Sin

by MemoryLane

Ch. 1: Medallion

It was odd.

It seemed to come from absolutely nowhere.

I jolted upright in my bed in a half-asleep state, only my racing heart clear to me. Everything shook; shelves rattled on the walls, and most of my books fell to the floor. I looked left and right, trying to see as I opened my bleary eyes. Even when I did, darkness was all that greeted me.

My eyes finally adjusted as the shaking stopped. It dawned on me that I could have easily been injured, or worse, for many things adorned my walls that would have been unfortunate to land on my head. One of these things was just above my head: an ornamental clock, both hands pointing toward the ceiling.

Midnight, huh? Well that explains the darkness.

As soon as my legs stopped trembling, I hopped out of my bed and instantly tripped as I landed on one of my books. I flailed on the spot for a second before I faceplanted the hard wooden floor.

I groaned as I lifted my throbbing head. My horn was unlucky enough to take the brunt of my fall. I hissed at the pain before picking myself off the ground; it felt like I had been on the receiving end of one of Applejack’s kicks. It was no way to wake up, but it wasn't as if I had a choice in the matter.

There was a single knock at the downstairs door. Still rubbing the tender base of my horn, I made my way for the stairs.

“Spike!”

Spike usually slept pretty close to the library books at night, so I was understandably surprised at his absence as I made my way down. Thinking more about it served only to increase my paranoia.

“Spike?” I called again, more meekly. The murky library air was beginning to give me the heebie-jeebies.

Another knock at the door. Who could have been at the door at this hour? Maybe I wasn't the only pony to have awoken? Maybe somepony was injured and in desperate need of assistance?

“I'm coming!” I yelled as I trotted up to the door. I used my magic to quickly open it, half-expecting to see something terrible, like a crying family or an injured citizen on the other side. Yet when the door opened and I peered out, much to my astonishment...

Nothing.

“What... but... how...?” I could have sworn I heard knocking!

I walked out the door just to make sure. I looked left and right, but the streets were dead silent. Even the crickets had stopped chirping for an instant.

“Huh.”

I turned around and was about to close the door when a bright flash caught my eye, distracting me.

On the outside of the library door was... a necklace?

I stared at it in awe and bewilderment. It simply hung there on a nail, and I was completely sure that it wasn't there before; who would have any use for a nail on their door?

It was of a bright golden hue. Given the darkness of the night, it flashed impressively under the moonlight. The medallion itself was quite a sight. Looking like an oversized bit, it was like a flat pancake, except a thousand times more fragile; it looked like somepony could break it in half like they would a cookie.

What intrigued me the most was the azure jewel in the middle of it. The more I stared at it, the more queasy I felt. My vision blurred after a few moments, so I decided to look away from the medallion altogether. Surrounding the medallion with my purple glow, I picked it off the door. As tempted as I was to put it on, I didn’t know if it was a good idea. After a few moments of deliberation, however, I gave in.

Despite being quite flat and dainty, it was very heavy; my head dropped towards the ground in a joyride with gravity. I quickly removed the medallion and rubbed my neck, it too now aching.

I levitated the strange medallion again and took it inside, making sure to close the library door behind me. I immediately went to my shelves, searching for a book that might give me some information on what the hay was going on. First, an earthquake, and second, a golden medallion just appearing on my doorstep out of nowhere?

This can't be a coincidence.

“Twilight?”

“Eeep!”

I dropped the medallion on the floor with a mighty crash. As I turned to face the intruder, I was relieved to simply find Spike, clutching a glass of warm milk in both claws.

“Oops! Didn't mean to scare you!”

He let out a loud yawn. Even half asleep, he was still as inquisitive as ever as he stared at the weird necklace on the ground. I followed his gaze and hid the medallion behind my back.

“What was that?” he asked with a sip of his milk. I shrugged, trying my best to play dumb.

“What was what?”

“That thing you just dropped. It looked a little like a record—”

“I… It’s nothing to worry about,” I said, a bit too quickly.

Spike raised an eyebrow. We stared at each other for a few good moments before he yielded and walked back into the kitchen.

“Alrighty then…”

“Hey, Spike?”

He stopped walking and looked at me. A question had popped into my mind, one that I couldn't ignore. “Did you feel all that shaking earlier?”

Spike sleepily shook his head and continued walking into the kitchen. I was almost worried that he would fall asleep standing up.

I sighed. I didn't want anyone finding out about this yet. It could be some sort of rare artifact, or even some sort of supernatural tool. It definitely looked—felt—magical, if not a little… weird. It could be very important for all I knew; I couldn't just go showing it off. Not only that, but Spike’s failure to notice all the earlier shaking had me questioning if I was the only one who felt it. Perhaps he had simply slept through it, but still....

Am I losing my mind?

I continued poking through all my books, ripping them off the shelves, glancing at the covers, and then setting them down in a pile next to me for an easy cleanup. It took way longer than I had originally hoped, and by that time my inner voice was nagging at me to call it quits for the night and resume my research in the morning. While I could hear my heavenly bed calling from upstairs in my mind, I persisted in my task.

My eyes eventually fell upon a promising tome: Ancient Jewelry and Other Fun Findings, it read in big bolded letters.

“Aha!”

I wasted no time flipping the book open and quickly scanning through it. I searched for anything similar to what I had found nailed to my door. Surely there had to be something.

Luck appeared to be on my side, as it didn't take me that long to find it. On page 47, I found a large picture of the exact medallion. I couldn't help but smile and feel a little bit of self-satisfaction. I read the entry out loud, too eager to hesitate.

“The Medallion of Seven Sins…”

Odd name. What are ‘Sins,’ and how did I never learn about them? I frowned, but I continued reading nonetheless. “Long ago, this large golden medallion was crafted and used in many difficult tasks, such as curing the sick, stopping wars, and providing nourishment.”

My eyes flew open. Was I seriously holding a medallion with the ability to end world strife? I continued anxiously.

“It is said that in this world, at any given time, there are seven ordinary ponies, each of whom harness an attribute of the deadly sins and have the ability to control the Medallion's power.”

There is was again. Sins. Seven Deadly Sins. I was quickly forming a headache.

“The attributes include Gluttony—”

The illustration next to it showed a very chunky earth pony munching on some sort of snack, getting drool and food everywhere. His stomach resembled a large marble. He was surrounded by piles upon piles of food and other delicious treats, ones that made my own stomach growl. With all of this excitement, I seemed to have actually forgotten my initial hunger.

I'll worry about that at a less crucial time.

“Greed—”

In the next illustration was a stallion literally surrounded by bags of money, and it seemed to rain from the sky around him, like confetti. His eyes pierced mine with some kind of self-satisfied glint. He reminded me of one of those rich ponies that I'd read in a few history books as a filly.

“Lust—”

The next picture was odd. A mare was shimmering and showing off her long, dazzling mane and tail while giving me what looked like seductive eyes that pierced my very soul. There were tiny hearts scattered throughout the picture like butterflies. I couldn't help but shiver uncomfortably. Whoever had done these pictures did an exceptional job.

“Wrath—”

The next picture was a little more unsettling. It depicted a stallion, completely surrounded by nothing but fire. A wall of flames were at each of his sides. I could feel the heat resonating from the picture.

“Sloth—”

Next was a picture of an earth pony mare just lying on the ground. Glossy yellow eyes stared off into the distance. A stark contrast to the previous illustrations, it was very bland, lacking any signs of effort or detail.

“Pride—”

Next was another mare. Much like the illustration for Lust, she was depicted in spectacular fashion. There were sparkles everywhere. She appeared to be looking in a mirror, a gigantic smile on her face as she lifted a hoof to her mane. I was actually reminded of something that Rarity tended to do by habit.

“—and Envy.”

The last illustration on that page showed a mare with an angry look on her face as she stared at a different pony in the background, who appeared to be laughing with another. It looked like nothing but pure jealousy was coursing through the mare's veins as the mare glared with narrow eyes. Skulls and crossbones were scattered all throughout the picture.

I wasn't sure if I liked where this was going.

“When all these attributes gather around the Medallion, its power will be unlocked.”

I finished reading. Well, I was truly surprised that I didn't know any of this beforehand. The only thing I knew from the beginning was that it was some kind of artifact, and that was proven to be correct.

I closed the book and put it on the shelf just as Spike came back from the kitchen with a fresh glass of milk. I assumed he wanted to go back to sleep, so I stood and made my way for the stairs while levitating the Medallion out of Spike's view.

“Night, Twilight,” he groaned as he plopped into his bed. I just chuckled. I was still groggy myself; my dreams were calling me.

“Actually, it's technically morning,” I corrected. Spike waved me off, obviously too tired to listen to me at this point.

I decided that Spike had the right idea after all. I could research a little more about the Medallion later, when the allure of sleep was not so strong.

---

A week after finding the Medallion, I was on my way to Canterlot. I had heard from Cadance a few days earlier that Shining’s position in the Royal Guard had become more stressful for him recently. So I thought if I brought him a few of Pinkie Pie's homemade cupcakes, maybe that would have made his day just a little better.

I always enjoyed how quickly I could get to Canterlot. By train, the trip only lasted about thirty minutes, whilst by hoof it would have likely taken all day, if not longer. Even though it did cost quite a bit of money, I usually didn't mind.

By noon, I arrived at Canterlot Castle. Taking in the wondrous breeze and the crisp warm air that surrounded the divine city, I stared up at the sky, and the top of the castle that it and the clouds covered. As I approached the gates, Royal Guards monitoring the castle aimed their various weapons at me, shouting things such as “Who goes there? State your name!” I knew it was standard procedure though, so even after so many visits, I never let it annoy me.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle. I—”

That was all they ever needed to hear, and the wooden doors began to open up for me. I gave a smug grin as I kindly thanked them and walked inside with my container full of pink frosted cupcakes.

Upon entering, I was met with the hallway that lead to Celestia's throne. After King Sombra’s attack, utterly gorgeous new windows had been fitted, the sun's rays gallantly shining through them and into the building. I always smiled at myself every time I saw the window depicting Spike. Oh, it was definitely one of his best moments for sure. Everyone was still calling him a hero after that. But hey, let him soak in all his glory. After all, he earned it as much as the rest of us.

“Shining Armor! Where are—oomph!”

I was suddenly on the ground. I glared up, rubbing my side, and saw a very bulky member of the Royal Guard running down the hallway in a full sprint. Thankfully, I hadn't dropped any of my baked goods, yet I couldn't help but growl angrily to myself as he shouted urgently towards the Princess. That guard better consider himself lucky, I thought as I settled myself next to the great throne room doors.

Celestia simply stared at the Guard from atop her throne.

“Princess! I come bearing news!”

He panted as he knelt in front the Princess, to which Celestia gave a solitary nod. The stallion stood from his position near the ground immediately.

"Yes, Odysseus?” Celestia asked, raising a curious eyebrow. It slowly dawned on me that I was probably listening in on something that I shouldn't.

Too late now.

“Intelligence report about the Changelings!” he shouted, even though Celestia was only fifteen feet away from him. Celestia gave Odysseus a long, firm gaze while he caught his breath.

“Well?” she asked after a few seconds.

“We have learned that they plan on attacking once more. Our scouts report that their army has almost doubled in size, and they have changed their strategy: they plan on taking over all the major cities in Equestria!”

I had to place a hoof over my mouth to keep from making any unwanted noise. The Changeling queen was back? Well... I guess it was only a matter of time. She did seem the persistent type considering she pretended to be Cadence for... who knew how long? The thought still made my blood boil whenever it arose—even now, months after it happened.

“Humph. Stubborn Changelings…”

Celestia shook her head and stared up at the ceiling. I could never tell what was going through her mind when she did that. Perhaps she was pondering our foe’s course of action; then again, she could have simply been daydreaming.

“No matter, my dear Princess!” Odysseus boldly stated, closing his eyes and standing tall with a hoof to his chest. “I'm sure that Prince Armor and Princess Cadance can take them out the same way they did last time!”

Celestia only shook her head at the stallion, her eyes singing an anthem of woe that threatened to crush me.

“No… we can't.”

The green stallion’s confidence instantly dropped. “H-How come, Princess?”

“Cadance and Shining Armor are strong, but they are not going to be able to keep the Changelings at bay. Especially from every major city in Equestria,” she explained.

Odysseus puffed his chest out once again. “Well, with the Prince and Princess, and the Elements of Harmony, they should have more than enough power to take care of it!” he concluded, a prideful smile on his lips.

I couldn’t be sure if it was a trick of the light, but I thought I saw Celestia’s eyes flick towards me for the briefest of instances.

The moment passed; Celestia only shook her head again, causing Odysseus' ears to droop and a frown to adorn his face. “Even still, that power combined would not be enough to protect our entire country,” she said. “We need something more powerful—something that can save the whole nation.

“What we need is a certain Medallion—”

That was enough of a hint for me. At that moment, I knew exactly what I had to do. Leaving the cupcakes on the floor, I set off.

Comments

[Cerulean Voice]

And so it begins anew...
I am so glad to be working on this classic. One of the first adventure stories I read and loved to pieces. Hopefully the revisions bring in some new fans, and welcome back some older ones into reading it once again.
Gosh, I'm so excited!

[TyrakatheDragonFan]

What the hey? What's going on? Are you re-writing this story?

[Cerulean Voice]

5180440
Oh, don't worry. The story will essentially remain the same. It's just going to be much cleaner, smoother, and more refined.

[TyrakatheDragonFan]

5180444: Okay...it was bad enough Malignant was cancelled; just worried.

[Cerulean Voice]

5180486
Trust me, I had a bit of a cry at that too.
But I'll be damned if I don't help Sin reach its full potential.
We've set our sights high for this one...

[SageBrony07]

Interesting concept for a story. I wonder Twilight is going to have to find these ponies. Do these ponies need to find out what is their sin or will it be obvious when Twilight find them?

[staryoshi06]

Which order are they in the picture.

[Rhomega2]

5181880 Top row: Lust, Greed, Sloth, Wrath
Bottom row: Envy, Gluttony, Pride

[Evilhumour]

Sloth is not pure laziness by the way. It is the inaction to do good when presented with the opportunity to do so.

True Sin Sloth is not allowing war refugees or people seeking asylum knowingly due to the extra work, or something along those lines. It will be interesting to see which you choose to use.

[crazypony300]

Will Twilight need to find these ponies and tell them to come to the medallion or will they go to her?
By the way, This is sooooooooooooo awesome!
I love, love, love this story!

[Icarus Crimsonhoof]

i'm going to enjoy rereading this story,

[Maxes Altho]

Um, wow. This has been in my read later list for a long time, since I haven't seen anything else in this fandom regarding the seven sins. The setup here makes me think: plot for season6!

[Toonwriter]

Changelings at it again? Not good!

Twilight will need to get that medallion she found!

[InsaneAngel]

5195698
And gluttony isn't just eating a lot, it's basically just doing something more than you need to/overuse