Dark storm clouds circled overhead, their accompanying winds whistling harshly through the dense branches of the Everfree Forest's many trees. The sound intensified exponentially as the thunderhead continued to roll in, purple bolts of light cutting through the dark sky as they made their destructive path towards the earth. The entire forest shook with the loud claps of thunder that accompanied such a storm, that is, except for a small clearing; like a small island in the eye of a hurricane, a small clearing deep within the living heart of the forest, stood perfectly still.

The trees here were old, impossibly so, their bark rough and knotted, marred by the scars of centuries spent standing guard over the clearing. The harsh storm had no effect on the ancient trees, but nevertheless, each tree bowed outwards away from the clearing, their branches following suit as if desperately trying to escape from an unseen horror. However, despite the general feeling of unease produced from the arrangement of the trees, there was no real reason why the roiling gale would leave this minuscule patch of land untouched; and yet that is exactly what it did.

The wind left the stretch of earth untouched, parting around its borders as if cut by an invisible blade, leaving the clearing in a state of silence... Interrupted only by the sound of fingernails drumming on hard wood. There, in between the purple flashes of lightning, disappearing each time the sky glowed its deep violet, was a long wooden table; sitting around it were three figures on either side, and one at the head. It was too dark to make out their individual features, only the dim glow of their eyes cutting through the darkness giving them away. Their silhouettes momentarily disappeared as another bolt of violet pierced the sky.

The drumming sound was emanating from the figure just to the fight of the head, their ruby eyes fixed on the smooth wood of the table itself. "I feel that I must side with Pride on this..." The red-eyed figure spoke up, a rich baritone filling the otherwise quiet clearing. Six pairs of glowing eyes turned to focus on him, but he only turned to his right to look into the piercing white eyes of the figure seated at the table's head. "While it pains me to let go of it, I must confess that I find little amusement in watching this story play out when I know it is destined to end in failure."

"But Greed, we cannot simply undo the past, you remember how that ended for our young Starlight Glimmer?" Came a voice from his left, a seductive purr emanating from beneath a pair of amethyst eyes. A round of quiet laughter echoed around the other members of the assembly.

"I shall handle that." And like liquid silk, those words seemed to slither through the air coming from the direction of the table's head, seeming to coil around the others, ending their laughter and drawing in their undivided attention. There was a pregnant pause before the figure spoke again. "The elements were only necessary because we left them to fend for themselves, were we to lend a hand, the need for them would never arise. They needn't even meet." They faded from view for an instant as another bolt of lightning lit up the sky, but returned an instant later, those white irises staring down the rest of the assembly, daring any of them to suggest that he was not capable of handling a few errant gods.

"And what about the Princesses?" Came a voice from the other side of the table. The figure at the head turned his white gaze to meet the smoldering twin charcoals of the figure at the far end of the table. "Do you seriously expect them to go along with this? What you're implying involves extending Princess Luna's stay on the mood indefinitely, and that is something neither her nor her sister are going to stand for." The voice finished angrily, feminine tones distorted by mockery. And there was silence, the gathered figures eagerly anticipating the response.

"Must I repeat myself Wrath? I shall handle that." The silken voice returns, colder this time. Several of the other figures disappear from view momentarily, their eyes closed as they shiver under the intensity of the gaze held between the opposing forces. The two held eye contact, neither willing to submit to the other; cold white eyes held fast to the smoldering pair across the table, fire and ice clashing against each other under a dead silence until ice finally prevailed, the other gaze falling to the table. "Neither of them will have a choice, they won't remember anything from this chain of events." He finishes cooly; a few of the others around the table nod, as if the figure had addressed the last of their concerns.

"Although it pains me to admit it..." Came the soft voice from the direction of the amethyst gaze, "Pride has a point. There isn't really any reason not to do it, and like Greed said, we already know that they are going to fail, so we would have to do this eventually, so what's the point in refusing to act proactively?" She said, the melancholy twinge of resignation heavy on her voice.

"So, I gather that it is time we vote on this issue." Came a voice from the golden pair of eyes to the head's left. The dim light from their eyes bobbed slightly as the assembly nodded in reluctant agreement.

"So it would seem." Replied the smooth voice of the chair. His gaze turned to each of his companions one by one, meeting each of their own in turn. "Envy?" The golden eyes nodded. "Gluttony?" There was another nod. "Wrath?" The smoldering gaze hesitated for an instant before relenting, smoldering gaze lowering in a nod. He continued. "Sloth?" Nod. "Lust?" The violet eyes bobbed in the slow motion of hesitant approval. "Greed?" The ruby orbs to his right nodded. "And I, vote yes as well." Pride said evenly, his white gaze tilting upwards towards the dark sky as the faint sound of a melody began to fill the still air.

"And so it begins..." Greed whispered softly.

"The Ouroboros."

Author's Note

Thank you everyone for reading the very first installment of this new epic, I hope it was enough to get you excited for what is to come. Feedback is always welcome, as are suggestions. Keep in mind, while this is a story based fic, I will be using a few romantic subplots and may include a few clop chapters if you want, so feel free to post requests for pairings, characters, lr anything you feel may improve the story. Once again, thank you for reading, and please stick around for the next update.