//------------------------------// // Chapter One: Emerging Sin // Story: I'm Still Alive, And I Can Not Apologize // by Prince_Zodiac //------------------------------// Chapter One: Emerging Sin In every realm, there are tales. Stories. Legends. Whatever you may call them, they exist in every world. And in every world, some of them are true, and some of them are false. It’s not always clear on which is which, as the past is a thing constantly shrouded in mystery. Depending on the place, some moments in history can be more outrageous than others, and because of this it’s not always easy to gain the truth from deception. However, in those that are real, they always match up with events in the past. Today I shall share with you one such tale. Whether it is fiction or not is up for you to decided. But keep in mind that there are realms beyond our own, and in those realms, what may just be children’s stories to us, are happenings that just occurred the day before. This story begins on a calm, peaceful night. A tranquil breeze was flowing through the air, playing off a soft tune as if it were singing everything to sleep. The leaves amongst the trees in the Everfree Forest rustled quietly in the wind, barely making a sound. It was as if the whole world had closed its eyes and slumbered on this wondrous night. However, not all sleep for the wind, and those who don’t haven’t made plans to keep this peace. Three cloaked figures made their way through the foliage, heading towards a fourth similarly hidden figure that stood quietly in a field. As the first three emerged from the brush, the fourth smiled before approaching his comrades. Once they all gathered up in a circle, one of the newcomers spoke. “So, did you get it?” The first figure spoke. His voice was rough, and clearly had some age to it. “Of course I did. What do you take me for, a novice?” the fourth figure stated. His voice was clear and cocky, and his attitude clearly showed his ego. “Of course we don’t, we just wanted to be sure,” another one of the newcomers replied in a soft, feminine voice. “After all, you have messed up pretty badly before.” The fourth figure rolled his eyes before he turned his gaze back to the first. “Well, I’ve brought my end of the deal, where’s yours?” The first cloaked figure looked at the silent third figure and nodded. Without muttering a single word, the third member of the small group reached behind him a brought out a large saddle bag. He dropped it in front of the fourth figure before he lifted up the flap, revealing a massive amount of bits. With a smile, the fourth figure turned and brought out a small satchel, then dropped it in front of the gathered three. “There, one artifact from the Canterlot Vault just like we agreed.” “Indeed. Well done on your part. Quite honestly I’m surprised you managed to get your hoofs on it so fast.” The first figure grinned evilly as the third one grabbed the satchel in his mouth. “It has been a pleasure doing business with you once again.” He held out a hoof, which the fourth figure proceeded to shake. “Same to you. You are after all, my favorite clients.” With that the two groups parted, a silent agreement amongst them to never speak of this moment ever again as they went their separate ways, back through the Everfree forest. The bright morning sunlight shown through the window drapes and cast over the bed of the most recent princess. Sleeping peacefully was Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship. As of now, she was having a rather sound slumber, her dreams of running a university alongside of her princess duties being one of her more common fantasies. However, her silent resting was interrupted by the very sunlight that came through her window and, to her great annoyance, forced her to get up. With a flick of magic the blinds were closed, but that wouldn’t really help things. Twilight knew she had to get up. If she did not then the time she spent clearing up her schedule for today would have all been for nothing. With a sigh, the purple alicorn grudgingly got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom to get ready for the day. As she entered, she got a good look at herself in the mirror. She was horrendous. There were bags under her eyes, her fur was all messed up, and her mane was all over the place. A few of the feathers on her wings needed to be preened too. She sighed again. This was going to be a long morning, wasn’t it? After a few minutes of showering and freshening up, Twilight, now a bit more awake, made her way downstairs. As she trotted down the steps, the scent of pancakes filled her nostrils, forming a smile on her face. She made her way into the dining area where she could see Spike, her number one assistant, setting down plates in three separate spots. “Morning Twilight,” the small purple drake greeted. “Morning Spike,” Twilight replied. “Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes.” With a small nod Twilight took a seat and prepared to eat. Spike left the room, presumably to finish those delicious pancakes, when the second alicorn of the house entered. “Good morning Twilight.” “Good morning Nyx.” Nyx was a small, black alicorn filly with a purple mane and tail. In a past life, she was Nightmare Moon. But she was known by that title no longer, and instead had come to be known as as the daughter of Twilight Sparkle. It had been a year since the whole fiasco with the Nightmare cult, and now thankfully most everypony had moved on. Sure there was still the odd pony that came seeking revenge, but they were quickly dealt with. Nyx had once been forced to strive for the takeover of the world by plunging it into an eternal night. Nowadays, she went to school and hung out with her friends. Spike soon arrived with the pancakes he was making, and set them on the table, allowing everyone to grab a couple. “So Nyx,” Twilight asked as she levitated a pancake to her plate. “Are you ready to go out today?” Joy sparked in the young alicorn's chest. “Yep!" she said. "I did all my homework last night so I wouldn’t have to worry about it!" In reality, Nyx never did finish her homework. She had the habit of procrastinating her work to the very last moment, then to do it all during the pitch blackness of night. Sometimes the wee hours of the morning, if she was too tired. It seemed to work so far, and it was so hard to start her homework early. Why stop now? “That’s good to hear," Twilight smiled. "After all, we don’t know when we’ll be back." “Where are you two going anyways?” Spike asked as he cut into his second flapjack. “To the Castle of Nightmare,” Twilight answered. “We’re gonna be exploring it to get an idea of what renovations will need to be made.” “Renovations?” “Yep! Remember that meeting Twilight went to a few nights ago?” Nyx asked. “Yeah, why?” “Well, the ponies of Ponyville have finally decided to give the castle to me for whatever purpose I saw fit. As long as it didn’t involve the taking over of Equestria of course.” “Yeah, like we need a repeat of that disaster," Spike proclaimed with a roll of his eyes. "You know, it's kind of weird to realize that it’s already been a whole year since it happened.” “I know what you mean Spike,” Twilight agreed. “It still feels like it was only a few months ago when I found Nyx in the Everfree forest.” “You’re telling me,” Nyx said. “I still have nightmares that Spell Nexus is gonna barge in and say something like, ‘It’s time to initiate phase two of your glorious plan my queen!’” Spike and Twilight laughed a bit, causing Nyx to laugh as well. This is how things were supposed to be. Just Nyx, Twilight, and Spike as one happy, little, family. But, all good things must eventually, come to an end. The Castle of Nightmare was a place that most ponies tended to avoid. After all, it onced housed a cult that managed to revive the greatest threat Equestria has ever known. And yet, despite its original purpose, it did act as a shelter for an entire town’s worth of ponies that had all lost their homes. Still, for the good it did, ponies couldn’t forget the evil it had served as well, so it remained abandoned and purposeless. It was the perfect place for them. “Yes, yes, this castle will do nicely,” said a hooded pony, his rough voice echoing off the walls. “Indeed. No one will bother us here.” said a second hooded pony, her voice soft, yet sinister. “And the residual magic is strong. Some powerful spells must have been used in this place.” “Well, lifting a castle in underground cavern up to the surface is no easy feat. The fools that constructed this place have given us the tools we need to begin. Obsidian, find a place to set up the ritual!” With a nod, the third pony walked off, his instincts guiding him to the largest concentration of magic he could find within the castle. “Well, while he does that, why don’t we make sure we have everything we need?” The first pony rolled his eyes but nodded. Setting down their saddle bags, they began searching through their supplies to make sure they had everything. Oil soaked powders from Zebrica? Check. Paint? Check. Candles? Check. Special Package? Check. “Well, that’s almost everything,” the hooded mare said. “Obsidian should have the final ingredient.” “He does. That large sack on his back tells me he picked a good one.” “I hope so. We wouldn’t want him to be weak as a colt upon his resurrection would we?” “No. We need him to be at full strength as soon as possible. Come, let us see what Obsidian has found.” The two ventured into the lower levels of the castle, finding their companion at the very lowest level of the dungeons. He had set the large sack that he had carried on his back on the ground, where the strongest presence of residual magic could be felt. “Excellent job Obsidian! Sometimes I feel like you do a better job at finding magic than I do!” Obsidian grunted in thanks, and the hooded pony began to set everything up. “Soon my king, soon you shall return to us. Soon you will live once more.”