Curious, I decided to check it out. I had plenty of time.

        I opened the door, and found something I hadn’t expected; science. Canisters and carafes of colorful chemicals coated the majority of the countertops. The only surfaces that weren’t covered in chemistry was shelves of a very, very odd assortment of things. Some were full of jars, containing oddities of nature. Others were minerals, rocks and other things. One had what looked like a series of star maps, or something of that nature. I didn’t have too much time to look around as my observations were interrupted by the proprietor of the establishment.

        “Are you finished gawking, or are you going to actually buy something?” Asked a gruff voice. I looked towards what seemed to be the source of the voice; a desk with a pile of colored glassware atop it.

I stood there, staring at the shelf, wondering how a voice could possibly originate from an inanimate collections of wood, metal and glass when a man stepped out to the side. He wasn’t short, yet somehow still imposing in some way. He had a presence about him that told of decades of experience that not even the wisest among the human race had a fraction of. It seemed that, with a glance, he knew more about you than even you, and that scared me.

However, aside from the absolute knowledge thing he had going on, he didn’t look like much. He had a snow white beard that reached to his somewhat protruding belly. His head was smooth, free of all hair but in the back. His clothes looked to be a three piece suit of some sort, the kind that belonged with a top hat and a cane.

“Well? Answer me boy, I don’t have all day.” He said, impatient most likely. How long was I standing there?

        I quickly searched the shelves for something vaguely interesting, as to not earn more of the fancy man’s ire, when something caught my eye. A familiar red stone that would work perfectly with my outfit.

        “How much for the red rock?” I asked the man who was, presumably, Flamel.

        “That old thing? I’d say five bucks. I’ve been looking to sell that piece of shit for a while now.” He said in a somehow more hostile tone than before.

        In all honesty, I was hesitant to pay him even that much. I was always a penny pincher, after a fashion, but after looking at the object of my desire for another second, I decided I had to have it. Even if not intentional, it was exactly what I was looking for. And a deal was struck.

        I quickly paid for the stone and left, not wanting to deal with the shopkeep any longer. I felt as though he’d tear off my head in a moment’s notice. In any case, I then made my way down the street, and

into an alley,  when everything went wrong.

        I was minding my own business, as people do, when suddenly a guy burst into view from behind a pile of garbage. He didn’t look like much, just an average joe down on his luck, when I noticed something in his hand. A knife, pointed right at me.

        I wasn’t given time to react as the guy plunged the knife right into my chest. Searing pain spread from the wound, and it only increased as the knife was sharply removed and the man ran away. The last thing I remember was thinking ‘what the fuck’.

        Back then I didn’t realize that those words were not my own.