Sinners pay the price eventually, but what about the first sinners?
Lust, Sloth, Greed, Envy, Wrath, Pride, and Gluttony. Every misdeed, every selfish desire, every act against others falls into one of these. No matter what we all pay the price eventually, some of us pay even higher prices though. Perhaps we deserve it.
A collection of short stories that try to give a back story to the deadly sins and live up to the whole definition instead of what some shows might do like Supernatural or FMA: Brotherhood.
Nopony truly questions their origins, their past, they don't even search for information of a time before Hearthswarming. All they know is a few years before the Sisters and after, but none ask the important questions, none ask of their roots. It is... Disheartening to see how little all of our children go about their lives, ignorant of the evils WE unleashed. We are Genesis and Progenitor, and this is how with a single action we changed the world.
We were Alicorns, the first actually. We were created by the unnamed Goddess who has long since abandoned this world. We never wanted for anything in our Paradise, we had everything we needed whenever we needed it. Food, warmth, companionship, a home, everything. It was what would nowadays be called the Promised Land, and we ignorantly threw it away. All it took was a Shade with a silver tongue and our foolish desire.
We were told never to go into the cave with the red markings around it, to never seek what awaited inside. The Shade approached us and convinced us that what awaited us would make us Her equals, for why else would She hide it and forbid us from it? We ventured forth until we reached the end. An altar awaited us, and on that altar a book. We read it, but we never learned how to read before then, as if just looking at the pages filled you with knowledge. When we finished we saw the world, and each other in a new light. We had for the first time in our lives used magic, and after enjoying our new 'gift' we experienced a new pleasure on that very altar.
After a night of bliss we were visited by our Goddess, never have we known fear, shame, and never had we seen even the smallest amount of disappointment or anger on Her face. She warned us that our Sin would be inherited by our descendants in the form of the countless evils in the book. She then took us away from our Paradise, replaced it with a land of desolation, and bound us to it as we are forced to watch the world change from our prison, forced to watch our foals fend for themselves in that corrupted world. We were made to watch as everything eventually became Sin itself, either in it's purpose or to see it become warped and twisted to suit the needs and ideals of those with power.
Murder. It's not unheard of, but certainly not common enough for anypony to fear it might happen to them. Do they even know of it's history? Why it exists? It was an inevitability in the forgotten times of war. All if it can be traced back to me. I knew not of history before my time, at that moment I breathed pure malice into the world. I am Ira the First Sinner, and I am the Bearer of the First Curse.
I come from a time when Alicorns were plentiful, the only type of ponies to exist. We lived in any place where food was accessible and hostiles were scarce or dealt with shortly. My family and I lived in one of the caves along the borders of what is now called the Badlands. The only trouble we ever had that was worth mentioning was with each other and other families in or near the cave. Petty squabbles mostly, territory, dominance, nothing ever really escalated beyond a broken bone, nothing we couldn't heal in a day or two. There was one though that always had to make everything worse though. My brother who to this day I still do not regret killing. No, I regret not killing him sooner.
Lazy, selfish, greedy, lying little shit! I can't tell you how often he pushed his duties on to me or blamed me for his actions or unfinished duties. The fact we looked so similar didn't help me. One way or another though he always got what he wanted even when others knew he didn't deserve it, but me instead! One time he was tasked by our father to ensure nothing happened to our food while our parents were at a meeting and I was tasked with patrolling the area around our home. He became distracted by a mare who many have had their sights on including myself and left our food unattended. I was occupied with a manticore, chimera, and a pack of timberwolves and I saw them coming my way, unaware of the danger. I saved their lives and what do I get? I get blamed for a chimera HE brought home while running away. He still got the mare, we all went hungry, and I had to sleep outside! And surprising nopony he left her after just that night.
My life became harder after that for the next several months I lived there, the grief I got from him only got worse, my family no longer trusted me to do anything, and when they did it was a job nopony wanted. Years of this and my tolerance was wearing thin, I had thought I wouldn't have to waist my time and patience with them for much longer, oh how wrong I was to do so. There was another mare who I had my sights on and with how well our relationship was progressing I was ready to move in with her. She was patient, gorgeous, great with foals, a good cook, had a smile that you would've had to have been insane to not want to wake up to. She was everything a stallion could ask for in a mare.
So remember when I said my brother and I looked similar? Close enough we were sometimes mistaken for one another? He learned about us and being the bastard he was impersonated me on what was supposed to be our first night of passion. He met her earlier than our designated meeting time that night and used the low light to his advantage. When I found them he had just finished and she had a look of pure bliss. When they noticed my heartbroken self she had a look of pure dread and shame (though I was too hurt to notice) as that bastard looked at me with a smirk on his face, the kind that says 'I win'.
"Looks like she wanted me more than you Ira, and she was the best one yet!" My brother said while still inside her.
To say I was LIVID was an understatement. Those were the last words he said before I in my enraged state threw my ex-lover hard enough into the wall to knock her out and threw him into the other wall as I started killing him. I broke off his horn, tore off his wings, cauterized the wounds, shattered every bone in his body as I stretched and twisted him in every way I could while strangling him. There is a difference between sibling rivalry and being a complete and total dick every chance you get for no other reason than 'why not'! Because of him my family may as well have disowned me, I was the 'useless son' as far as the others were concerned, I was forced to sleep in the cold, went hungry some nights, and then he takes the only good thing to happen to me in that time.
When I finally became sane was when my ex came to and called me a monster. She ran as fast as she could as I admired my hoofwork. I was branded a murderer and held prisoner as the elders and our families tried to think of a suitable punishment. I wasn't even given a chance to explain, to justify my actions, not that they would care enough to listen, not that they would believe me or her if she even bothered to defend me at all.
It wasn't fair! I'm a murderer? I'm the monster for doing what nopony else can honestly say they wouldn't do in my position? I refused to accept their sick sense of 'justice' and escaped, killing any who tried to stop me. Even in death he was still taking everything from me. Even SHE tried to stop me, begged me to stay, in my still heartbroken and angered state I used magic to pull her close to me.
"You were the greatest thing to happen to me." I said loud enough to be heard by my would be captors before I embraced her, holding her in place as I snapped her neck with my magic, shocking everypony around me.
"And then you became my worst mistake." I said as her body fell to the floor.
Her father became enraged and leaped at me, I caught him with my magic and threw him hard enough into the ground to bury him and continued with my escape as the wails of his wife and remaining daughter echoed through the caves.
That night the Goddess of our world came to me. I learned that my ancestors had unleashed evil in the world and how we, how I inherited their Sin. I had kept it under control until recently which is why she never intervened, but now that I had committed the first murder and unleashed Hatred upon the world she came, and she wasn't pleased at all. I was still too angry, too hurt to care, even in Her eyes what I did was unforgiveable! Even She was choosing his side, mine was the First Curse she gave to a mortal. She doomed me to walk the earth unable to die and forever incapable of Love, incapable of caring for anypony.
Lust, there is more to it than just perversions and the like. Lust is defined as an excessive desire for something. Money, power, status, sex, there is so much more to it than just sex, and it all leads to pleasure. Lust exists for no other reason than pleasure. I am Luxuria, and at the moment I am the Maiden of Lust.
I was born male, I was fortunate enough to be born into a wealthy family of high ranking nobles, and nothing was ever enough. I never had enough money, never had enough servants, never had a thrill during the jousts, never had enough power over the Council, you get the idea. Life simply grew dull, it was the same thing over and over with no signs of change. One day though that changed, and not in the way you might think.
There was a public demonstration one day, an example was being made of a servant, probably 14 at the oldest who was being not just humiliated, but brutally punished for being more loyal to her betrothed than the prince. I didn't stay too long as excitement grew in me, I had found a way to slay my boredom, to get that thrill, the satisfaction I've wanted for so long. I didn't need to have fun in the normal manner, I realized even the most detestable, most atrocious things can still give what we need. I saw the possibility of pleasure in pain.
I started on myself stupidly enough. Lightning, crashing, overcharging spells, seeing if I could get off on self strangulation, name it, I've probably done it. I wrote the Comma Sutra you know, I was female at that time in the future, but that's not important. Moving on I turned my desire to others, from small things like 'accidentally' tripping others, to ruining businesses, or paying mercenaries to hurt others. It was something, but it wasn't quite enough. I yearned for what I felt that day, but nothing was working.
Another though came to me after a month of boredom and I realized I was going about this all wrong. I didn't enjoy bringing misfortune to others, I didn't enjoy watching others suffer (especially if I wasn't involved in it), no, none of that. I enjoyed HURTING others. To think it took me that long to realize what I truly wanted, what I desired most.
I started off wrong again. I targeted the ones nopony cared about, homeless, sick and dying, lowlives, criminals, I was targeting the wrong ones. I should have been targeting the ones who mattered. Continuing to pay off mercenaries to foalnap others I made sure they would stay silent before having my fun with my victims. Pure terror, that is what they wore. Their screams became music to my ears, a lullaby before I gave them rest, until the next day at least. Fear, anguish, pain, I found joy in giving these to others. The fun became even moreso when I left the eventual lifeless bodies in the streets. To witness their loved ones crying out, refusing to accept the reality presented to them was... There are no words to describe it... I hadn't felt so alive in years! I just had to do it again!
And so I did. I did it again and again and again and again and again and I just couldn't stop myself! Why would I? All I wanted was to enjoy life to the fullest, was that truly so wrong? One day though I decided to take a break, pleasure must come in moderation or else it will grow old and boring quickly. Nothing interesting or exciting that day, simply going around and browsing the market and possible victims, the usual. There was a play at the theater as well and I had gotten a ticket to the best view it had to offer, "The Reaper's Lie" it was called. Based on a book from 5 years before then, a knight haunted by his past thought there would be peace in death, but when his time came it was eternal torment that awaited him as he was forced to face his sins and redeem himself both in his eyes and his victims. A good read if you're interested, it's survived the past few thousand years with no trouble at all.
Moving on the play was wonderfully performed and I was satisfied for the rest of the week. At least until I found what finally got me cursed as I was enjoying a nice meal in a restaurant not far from the theater. Perhaps still the most beautiful mare I had ever seen! She had a light gray coat just bordering on white, silver eyes, black mane with purple streaks, a gold necklace with several gems as her cutie mark, and ripe for the taking, just old enough to be married off. I KNEW what I wanted.
I 'coincidentally' bumped into her multiple times, I started off small as one should. From what you would expect of a gentlecolt and well practiced charmer to small meetings at select locations with flowers and at times a meal. It wasn't long before she wished for me to meet her family, thinking this to be the perfect opportunity to get in their good graces I accepted. As it turned out her father was one of my victims, one of the ponies I had harmed by mercenaries for my amusement so caution was something that needed to be taken. Dinner is served and that's when things went down hill, he sent his daughter out of the house as he offered wine and I wasn't in a very good position to say no, he learned of several of my 'hobbies' and I couldn't have that now could I? Dead ponies tell no tales after all.
The daughter returned to see what I had done and screamed louder than the ponies I kept in my little dungeon. I was still quite drunk so I pulled her inside and pushed my lips to hers. After silencing her we made our way upstairs and enjoyed a night of pleasure like never before. When I woke up the next day I saw her wide blood shot eyes with tear streaks and she didn't even respond until I touched her. When I did she bolted to the other side of the room and screamed at me to leave her alone, music to my ears were her sobs and screams. Before I could say anything though the Goddess pulled me away from the physical world and into hers.
She was enraged, screaming at me, most of it in a language I didn't understand. When she was done she spoke not even attempting to hide her disgust with my very existence. She placed upon me a curse, I would change genders at random times, especially when trying to have fun with another, and I could no longer enjoy anything enough to be satisfied. Not food, not sleep, not sex, not combat, not reading, nothing.
How easy it is to confuse one sin for another. To be fair though, a few do go claw in claw. Hoof in Hoof? Whatever. Gluttony is often associated with the overconsumption of food and drink, you would be half right on that one. It is also over indulgence, not just when some griffon decides they want that bread enough that they refuse to give it to another who needs it. Really though, it's hardly a sin, more die to the other sins than me and no griffon can just forget about the guy begging for scraps, not that they're any better. All I was doing was reaping the benefits of all my hard work in the end. You can call me Gula, the Voracious.
I won't bore you with the details of my life because I am VERY hungry, so I'll just get to the point. Once upon a time I was poor thanks to my drunkard of a father, I ran away, got taken in by a merchant who eventually started his own business, what it was isn't important, he died, and I inherited it. Now, he was just competent enough to keep the business going, I improved it and profited greatly from it. From lowly peasent to living like nobility, I felt I deserved everything I had as a result. So I drank more than I should have, so I fucked almost as much as Luxuria on one of his/ her/ it's lonely/ boring days, so I ate more than most, I earned it so why should anygriffon care? Why am I among the worst? Luxuria and Avaritia have killed more than me! Moving on.
I've been criticized for my lifestyle, but I've always seen it as jealous fools who at most can get a drink once every month at best. It wasn't my problem so I just ignored them, a few of them were unemployed so that meant a number of things, one of which being I wouldn't have to deal with them for long if they remained unemployed. I didn't have to do much, I often just needed to make myself look good one way or another, save one from starvation and you have a new worker and more buyers which often meant more of everything for me. The pests I didn't do anything about were often dealt with by the guards that I sometimes had to pay off. It all worked out in the end.
So as for how I actually became the Voracious, that was an error in judgement on my part. You see, I was on a business trip to what is now called Klugetown, help build the town, and leave a few of my associates and their families if they came with us in town to secure myself profits from their mine and ports. Now, unfortunately the trip was halted by poor weather conditions that only grew worse, I guess that should have expected though once Wendigos and a Draconequess or two came around. Heavy rain on a steep mountain, snow, insane winds, sleet and hail, we had to take refuge in a cave near the bottom for days. That is where the incident happened.
It goes without saying that our supplies were limited. I used up most of them, much to the dismay of the others accompanying me, it was all paid for with my money, they should've been grateful that I let them have any of it. Days passed and supplies were getting low, and some of it wasn't looking so good. We ran out and stayed for a few more days before I began to... See things differently. When no one was looking, I lured one of the associates, a griffon, deeper into the cave. Once we were deep enough, I slit his throat and had my first meal in days. After 2 more days, one of the young ones followed me and his mother without me knowing. I was planning to have a bit of fun, but he saw the bodies and accidentally revealed himself and the corpses to her. I snatched up the boy and told them both, make a sound, they die. They didn't make a sound, but the mother did something even more stupid and bit me!
I knocked her out in one punch, bitch nearly tore off my equipment. The boy tried to make a run for it, but I knocked him out too. I went back near the entrance where our supplies were and found that we had some cloth and medicine. The fun part about the medicine? It was also a sedative. I snuck some with me and used the medicine on the mother and son before wrapping the cloths around both of their mouths. The boy woke up to me on top of his mother, she woke up too about halfway through, neither could do anything but watch and cry. After I was done with the mother, I looked over to her son, hungry. Still neither could scream. After making her watch me devour her son, I looked at her with a promise of death. Ready for round 2, I neared her, but a flash of light stopped me from doing anything, before stood the Goddess.
The Goddess spoke in a language I didn't understand, shouting at me, eventually switching to a language I understood. She cursed my actions, she told me I was the worst of her creations thus far. I ignored most of it. She was going to kill me, but Tartarus was apparently too good for me, so she struck me with a curse, one befitting my sin that lead up to this. Forever would my stomach be an empty void.