A Changeling Named Sin: Acid's Rage

Chapters

Part Two: Wilderness and Wildlife
Part Three: Calming Before the Storm
Part Four: Inferno
Part Five: Souls
Part Six: Void's Needs
Part Seven: The Town of Sand
Part Eight: Princess Ignition
Part Nine: The Oasis
Part Ten: Areas and Forbidden Places
Part One: Harsh Choices for the Greater Good

Part Two: Wilderness and Wildlife

A Changeling Named Sin: Acid’s Rage

Wilderness and Wildlife

Water slipped through the brook in front of Sin. Her body kneeled to listen to it, calm but starving. Three years without good, healthy nutrition didn’t do well for her, and it showed. Her body was losing weight, and the woods hardly had any form of actual nourishment. She’d sometimes find bananas, or an apple tree, but fate always treated her rudely. Guards would find her, chase her, and cause the poor being to lose even more weight, forcing her to almost faint once she caught her breath.

In her life, she’d always been served and waited upon, but now, all this time without everything hoof given to her brought the changeling to learn about survival. Despite all the self-taught training she picked up along her way, she still didn’t grasp the key element of living in the outside, where forest beasts and scavengers lurk, waiting to strike their prey. Taking a deep breath, she thought about Aqua, and where she was now.

If Sin could find her, she would probably be more willing to stay with the liquid Evolver, give up the search, and live happily with one who she could do no such harm to. The solitude was the worst for Sin. Mental breakdowns occurred randomly, as tears formed on the most unpredictable moments, Sin would often become angry with the world, but as these feelings passed, she continued her spiteful route with a heavy heart.

Birds chirped in the distance while water slowly trickled close beside her hooves. Sin, the conduit changeling sat, feeling famished and desperate for company. As lines of bright rays seeped through the high up leaves and rested on the other side of the creek, she heard two voices approaching behind her. The mare stood, leaned against a tree and began listening in a bit to gather information on who it might be.

“Her highness has called it off, commander.”

“What? B-but we were so close! I can feel her presence…”

Sin peered around to see two scouters, both discussing the end of the search while looking over a map.

“It’s true, we head out and return to Canterlot today, immediately.”

With them trotting off, Sin smiled happily, thankful to her mother’s understandings. For too long, she’d hoped to get some relief. With the weight lifted off her shoulders, Sin would be able to relax for once, and maybe have the chance to bathe in the refreshing freedom she’d longed for.

Hours passed, and Celestia’s orb of radiance was beginning to set. Sin looked for shelter, but these parts of the woods offered no such caves or other forms of safety from the night for her. The mare walked through rows of trees springing high into the clouds, and heard something; a sharp rustling of the leaves just above her. She stopped, held her pace in a seemingly motionless stance.

Suddenly, she felt vines, sharp and prickly grab her hooves and pull her up. She reacted with one amazing light show, spraying rays of harmful power everywhere. Her eyes slowly changed to white, glowing with power. Suddenly, however, something stopped that. The figure of four circles, twinkling lightly beyond the puffs of leaves appeared. Sin still struggled to escape, but trying to exert her energy proved difficult. Once she ran out of vigor, two black beings seeped through the darkness, each what Sin feared they could be the most: Evolvers.

To the left, a steed, and on the right was his twin sister. They both had ivory green manes, much like original changelings, but they still had major differences. The holed hooves had ivy growing through and upwards into their bodies, much like what Aqua had with water. Their wings were replaced by long, stringy vines used for hanging and leaping to and from tall branches. Their eyes, both stingily green, seeped through the haze and inspected Sin’s frame, taking her whole being into account while seemingly questioning their next move.

Sin continued rustling with the trap she’d sprung, but still couldn’t break loose. She gave up and relaxed, nearly hypnotized by their gaze. Slowly, one firm tentacle loosened. Then another, until she was set free to fly in the air, next to the now peaceful looking beings. “F-Friend or fiend?”

The steed Evolver chuckled and uttered, “We are neither.” His voice sounded odd, plantlike and somewhat provoking. “I am , Wilderness, and this is my sister, Wildlife.”

Sin bowed her head and slowly descended to the ground. As she landed, so did the nature twins. Wildlife came close to her brother, rested her head upon his mane and slowly sighed, “This one doesn’t seem like a threat… She’s weak, exposed… Much like we were when first learning to survive off the land.”

Sin gulped, and asked, “Please… I’m looking for someone named Acid… Can you assist me in any-” With the mere mentioning of the name, both Wildlife and Wilderness gasped simultaneously in shock. They stared, creating an unpleasant silence. Nothing but birds chirping in the distance was heard. As Sin slowly blinked her fears away, she asked, once more, “Can you assist me?”

The stallion shook his flora head while explaining, “We are not going near him, nor do we believe you should either. We suck the life out of plants, not feelings. We were lucky to locate and obtain this land for ourselves, and we will be damned if his wrath reaches our world. We can’t help you find him…”

“But,” the sister interjected, “we might be able to assist you in finding shelter. We believe a storm will be approaching soon… I, personally, would love a visitor in our quaint cottage.”

For the first time in years, Sin saw smiles from two beings, ones she knew couldn’t be harmed by her. With a sly chuckle, her heart was filled with happiness. “Okay… I’d like that,” she calmly stated.

While the two turned around and walked off, Sin saw the sister once again lay her loving head upon her brother’s shoulder, allowing their ivy manes to cascade and almost look like they became one. Sin simply smiled with petite tears forming, but for once, these weren’t ones of sorrow. She was almost overjoyed to have somepony to converse with, rather than being alone, hoping to never meet a soul, mostly for others' protection.

Author's Note

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Prequil Cover Art:

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Part Three: Calming Before the Storm

A Changeling Named Sin: Acid’s Rage

Calming Before the Storm

Through the forest, two black coated beings could be seen enjoying their walk, Sin following close behind. She walked by long vines dangling from above, looked to her left and saw Blade walking close to where she was. Sin also noticed his gaze was directed towards their two leaders, Wilderness and Wildlife. The plantlike mare leaned coyly upon her brother, happy to be under his protection.

He was much more bulky than Silver Blade was in his youth, and Sin could almost feel his powerful energy emitting from his structure. Light bounced off his mane and skimmed right through Sin’s transparent friend. She speculated on telling the two Evolvers about her ghost of a friend, and about how it came to be, but as time passed, she decided not to say much about him.

Every now and then, he’d disappear, seeping into Sin’s subconscious mind and heart, only to return later on, providing company. With nopony else to talk with, he sometimes seemed like a vivid hallucination to Sin. She still loved him, but at times, she wanted nothing more than to hear his voice, feel his hooves and enjoy his company once again. In her mind, every time she thought about the days she spent with him, bathing in their friendship, she’d become obsessively rueful at how it all ended.

Remembering his final moments, the shock he must’ve felt with his final dying breath; even now, that brought tears to emerge from her eyes. In the distance, Sin saw what looked like a huge tree after wiping a tear away. It was old, but thick with moss covering most sections of the bark. A small opening, just big enough for some ponies to squeeze through could be seen, allowing anyone to enter it. Sin stood next to Wilderness, looking at their home and reveling in the serenity of its appearance.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Wildlife asked, her eyes slowly blinking towards the entrance of their sanctuary. “Me and my brother, we found this place many years ago… after we escaped from Acid’s grasp.”

“He did much more than cause genocide, you know.” Sin stared into the eyes of Wilderness for a moment, gazing at his seemingly unnoticeable scars. “He once held power over many Evolvers, forcing them to do his bidding, spreading negative emotions throughout the land just for him to absorb. Eventually…” His sight slowly steered off while he began to strut towards the tree home. “We rose against him, stole some of his power as well, and ran. With him somewhat weakened by the technical revolution, he did not pursue… but I will not lie, not all Evolvers lived through the incident.”

Entering, Sin saw cords of trailing plants hanging from the roof. Some held jars of potion ingredients, and others contained medical substances. A cauldron sat in the corner. Next to it was a small, beat up, wooden table, round and in desperate need of refurbishing. On it, vials that were to be used for mixtures and brewing chemical liquids sat with labels depicting each one.

While Sin observed everything in the room, she noticed roots leading to the other side of the circular wall where a bed could be seen around the corner, illuminated by a candle. Her hosts laid themselves coyly upon the plush sofa made of the tree’s grown bark and vines. Sin sat in front of them, contemplating what to say. The mare slowly rested her head on Wilderness’s mossy hooves with a smile while her brother pecked her on the head.

His gaze turned towards Sin, and he slowly spoke. “I’ve been keeping care of her for many years now. She’s… all I have left in this world. When we escaped, she and I didn’t know each other. We sort of, just… I don’t know, formed a bond through the fight, and since then, we’ve been together. She’s just a child, though. I’m more like a father than anything towards her, and for what it’s worth, she’s just as innocent as any foal.”

His hoof moved some strands of her mane away from her hazy eyes. While she yawned, Sin could see their love for one another slip through their beings. Mate love; the emotion shared by two, unrelated couples was usually a deep purple. Family love, the kind Celestia had was lighter, but this aura turned into a deep green, meaning it was kin’s love, an emotion that was almost as potent as couple’s.

Due to their inability to absorb it, the emotion simply lofted freely around them, but suddenly, Sin could feel it moving towards her, fighting itself free from their grasp. Gasping, Sin backed away, seeing the lines of smoky power slowly reach out to her, only to return to the two’s body. Wildlife looked at her guest with confused eyes while Sin simply shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m a conduit Evolver… I wasn’t sure if it would happen, but-”

“Sin,” the steed interrupted, “come here. You can’t absorb out energy. It’s impossible. There’s only two who can do that.”

Sin blinked, moved towards the fog and felt its warmth curl around her body, but it didn’t enter. She wondered why this was, and muttered, “But… why, and how?”

“Because, you’re like us. We can only absorb a certain kind of power source. Sibling love isn’t like… well, liking someone, or even loving them. It’s a different emotion all together. It might seem like couple's love, but it’s not. You can only absorb a certain type of love. It’s very confusing. I love Wilderness, because she’s my sister. Family love, the kind a mother offers her children is too similar to couple’s.”

Sin nodded to the side, still confused by this, but decided to try and evaluate the bits of information. “In other words, I can absorb an admirer’s emotions for me… I can gather my mother’s admiration, but when it comes to a kin’s love…”

“It’s a no go.” Sin closed her eyes with a pleased smirk. Wildlife lifted her head and asked, “It’s been a long day, and I’m sure you’re tired, right? Wilderness, do you think it's a good idea to give her the bed, and we’ll simply sleep here tonight?”

Her brother agreed and showed Sin to her room. The bed, unlike the sofa was made out of actual, comforting fabric. It was clear why they decided to let her sleep there instead of on the couch. She’d never be able to get a good night’s rest with a stick poking her in the back all evening.

While she was laying down, drifting into peaceful dreams, only a few miles away, someone, or something was approaching. Sin would only receive a single good night’s sleep, despite her thoughts of simply staying there in the tree sanctuary. Fate, as usual, had other plans for her.

Author's Note

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Prequil Cover Art:

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Part Four: Inferno

A Changeling Named Sin: Acid’s Rage

Inferno

Deep in the dead of night, within the foggy woods, faint shimmers slipped through the spaced, bushy trees allowing lines of ultraviolet heat onto the grass, only to singe it away. Pure, blackened hooves tainted with corrupt flares trotted at a relevantly moderate pace through the warming gravel, making some rocks melt away and leave a very noticeable trail of molten hoof marks.

His eyes shifted towards an opening, and approached a small tree hut where no more than three beings resided. Only a good walk away from where he kept his place, and the tree would be meeting a member of its host’s family. Not all reunions are happy ones, however.

Sin slept on the cozy bed that was provided, sound like a baby who hadn't been able to sleep for hours. She often dreamed of Silver; how he always catered for her and used to be there, by her side, keeping her warm with his own love. Those memories, though bitter, became a mental sanctuary for her, even though his dead soul taunted her in them. Silver Blade never meant to do this, but his mere presence was always enough to bring grieving to Sin no matter how happy she might've been at the time.

In the dream her mind crafted for her that night, the pain was submerged with bliss. For some reason, Sin couldn't help but to feel at ease with him by her side once more, even though it was all just a fallacy. She awoke, her hooves shifting the blankets away, and herself up to see Wildlife frantically chanting, "Sin, you must come out now!"

She turned and headed for the doorway. Sin saw bright red lights dancing on the dirt floor and wondered just what was happening. She galloped her way through the small tree hut smelling distinct scents of burning wood, among other fragrances that indicated fire. Once outside, her heart skipped a beat. For the first time, she saw the face of Hell itself.

Inferno, one of the plant Evolver's most threatening nemesis stood there, his crimson mane engulfing his head and neck. His eyes were marked with blood red tribal scars, obviously placed there by himself and possibly painted with the innards of an innocent victim. His chest plate, the same, dark pigmentation gave his viewers that much more a feeling of insanity.

He cocked his head to the left, his gaze not shifting from Sin's direction, and chuckled a moment before offering a sly smile. "What do you want here?!" Wilderness asked in a threatening tone, his anger rising while memories surfaced. The menace just stood there, ignoring the question outright, as though it meant nothing to him.

Sin asked in a nervous voice, "Who is this?"

Wildlife decided to explain. "This... is Inferno, one of the most dangerous Evolvers of them all, and the taker of our little sister's soul."

"For years, he's been tracking us, ever since the revolution." Wilderness's face scolded Inferno as he continued. "He was one of the powerhouses that assisted the most in Acid's downfall... but, just before that battle was won, considering our elements, he found it would be best to eliminate one of our own. Nature, our little sister, was only a teen, much younger than yourself, Sin. She died in vain. He murdered her!"

Sin gulped, feeling pressure upon herself. "Can you see her soul? The way I can with Silver?"

Wildlife shook her head. "We weren't near her when that happened, firstly. Secondly, she didn't give us her love freely enough for that to happen."

Inferno gave off a bone chilling laugh, as though he was remembering a fond joke. His voice was dark and scratchy, most resembling somepony with lung cancer. "She was indeed fun to slaughter."

"SHUT IT!" Wilderness screamed, "I won't let you talk about my sister like this!"

In moments, the ground erupted with tentacles and needle thorns, all leaping onto Inferno. His body was engulfed with greenery; eventually taking the form of a giant ball made of vines. He was lifted into the tree tops, and Sin's hosts flew up to him, making her follow. In the dense fog, Sin could just barely see him glowing with intense radiance, so much that it emitted light that passed the thick ball which incarcerated him.

Wilderness and Wildlife flew on guard, seemingly ready for whatever it was he planned to do, but nothing could've prepared them for his strength. Fire ruptured the barrier easily, sending outrageous flames blazing towards the three. Sin was knocked unconscious by the impact, and was sent plummeting to the hard surface below while the others dueled above her.

Hours of the three fighting and power slinging passed while Sin, in her mentally pained state, wondered why such evil and tyranny existed in the world. She couldn't wrap her mind around why somepony would simply murder an innocent child because of what they require to live.

While she contemplated the corruption of others, Wildlife was struggling to keep herself alive. Like paper, the naturally grown elements rooting from the earth of Equestria burned away all too easily, leaving nothing but ash in Inferno's wake. The forest, their home was being burned down by one individual, thanks to his hatred for the two siblings.

Sin, finally coming to her senses, looked up to see Wilderness giving Inferno a tough challenge, slinging plant attacks at him as much as possible, and Wildlife being thoroughly cooked to death by his rough hug. He held her close, making it impossible for her to escape. Sin got to her hooves, thoughts of losing yet another to the grip of fate running circles in her mind, and allowed her own abilities to show.

In seconds, not even that, Sin shot herself up and impaired Inferno's chest with her horn. His cries were tremendously worse then Wildlife's. Sin launched him down to the ground and into a tree, where she kept a tight grip on him. Her horn flared with golden aura, shooting bolts of electricity through his frame. His pain was almost unmatchable, but not as harsh as Wildlife's fatal injuries.

Sin yanked herself free, blood coating her forehead, and with one last glow of the eyes, she snuffed the flaming Evolver once and for all. His body glowed with her bright aura, and before he could even stand, Inferno bursted into small flaming pieces. His final breath had been exhaled.

Sin ran and slid over to her fellow Evolvers. Wilderness held his sister close, sobbing over her mangled and distorted body. She wasn't recovering from a blow this devastating. All he could do was allow her soul to be sucked into his own, and then let her to die, but in a way, live on within him at the same time. Sin and Wilderness now had something in common: a soul that haunted them both.

Even though the sorrows would be overwhelming for them, they could coax with the burden together. Wilderness stood, his eyes looking around at the dry wasteland that was only hours ago a lush and thriving place he called home. With it now gone, and all he had worked for to protect in ruins, he had no choice but to venture with Sin, in hopeful search of Acid, their main, mutual target.

Author's Note

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Prequil Cover Art:

Current Cover Art:

Inferno:

Part Five: Souls

A Changeling Named Sin: Acid’s Rage

Souls

“There's no emotion within the souls of the dead.”

Sin grimaced as she saw the blank stare of her friend, Silver Blade. Next to her stood Wilderness, her comrade and friend. For the past hour, the two had been standing in fields of green, yellow fireflies zooming slowly in circles around them, and Wilderness speaking the truth even though it had yet to be accepted by his golden maned ally. Finally understanding it, the missing love in Silver's transparent gaze, Sin let the depressing fact sink into her mind.

All the world was silent then except for crickets annoying the two with their continuous sounds. Sin gulped away the fear of Wilderness's words actually being true, and raised a hoof towards Silver. He responded by doing the same, but his expression showed no sadness, no happiness, no joy; nothing but cold eyes that taunted her, same as they always did. As their hooves made contact, Sin's sank into his. She tried not to cry, and succeeded.

Her hoof returned to its former position with a stomp. Anger was beginning to replace any other feeling she possibly had. “Why couldn't anyone have told me this?”

“Because, you were never near our kind," Wilderness voiced. "Evolvers, a lot of them, died without the correct emotion or element to feed on. For example, it was tough for Rehi, absorber of Regret, to live. Nopony for miles had anything to feel bad about. He died at a young age. His sister, Cheer, loved him enough for when he died of starvation, she enveloped his soul. This was the first occurrence of the phenomena. We gathered our data from incidences, and learned from it. The dead have no feelings. They're just that: Dead.”

Sin shook her head in rage. The grass swirled with the winds her power stirred, but the clasping of her friend's hoof on her shoulder settled the nerves that pumped negativity though her aching heart. All this time, Silver Blade had been a vessel, invisible to any but herself. “Why must I suffer?”

“You don't suffer. You just don't know what suffering really is.”

She bounded back. “You can't say that... I've been through so much, you couldn't possibly understand!”

Chuckling, Wilderness proved her wrong with little effort. “I've lost both my sisters... I've never known a mother... I've witnessed my home be destroyed, and I've had to move on without a single tear being shed, unlike you. What have you lost? A lover who was suicidal to ever allow himself to like a Changeling? A mother who, at some point, wished to murder you? A palace where servants waited on you hoof and knee?!” Sin huffed slightly at the cold and unnecessary words. “Don't talk to me about pain, Princess.”

Silence filled the field once again. This time, not even the crickets disturbed it. Sin lowered her head in pity. “I'm... so sorry... I'd forgotten your story...”

“You've told me yours," Wilderness said, glancing away. "I've told you mine. I'm sorry for what I said, but don't think you're better than others because of the pressure found within yourself. I'm no better than you, too. We're equals in this world now. Our losses mount, but the quantity is still the same for each... Now then, are you ready to try this?”

The two had been discussing how other Evolvers, and maybe even lower levels of the changeling race might be able to see the souls of the dead who stalk another, not them. If this theory that was to be tested true, it would mean Sin could see Wildlife, Wilderness's second deceased sister. She loved Sin like family, enough to house her and keep her safe from harm's path. Sin felt the same bond growing, and it still remained, but dormant deep inside her, refusing to be let free. She nodded, and asked, “How do I begin?”

“Open your heart,” Wilderness explained. “Allow yourself to feel her warm aura right in front of you. She's there, I can see her clearly. All you have to do is open your eyes, and see her as well.”

Sin stared for what seemed like a dozen minutes, visualizing what she looked like, but never seeing her in actual reality. The images of her mangled and deformed body was still fresh. It clouded all the love she had for Wildlife, and replaced it with hatred aimed towards Inferno. “I can't... S-she's just not coming to me. All I see is red flames... All I feel is disgust for that loathsome-”

“Enough with that. Peaceful memories, Sin. You're not trying to feel love now. Put all that behind you and realize she's there. Your sister, Wildlife, is staring at you face to face, wishing for you to see her.”

Sin blinked, her scowl receding, and her mind opening up to the emotions needed to allow this experiment to work. She was finally seeing it; starting from the tip of her hooves and moving its way up to her chest, glimmering sparkles shined and showed Sin her friend. As it worked up to the eyes and completed her mane, Sin smiled.

Content senses flourished her like never before. Happiness overcame Sin once Wildlife's whole body was finished materializing in spiritual form. Just like Silver Blade, she too had a blank expression painted clearly on her face. The two soul's eyes and muzzle were identical. They stood side by side, emotionless in the dark night.

“You see her then...?”

Sin nodded, her eyes swelling with salty water. “It's like she's still alive, but I know this isn't her... She's so cold looking. Why must it be like this?”

“Because, we're Evolvers... I think we were cursed with sorrow, as if it's a friend we're meant to greet every waking day.” Sin closed her eyes and walked straight, passing the two ghosts which didn't move much until a distinct distance was met. Wilderness followed, and said, “I'm a bit jealous of you, being able to see Wildlife and I can't see your friend... I'm sure he was a great stallion, wasn't he?”

Chuckling, Sin responded with, “You have no idea.”

The two walked along, being followed by their dreary friends. Into the woods again, Sin and Wilderness both knew not to speak of it for the rest of the night. At that time, they needed to find shelter. A storm was brewing in the distance, and obviously headed for their location. “I just hope we find Acid soon,” Sin said confidently. “Once he's dead, our travels will be over. Burden, for what it's worth, will become sanctuary... Right, Wilderness?”

He didn't protest this. Instead, the plant-like changeling agreed, and spotted a seemingly deserted cabin out in the corner of his eye. “This way,” he chanted, just before rain came to wash away the distress of their successful test. All would be fine for the night. The dead, though feeling nothing, still wandered with their loved ones in peace.

Author's Note

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Prequil Cover Art:

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Part Six: Void's Needs

A Changeling Named Sin: Acid’s Rage

Void's Needs

Inside her deepest, darkest dreams, sometimes darker than imaginable, Sin could feel ice cold chills run through her spine late at night. Whenever she would be outside camping by streams all alone, she’d dream and feel the same sensation, as if something was there. Something, or somepony beckoning to her. Sin and Wilderness decided it was good to rest for a bit. For two days, they stayed at the cabin, but now, it was time to resume their course whether they wanted to or not.

It was still evening when Sin woke up, the air feeling ice cold. Her companion, Wilderness, stood up from the couch beside her. “Did you hear that?”

Sin lifted her shivering self up. “Heard what?”

“That sound…”

Sin listened, but heard nothing. Almost nothing, that is. A crack, most likely from a twig, but that was all. “It was probably just an animal,” Sin said.

Wilderness, however, was more cautious. “Even an animal can be threatening…”

As the door was creaked open, the changeling left, and the mare slowly followed behind. The hut had an eerie aura to it that night. No fog, nothing like that. It was more as if someone was watching behind every tree and shrub, waiting to ambush whoever might come looking.

The fire that had almost gone out shined a dim red on the green leaves surrounding the front entrance. Everything else was too shaded to make out. “Let’s go back inside,” Sin said, startling Wilderness a little.

“Shh…” He spoke softly, calmly whispering, “Look, over there.”

Sin came close, and just in the distance behind the darkness was a set of white eyes. They resembled the kind changelings had. She loomed out from the shroud, into the light, staring blankly at Sin.

A white mane with dark, charred edges laid next to weak looking, holed hooves. She was only the size of a filly, fangs showing. Once Wilderness could see her more clearly, he began backing away with Sin watching.

“Who are you?” the filly said, her voice crackling like that of an old lady.

“Sin, we need to leave.”

Sin looked next to her. “Why? Who is this?”

Without looking away, Wilderness said, “Sister! Now we need to leave!”

He froze in time. Everything around Sin changed. The house they were just living in began to decay at an alarming rate, the tall grass was blown away by the winds, and the bushes completely disappeared. Up above, the stars were blotched out by a sickly blue, all but the moon. The bright, full moon high above Sin and the changeling stranger.

“Who are you?” Sin asked

Every step closer sounded as though where she walked was by Sin’s side, but she wasn’t getting any closer, either. “Sister… You’re powerful, aren’t you?”

Sin looked back at the grey stallion next to her, his face expressing pure shock. “Your name’s Sister… And what power are you?”

“The void.” Sin looked down to see Sister standing before her, that same, amazed look in her eyes. “Nothing is my specialty. You’re something powerful, and it’s hard to destroy you.”

Sin backed away. “Destroy me?”

“I would’ve done this to him first, but I still remember him saving me once before. So I’m sparing him this time. You, however, have been summoned by me in your dreams. The greatest quantity of darkness is where void lies, and where I’m sending you. It’s… a bad habit of mine.”

Sin nodded while gulping, her mane hiding her eyes. “Don’t force me to choose my route. We can leave peacefully, or there can be a conflict. It’s your choice, not mine.”

She just kept coming closer, and things seemed as if the closer Sister got, the weaker Sin felt. She was fading away. Though, her will would not be forced like this. For a short while, she and Wilderness had found momentary sanctuary. For all that to be taken away by nothingness wasn’t what they intended to let happen.

With her horn suddenly surging with yellow lightning jumping through the loops, Sin pointed it to the sky, but then brought it crashing to the ground. Everything blurred and distorted as though she were pulling herself and everything else back out of nothingness and into reality once more.

With a headache, Wilderness came thumping to the ground, back in real time. Sin huffed, a miniature crater under her head, and looked up. Before her still stood young Sister, hidden again by the shadows. Wilderness pleaded, “Sin, get away from her!”

Ignoring him completely, the mare trotted closer, staring down the filly. “Why me?”

Sister hissed, “You’re everything that can stop darkness from taking this land. Pure light… We were birthed as enemies, and we’ll see each other again.”

With the blinking of her eyes, Sister was gone. Sin and Wilderness was stunned for a few seconds, but recovered. They looked at each other, and then back behind them. Everything was gone. Instinctively, the two changelings jumped back to find the house completely replaced with a square outline of grass.

“What happened?” Sin asked.

“She needed something to eat… Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t having any dreams?!”

“What? How was I supposed to know about her?”

Wildlife turned quickly, his chest pushing against Sin’s. “To dream of nothing is to dream of her! Anypony that dreams of nothingness for a few days straight will see her face within the void. She is that void which many of us visit in sleep.”

Sin looked over towards where the home once was. “I never saw her in my dreams.”

“Think hard, Sin! She said it, didn’t she? You were told of how she lured you here so she could eat you, or as she likes to call it, send you into nothingness itself."

“She needed something to eat… So she took our home.”

“Because you were too strong…?”

“I kicked her out of my mind…”

“What?” Wilderness asked. “How?”

Sin looked up, and explained simply, “I just thought about what I wanted, and it happened.”

She warily glanced at Wilderness backing away. He looked at her with these serious eyes, worried, and showing it. “If you’re that powerful, to tell Sister she’s not allowed near here, and to defeat Inferno, too…”

Sin started walking. Over a few hills and through the trees, the two resumed their course. After that encounter, Wilderness started looking at Sin with a hint of fear in his eyes. Never had he even heard of another with such accumulated strength.

Sin wondered when she’d see Sister again, and asked, “That girl was like a ghost.”

The two were passing by some random forest during mid day when Sin finally struck up a conversation. “If a ghost is the closest you can come to describe her when she had you caught, then the rumors are true.”

“Who else have you met, other than me?” Sin looked his way. “Other changelings, like Evolvers.”

Wilderness acted as though he wished to keep that secret. “It’s probably best you just trust me when I tell you to back off of somepony we meet next time.”

He took the lead, magically removing branches from his path. Sin followed close behind, crouching a bit, and missing their home. For two whole days, they were allowed to rest up, but all that was over. Equestria and all its wonders were soon behind the changeling’s trail, and sands laid just beyond the foggy landscape. Along with a new area came territory they were bound to trespass upon.

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Part Seven: The Town of Sand

A Changeling Named Sin: Acid’s Rage

The Town of Sand

The tropical jungle that Sin and Wilderness wandered through was no longer that of the Everfree Forest. They weren’t even in Equestria anymore. The boundaries had been crossed a few hours ago, and where they were at could best be described as the outskirts of civilization. However, even in wastelands, there can still be reasonable ponies living somewhere.

The road they walked on, and everything else around them was bright yellow thanks to the morning that had finally arrived after their travel-filled journey through the night. The trees standing high nearly glowed with the sun’s care, and their route, though graveled, was straight and lit.

Sin trotted close to Wilderness, her head bobbing from the lack of sleep she needed. Soon, she bumped into her friend, but instead of returning to her own side, she stayed close by, leaning up against his soft, ivy mane, and asking, “What did we do in that cabin?” She rubbed her cheek against him. “It feels like we were only there for an hour…”

Wilderness didn’t really like Sin playing the sisterly act and leaning on him. Though, he wasn’t going to push her away, either. No matter how different they seemed, the two were still siblings. “We slept,” he said. “That’s what I remember. Sleeping, and sometimes, trying to make you stop getting in bed with me.”

Sin smiled. “I was lonely, and cold. You can’t blame me, now can you?”

He rolled his eyes while moving the branches out of the way with his powers. “I’ve just… lost so much over these few weeks. It sometimes feels like if I don’t make a family bond with somepony, I’ll never grieve when they die.” He sighed, knowing how absurd that really sounded. “But, that would ultimately make me a cold hearted individual, huh?”

Sin looked up to him, her eyes looking into his, and then, she kissed him. Not on the lips, but on his cheek, and whispered into his ear, “I won’t let you think like that.”

She resumed walking with him, her mane and his soon becoming intertwined with each other’s much like how Wildlife used to when she was alive. “Thanks,” Wilderness mumbled, a smile fighting its way passed the frown he had.

Though he’d never be able to see Sin the same way he saw his other two sisters, he leaned in, too. No other changelings were around to see them, and besides that, he needed a moment of happiness, especially after everything he’d have to deal with. Even though he knew now that if Sin died, she’d be trapped within his heart forever, he didn’t mind. To reject her would make Wilderness feel just as evil as Acid.

Beyond the shroud of ferns blocking the end of the road laid their next destination. Once they were moved out of the way, Wilderness bounded back while Sin kept walking out, into the seemingly uninhabited clearing of the vast desert. “Sin, I can’t go out there,” Wilderness said, his face blushing. “There’s no grass, or trees, or anything!”

Sin smirked his way, and asked, “You can store some energy! Come out here, the warm air is great!”

He shuffled his hooves, took a step forward, returned his hoof to the grass and said, “There! Now, can we please find another way around?”

Sin magically formed a wall made of her golden aura behind him and pushed Wilderness into the desert by his flank. Once crossed over, she patted him on his shivering head. “There, now is this that bad?”

The look on his face was pure terror. If anything, rather than looking toasty from the heated breeze like Sin did, he looked as though snow was surrounding him, chilling his whole body to the very bone. “I d-don’t like the s-sand, Sin.”

His friend was unfortunately distracted at the moment. She was preoccupied by what looked like a town in the distance. By then, Wilderness had seen it too, and stopped shivering so much. “That’s a town,” Sin said. “Can you see it?”

“Yeah, but I’m more concerned with those… lines?”

“They look like sand spitting up into the air…”

Then, the mysterious presence disappeared. Both Sin and Wilderness gasped, looked at one another, and then felt a rumble underneath their hooves. Two shots of sand jumped out from under them and tossed each one into the air. Upon catching herself, Sin was whacked back down to the ground by a whip made of even more sand.

She was knocked so hard that she landed before Wilderness. The mare stood, trembling. Once seeing Wilderness lying in the duns, Sin also saw those duns take shape and form. Two sand Evolvers, a boy and a girl, stood over him, looking at Sin. They were young, lean, and sandy. Their manes were sand, tongues, pointy ears, and some even poured loosely from their hooves.

“What you make of them?” The stallion asked.

“Element siblings,” his sister offered. “Or, maybe just friends?”

“No, this one has grass for a tail. He’s the one.”

“Told you we’d find them in under a week.”

Sin looked them both up and down, some sweat trailing down the side of her face. “What do you two want?”

The brother responded by melting into the sands and wrapping the unconscious plant changeling up. Next thing Sin knew, he was gone. She took a step back, her eyes glowing, and split the air with her horn, slinging spells at the sister. Her hoof rose along with a dense wall of condensed sand and mud amazingly making Sin’s attack pointless.

A huge hole in the wall nearly broke all the way through. If Sin put forth just a bit more power, she could’ve caused some serious damage. Immediately, the enemy was right behind Sin, staring at her smoking horn. A simple strike on the neck would be just enough to knock her out. She fell quickly, her eyes still open and wide, but the second she hit the floor, everything went dark.

Hours would pass before Sin woke up in the afternoon, her body swaying with the mare that carried the prisoner on her back. Sin rose her head while everything spun around in circles for a little. Across from her was Wilderness, bound and tied, and still asleep. Just like her, Wilderness was on the other sand changeling’s back.

From what she could see, they were in a broken town. Huge vases aligned the doors, shack stores were filled with trivial quality inventory, and a few changelings walked about. Sin blinked, trying to understand what was going on. Everypony inside the seemingly small town was not only a changeling, but sand changelings, too.

There were older looking ones, and a few that were around her age, but every last of them had sand for manes and tails, and each looked their way once Sin and Wilderness was shown off by the more healthy and presumable protectors of the village. They were the only two who seemed in shape, well fed, and much more powerful.

Then, a wall, followed by darkness. Sin had entered some sort of tunnel, and was being brought into what sounded like an arena. She was able to deduce this by the few cheering voices coming from the end. From what Sin had seen of the living conditions, the civilization she and her friend had discovered was questionably civilized at best, so there was no telling what waited for them on the other side.

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Part Eight: Princess Ignition

A Changeling Named Sin: Acid’s Rage

Princess Ignition

Sin and Wilderness were each brought out into the middle of not just a simple, little arena, but a stadium large enough to seat hundreds of changelings. All around her were thickly compressed walls of dirt, sand and mud. Up on top were the stands. They weren’t exactly filled, but they were, however, filling up rather quickly.

Since the two had arrived within the town, many citizens started showing, some couples, some entire groups of five or six. Sin was magically taken off of the sand Evolver’s back, same as Wilderness, and was almost tossed to the stinging hot, rough gravel. Everything around them was either that or made of sand save for a few blocks of wood or support beams.

Their restrictions were removed, that being their bonds of rope and cloth wrapping around their mouths to keep them from speaking. Sin gasped shortly, rubbing her eyes with the clean parts of her hooves, and looked around. Booing and hissing at them, everypony that took their seats seemed very angry. But why? What did Sin and Wilderness do to them?

She looked back at the weakly rising stallion a few steps away from her and ran over to help him. While she hoisted up his side, she heard him whisper, “I need… plants.”

“Enough!” a voice from in front of them shouted, silencing the audience and catching Sin’s attention. Above, to the left of the entrance was an open balcony, a throne in the middle. Along with peculiarly shaped flags rose a roof, and in the back was a crease sunlight could pass through. Finally, just when the sun dipped low enough to shine right through and partially daze Sin, this land’s king stood.

The tall, angry stare of the sand village’s ruler was enough to bring shivers into Sin's body immediately. He was much more built than Wilderness. His hooves were hardly visible anymore, much like his black coat. His entire being was coated in seemingly protective sand. His long, flowing mane complimented his beard, which slid right through the bulk of his chest. Finally, a crown to symbolize his rule. Sin watched as his lordship approached the edge. “He needs vegetation,” Sin said loudly.

He looked outward at the weak changeling being aided by Sin. “What’s his name?” he asked, his voice being the deepest Sin had ever heard.

“Wilderness,” Sin said, bringing the plant changeling to grunt as if she shouldn’t have said that.

“Then it’s true! My daughter was right…” He lowered down, and then shot into the air, dispersing himself into a billion pieces of sand and rock. As the clump landed, his body took form before Sin and Wilderness’s level of ground. Pointing his dark, holed hoof through the curtain of sand, he said, ”You killed my son, did you not?” He lowered it upon the stallion. “Wilderness?”

“What?” Sin asked, putting him down. “Hey, who was your son? Wilderness would never hurt another changeling unless he had no choice.”

A voice from up above said otherwise. “Oh, is that so, Sin?”

“Huh?” She looked up, and then gasped at who stood before them all.

Like a copy of the original, up on the balcony, Inferno stood, but it wasn’t him. The Inferno Sin saw was one out for blood. This one, upon that first eye contact she and Sin shared, Sin saw somepony completely different. Though her looks were about the same, she had a slightly longer mane. Her eyes even had the same type of tribal markings, though they were more pink. In fact, now that Sin had adjusted to the light, she could see more pink in her mane as well.

She jumped down and introduced herself while walking up to the three. “My name is Princess Ignition. I am the fire Evolver of this land, and this is my father.” Sin looked at the king, his stare sharp on her, too. “Though, my father, King Taupe can be a thick one at times…” The princess spoke slowly, calmly; as though all this had been thought out ahead of time. “Sin’s the one we want.” Ignition spoke louder. “Sin killed my brother!”

Everypony cheered while the accused backed away, glancing at Wilderness who still cringed on the ground. “That’s impossible…”

With a simple raise of her hoof, Ignition silenced the cheers once again. She looked at Sin with critical eyes, her lips forming a devious smile. “Why travel with Wilderness?” Sin kept looking at her sternly. “You mean he hasn’t told you?”

“Why should I believe anything you present?”

“Because,” Ignition said coldly. “You don’t think my brother’s intentions were random acts pf violence, do you?”

Sin shook her head. “No, I didn’t… I knew Wilderness had been holding something back, some sort of history he and Inferno had. I didn’t ask because it wasn’t my place.”

Ignition nodded. “When it’d seemed the two were out to deceive you, saying he was just… some henchmen of Acid's, and you bought it, I really thought you couldn’t think for yourself.” She chuckled. “Wanna know the story?”

Sin looked at Wilderness, at his disappointed, injured eyes glancing back at her. He wouldn’t have told Sin the story anyway. “Sure, but something for Wilderness to absorb first, please.”

While the king’s daughter began, he got Sin’s friend what he needed. “It was a long time ago, when we were children. Some colonies were split up after the battle with Acid, and some still had trouble. Notice how the sands and the jungle are right next to each other, Sin. It’s no coincidence.”

Sin looked over at Wilderness, and then back at the princess. “Understood…”

“My brother, the youngest of us fire changelings and I were born much like Wilderness and his siblings. The big difference is our youngest was a boy. His name was Flame, and Wilderness’s daughter was… Nature? Yes, that’s right. She was much more destructive, and I don’t know exactly how it happened, but Inferno was there. He said Nature killed our little brother. So, he killed her…”

Sin blinked. “S-she killed your little brother?”

“Actually, to be more precise,” Ignition said, “she killed something in my brother as well. He grew up here, but despite killing her, he still wanted them.”

Sin looked at Wilderness. “But, he got his sister! Isn’t that enough?”

“No,” the king said. “He was killed by a bystander, and if what my daughter says is true, then my son, Prince Inferno’s death is your fault.”

Ignition approached, muzzle to muzzle. “If that’s true,” Sin said. “... Then, aren’t I your aunt?”

The princess giggled, but shook her head. “I’ll explain later. You see, I was there when you killed him. He’d run away a few days prior to me finding him, but when I finally did, I found your horn digging into him.”

Sin shivered, remembering that moment. “You were there?”

“I was also there when you and Wilderness set up camp at that old house. I headed off, back home to warn the others. Being a princess has its advantages. For instance…” She whistled hard, and out from beneath them, the same two sand warriors showed up from earlier. As the princess pointed to the female on her right, she said, “This is Shift.” Then, pointing to the stallion on the left, she said, “Shuffle.”

Sin backed away even further. She looked up at the now full, anticipating audience, and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I haven’t introduced myself. After all, if I’m responsible for everything here, surely I’m your sole target… So…” Sin looked right at Princess Ignition, and in the blink of an eye, they were transported miles upon miles into the desert. The audience stood as only Wilderness was left with his plants. The king, Shift and Shuffle, Sin and the princess were gone. They would arrive in a secret oasis, a location Sin captured from the princess's recent memory.

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Part Nine: The Oasis

A Changeling Named Sin: Acid’s Rage

The Oasis

Her hooves moved the sands through and through with memories of summer days surfacing quickly. Sin knew within almost everypony’s heart was a place where battling mustn’t commence. A safe haven, or neutral ground where she can talk to whomever she needs to. Her powers, though, were increasing at alarming rates. She not only teleported four other individuals across the barren lands, but to a location Princess Ignition knew of.

She was just a little filly. The warmth of the sun was always perfect, just as it is now. The cool waters were so inviting, and the wildlife that grew there would’ve really helped Wilderness. However, Sin thought it best to leave him as he was already weak, and she didn’t really know where she was going. It took her a while to find the right memory, and she couldn’t risk putting Wilderness in harms way, so he was left where Sin wanted him to be. Besides, she had questions for Ignition he might not have wanted her to ask.

Ignition smelled the soothing air, smiling. “This is… Dad, remember? Mother and you, and… Inferno…”

She looked down at the ripples. Sin knew she’d figured out what was going on, and said, “I won’t fight you, especially when others are there who can be hurt. I can’t really promise their safety with my power.”

The princess looked sharply at Sin. “You think your power matches mine? I could leave this entire area a wasteland! If it wasn’t for this paradise me and my dad consider sacred ground, I’d obliterate everything around you, and you wouldn’t be able to stop me!”

Sin lowered her head and walked closer to her cautiously while saying, “That’s exactly why I brought you, the king, and your lackeys over there here, to this oasis.” She gave a wayward glance at Shift, one of her eyebrows raising. “I’m hoping to talk about this, and come to a compromise.”

The king sat in front of them, his beady eyes looking from Sin to his daughter. She remained standing where she was while Sin sat down, willing to try and negotiate what happened. Hopefully, this didn’t end with violence. Truthfully, Sin hadn’t been the same since killing Prince Inferno. The blood that stained her horn took days to wash off all the way, and every time she thought of him, she had a gut feeling he didn’t need to die that night, and with that came a peculiar sense of guilt.

The thought of Inferno in his final moments brought Sin to say, “Please, do it for your brother.”

Ignition took a deep breath, and sighed heavily before slouching to the floor, and then sitting with this irritated face that seemed to say, “I just want to destroy things.”

Sin smiled, and then said, “I suppose you should start at the beginning. What happened the night Evolvers rose up against Acid?”

The calm stir of the waters were sometimes noticed by the group as Ignition told the story, all of it. Beyond the blue skies and shady palm trees were the sounds of words that described an event so tragic, it made everything Sin had gone through seem like a normal life. The words bounced from each palm tree that surrounded the small body of water the ponies sat before, and every so often, some sand was kicked up by the winds. It didn’t disturb anyone that much, though.

“It began with an explosion,” Ignition started. “There were so many ponies up north, shadowed by the smog he lets off. Combined with the heat from his volcano which he just so happens to use for a domain, the tip top of this land was known as the center. It’s where all the top power hounds go to report in now, but before, there were too many of them. The lower class, more closer to Equestria but still controlled and kept from the borders were under constant surveillance. Guess how long we had to wait for that damn uproar.”

Sin looked at the waters in thought. “I give up.”

“Three years. It took him six to build an entire city filled with brainwashed Eolvers, him on the throne. This happened only five years ago, so our story began twelve years ago. We had no choice but to use codes to communicate with total sibling strangers when he wasn’t using us to expand his great colony like drones. This brought problems. Total opposites like water and fire were helping each other, and when everything hit the fan, so did all that friendship.”

Sin’s jaw dropped slightly before she could ask, “They hated each other because of another’s power type?!”

Ignition nodded solemnly. “I can’t say I understand why, but I’ve never had a problem with someone like Wilderness unless they hurt a family member… And, you killed Inferno, Sin. I can never forgive you for this… but, I seem to be getting side tracked… Evolvers had been around for a long time. The very grounds where Acid rules now were once our home, distorted and ruined with time.”

The king interjected, “We started showing up more frequently, and this land had plenty of nutrition without us, but when Chrysalis finally realized she needed much more in order to feed all of us, she chose to invade the neighboring world you call Equestria. She failed, returned weak and broken, and deserted everypony during the night. I was still so young when that happened, and shortly after, Acid up north snapped.”

Ignition explained further, “It was rumored that he was supposedly his mother’s favorite, and with her gone, he took on a rather dominating role. Those who he could spare that would be useful would be put to work while others that were destined to die anyway without a caretaker… did just that, unfortunately. My father was more prone to the desert, you see, and he met someone. She was a normal pony, not a changeling. Just an earth pony who’d wandered out here.”

The king cut her off from saying much more. “That story will have to wait. You see, Sin, changelings like me and you were born by Chrysalis while newer, and even more powerful changelings are brought into this world through mating with a regular pony. Not a changeling. That’s exactly what I did. She had so much love… but, she died during labor with Flame, our youngest son.”

Sin nodded. “And you two were only…?”

“Nine,” the princess said. “I was nine, and Inferno was eight when Flame came into our lives. By six years old, the uproar began, and he was killed by his own code pen pal once finding out who she was talking to… Nature, Wilderness and Wildlife’s sister. A few years later, Inferno went mad, seeking revenge, and even though he got just that after slaughtering Nature, he still wanted to see more suffering. My brother went out in search of Nature’s remaining kin… and I followed behind, stalking the hunter.”

Sin’s ears perked up. “Then, you were following us, and you were there when Inferno attacked our home. He was attacking us! I had to stop him somehow.”

Her highness looked away. “Although I admit, it’s him that shot first, you still killed him.”

“I was trying to defend my friends from what I was told to be a murderer, and according to you, his own sister, he was!” Sin shook her head in disbelief. “Here we are talking about things we’re not even involved in anymore, and Acid gains power by the minute! It’s time we put all this behind us! I don’t care if you don’t forgive me. That’s fine. Just help me defend this land from a threat more destructive than all of us here combined!”

Ignition remained seated, and so did the king, the two sand Evolvers behind him stayed perfectly still. After a moment, he said, “She’s right.”

Ignition turned her head in her father's direction. “What? Daddy, Sin mutilated my brother, your son!”

“And my son was a maniac who wished nothing for this land but blood! He got what he deserved, Sin’s decision was forced upon her, and I’m your father! Enough is enough! You two shall go together. The other lords and mistresses of this land has gone too long without communication.”

“But, daddy!”

Ignition’s father looked at her with a stern face, making her cower a little. “Listen here young lady! Sin comes to you with offerings of peace and harmony, and you deny it at the spot! This isn’t our way. She’s presented herself as a trustworthy changeling. Well, I say it just might be high time we started behaving the same way towards her. Starting now, you and Sin are friends, and you will cooperate with each other on missions I will assign.”

Princess Ignition pouted, “I hate missions! They’re just simple chores. Daddy, can’t we just ignore that? I have a grudge on Sin, and it’s burning to the core!”

Sin brushed some strands of her hair away from her eyes to say, “You couldn’t possibly hurt me even if you gave it your all.”

Ignition looked over to the boasting mare with an offended look in her eyes. “I can defeat you in combat easily,” she hissed.

Sin, however, looked at herself in the water. How long had it been since she looked at her reflection? A few weeks, perhaps? Last time, she didn’t quite understand the meaning behind her powers, but now, Sin believes she understands things in a way she simply couldn’t have a few years prior to the present day. “It’s like a wish granting power. I just think of what I want, sometimes triggering exasperation, and let the power burst freely from myself, and just like that, I have what I wanted, or sometimes needed.”

The king nodded. “Teleport me and my servants back to the city then. You two have some bonding to do. Ignition…”

She looked at him. “Yes, dad?” The expression she wore said, “Please, don’t do this to me.”

“Give Sin a chance, she’s here to try and help us after all, and if what she says is true, then you’ll most definitely be needing her help.”

He stood back with Sin rising from the ground, her hooves sinking in slowly. With a spark of her horn, and the glowing of her eyes, she cast them back to the village safely. There was a mystic aura surrounding Sin after they were gone. Even the princess noticed it. She stood up to look at Sin, who in return offered a friendly smile. Ignition held hers back, though. The two stood there for a moment, but Sin sad down once again. Ignition looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and said, “I’ve told you my story. How about you? What’s your story?”

Sin watched as her new friend sat down with her. She had nothing to hide, so she explained everything. All the important details of Sin's life was explained briefly but punctually. After the story ended, her highness found it hard not to feel sorry for Sin. “Why don’t you go back to Canterlot?” Ignition asked once Sin was done talking about her old home.

“I’m a threat to it. Somepony could get hurt if I came back. Besides, it’s a long ways away, and it takes a lot of power to teleport even one pony.”

Ignition shook her head, and debated, “No, you’re wrong. Family is more important than anything else in the world. A day won’t hurt anypony in Canterlot, and you know it. You just can’t face Celestia alone, can you?”

Sin looked away, blushing. “She’s my mother, but I don’t want to hurt her again by telling her about everything that’s happened.”

Ignition frowned. “So, that’s it then? Hurt her once, maybe leave her to tears, and then wander off into the world to have all these adventures alone? She’s family, Sin! Look at my father. He’s protective, but he let me go out into the world, to spy on my brother and make sure he’s okay… That didn’t work out so well, but he’s happier knowing about Inferno’s death than not at all.”

Sin nodded. “You think I should go back to Canterlot and talk with Princess Celestia, and maybe work something out?”

Ignition replied with, “If you don’t, then I’m not helping you. Think about this, Sin. If you can work out a compromise between me, you and my dad, then you can certainly persuade your mother into not holding you back. Not to mention, it’ll feel good to see her again. You’ll only be taking a small amount of love, and finally, I’ll be there with you, by your side… It’s odd, how I forgot you’re still family deep down.”

Sin giggled, “Just a moment ago, you were threatening to kill me.”

Her companion confessed, “I’m gonna be your friend because my dad’s making me… but, I’m not gonna forgive you killing Inferno… Not just yet.”

Sin looked up at the mare. “I thought you were never going to forgive me.”

“Maybe I won’t, but chilling with you might be fun.”

“You think Wilderness will mind having you along?”

Ignition chuckled, “He took you in, didn’t he?” She looked at Sin in the eyes. “And you’re the most different of us all. Don’t think I’m not gonna hold you to that match, though.”

Sin blinked. “Why would we fight if we’re friends?”

Ignition smirked, and said, “Because, I wanna see that wish making business put to practice real soon here. Mind you, I've got some tricks, too.” As she stood up, she nodded, and then helped Sin stand as well. “We’d better get back to the city. Dad’s probably calmed everypony down enough by now, and has your friend either in bed asleep or in the dining hall eating.”

Sin said, “It feels good to hear that.” With a quick flick of her horn, the two were brought back to the stadium. Once inside the royal domains located in the very back of many winding alleyways, Sin and Wilderness followed the king to their rooms and began packing for the trip back to Canterlot. Sin, the most nervous of the three was having second thoughts, but those would go away once she and Ignition met again. The only way to get followers at this point, it’d seemed, was to do as her new friend suggests, and visit some old friends.

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Part Ten: Areas and Forbidden Places

A Changeling Named Sin: Acid’s Rage

Areas and Forbidden Places

Behind the foul stench and slum areas of the sand village laid a hidden trove of nature’s ultimate gift. The deeper Sin marched, following the princess of this particular strip of land, the more she noticed a brighter feel to the structures. Less and less were damaged beyond repair. The rather rough fighting sands became manageable, grassy terrain, and the pressured gravel pillars grew ivy which stretched to the very ceiling. Hummingbirds just up ahead chirped as they rested and flew from new, neighboring trees.

The wildlife Sin found herself surrounded by was more lush and green than any other plant she’d ever seen. No doubt, Wilderness was just fine. As they reached a tunnel, the curtain of green was brushed away, and inside sat Sin’s friend, and the king.

“It’s unreasonable behavior like my own that can cost changelings valuable allies these days,” the king said.

Wilderness nodded. “King Taupe, how did you get the reports so mixed up?”

Sin saw the king’s daughter take a step forward to say, “You tell him anything at all…”

She seemed serious, almost livid. As for the steed, he simply yawned at her, stood high above Ignition, and said, “She’d been sobbing since she’d gotten home. All I could make out of it all was Wilderness’s name, and some golden maned witch.” Sin gave a short gasp as his glare met her eyes. While she looked away, his resumed, “I’m happy to know her reports had conjecturing factors that make it less of a killing, and more of an attempt at self defense.”

Princess Ignition stormed out of the room shortly after that, yelling through the dark hallway, “Gee, thanks, dad!”

The grin he had looked more like a sneer to Sin, or perhaps that was because he always looked mad about something. Then again, that’s because he was mad about something. “I’m infuriated, Sin,” he began, taking a seat and looking over at her. “The Countess of the Fair, Madame Fluff has decided it best to terminate our alliance. In other words…” He took a deep breath with closed eyes, but upon opening them, he proceeded to shout, “WE’RE WITHOUT A COMMUNICATOR!”

Sin held onto her sensitive ears, Wilderness doing the same, and asked, “A what?!”

The loud ringing in her head wouldn’t go away, so she could barely hear King Taupe save for a few lip read words like, “The,” and, “When.” Eventually, her senses cleared up enough for her to hear him say, “So, I need you and my pumpkin to sneak your way into the Fair somehow, find Countess Fluff, and persuade her to remain friends.”

“B-but, what's she got for us that’s worth the work, not to mention risk? Communication? With who?”

He rubbed his beard, irritated by the two’s inability to have indestructible ears like he does. “Do you not listen to me at all? Communication with the others can only be done using technology gained by ponies! How do you gain their trust, love and tech? You absorb their happiness. How do you fuel, or even grow happiness?”

Sin looked at his beetle-like eyes, hers becoming wide. “A fair…”

The king smiled, something that was actually quite bothersome to see for Sin and Wilderness. “Exactly… She’s the only one with this… portable, magically powered talking thing. It has a name, I just forget it sometimes.” He looked around, pondering the name as though that mattered. “Ah, yes! A Contactor! Ponies call it something else that’s harder to pronounce. With it, at the simple, magical dialing of a name, you can call any changeling that neighbors your area.”

Sin was more focused on the room by now. Mainly, two pictures that hung side by side opposite the wall their backs faced. She stood, silencing his majesty for a moment, and inspected it further.

She’d thought there was only, maybe ten neighboring areas, but according to the map, she was way off. Down below was Equestria, cut off from its other half by the Everfree Forest. As for the part where they came out at, it seemed the village truly was nothing more but a village. It was about as big as a small dot compared to most. Other places could rival Canterlot in size, and would take up a hundred little sand villages. Each area was then broken from unison by color. Blue for water, red for lava, so on and so forth.

As for the next picture, it took less attention to see what it truly was, unlike the map of Evolver territory. Before Sin stood a gorgeous earth pony, her mane dropping all the way down to her knees. Most of it had to be tied up in a fancy fashion for it to look presentable, but when it was, it looked well beyond that. With the sea blue coat she wore and jade flower resting on her left ear, she was breathtaking to Sin.

“My late wife, Maya. They got her hair wrong, you know.” Sin looked at him, eyebrows raised. “Yes, they did! It was always more yellow, not white, but the artist who drew this insisted it was the sun’s fault. I didn’t dare have him try and fix it… Shortly after this was made, I found out I’d be having a third child. Her dying, though, during labor… Terrible fate, one that plays in my head every night, just before I go to sleep.”

Sin stared at him, and he stared at the painting. She could tell he’d stood there many times, probably crying over his loss. “Sorr-”

He cut her off with, “We should resume planning.”

“Oh, but wait,” Sin said. “First, I need to go to Canterlot.”

The words alone stopped King Taupe dead in his tracks. He looked at her with an open mouth, and asked, “Why?”

Sin hadn’t explained her story to him yet, and according to Ignition, talk of the journey to Equestria was like conversing with a dark Evolver who serves Acid. “Oh, uh…”

Luckily, Sin was saved by the returning, saddle bagged princess. “Sin, out. That goes for your friend, too. I’ll take it from here.”

The king boasted forth, saying, “See here!” However, his wrath was pushed back by his daughter’s hoof placing itself on his chest.

“Just sit down,” Ignition pleaded. “The girls just gonna visit her mother. You can’t stop her from going, and you can’t stop me from helping her. Give me about fifteen minutes to explain.” She turned towards Sin, and said, “Down the hall and to the first left, you’ll see a platter of food sitting on a table. Go eat up, and we’ll be on our way once I’m done with dad, here. Okay?”

Her attitude, to Sin, seemed cheerful. Why was that? Though Sin could’ve interrogated Ignition about it, her hunger wouldn’t allow it. She unintentionally nodded and pulled Wilderness along. “But, hey, what about…”

Sin ignored him and found the room Ignition was talking about. The door closed behind Wilderness who, upon seeing what sort of delights waited for him, fell into an insatiable hunger trance. While Sin could be seen lifting up a heavy looking slice of watermelon through the door's slowly closing crack, Wilderness went straight for the grapes. As it were, the two would apparently be seeing Princess Celestia on a full stomach; assuming Sin can teleport everypony there, that is.

Author's Note

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Part One: Harsh Choices for the Greater Good

A Changeling Named Sin: Acid’s Rage

Harsh Choices for the Greater Good

When one discovers their true destiny, the whole time they’d been looking can seem pointless. Sometimes, the answer was obvious, but without the appropriate information, the answers refused to reveal themselves. In the lifetime of Sin, the world had been cruel, for she’d been the taker of love.

Sin, an evolved state of a changeling, one that contained the abilities of forever stealing the vital energy of love and locking it away deep within her heart wished not to grasp this questionable blessing. Her powers had taken the life of her friend, and possible lover, Silver Blade, and with his death came the time for her to abandon the life she once knew, and start anew, hoping to never again end the life of another.

Through her journey into the Everfree Forest, she encountered her blood mother, who told the distraught mare of her unwanted gift, and that every soul she took leads them to forever being bound to her through a ghostly form. The curse of an eternity with a constant reminder like Silver, following her and never speaking, but still signaling he was with her forced Sin to tears many times throughout her journey. She also had the displeasure of learning about her brothers and sisters known as Evolvers. There were to be the good, and some evil. She soon learned, however, about the real threat she’d need to keep cautious of. An Evolver known as Acid; a steed who’s soul is said to be darker than the blackest night.

He was the one who caused genocide of the entire lower changeling race. His deeds brought power, yes. But, his parched thirst would never be quenched with just that. Sin understood he needed more. For three years, she’d searched for him, hoping to end his path of destruction, but had yet to find any sign of his whereabouts. Not only that, but in this long time-span, she’d only found one other changeling Evolver named Aqua.

She’d pleaded; nearly begged her to avoid their brother, but Sin refused to obey this cry for her well being. Instead, Sin realized her entire destiny and the sole purpose of her life wasn’t to wander Equestria in search of nothingness, but instead, to seek out this corrupted villain to put a final end to his destructive ways. If he’d have the ability to slaughter an entire race, then who knows what else he’d done since that traumatic incident.

Meanwhile, as Sin searched the forest, desert, nearby creaks and other wildlife locations, her mother, Celestia, sat on her throne with her sister sitting close by in front. In the years that passed, Celestia’s figure, posture and entire appearance had improved thanks to Sin not being there to suck her dry of the love she’d contained for her. Despite the health she’d finally ascertained while Sin was away, she would do anything and did everything in her power to get her daughter back.

In the mere three years of Sin’s disappearance, a dramatic increase of guards, scouts and sky seekers had greatly escalated in overwhelming numbers. Most searched the woods. Others patrolled the villages and cities. No matter how much they’d looked, Sin never was found. A few times, they’d come close to actually catching her, only for the mare to escape once again just in time.

This made Celestia worrisome, more so than she’d ever been in her whole life. She stared at her sister who was up a bit earlier to watch the sun set over the horizon. Luna’s eyes told her sister she wished nothing more than for her to be, at the very least, somewhat happier about the situation. No matter what she did, however, Celestia never gave a smile anymore. All she wanted was the safe return of Sin.

“Irrational… Isn’t it?”

Luna looked at her sister, contemplating the words she’d just spoken. “Yes… I guess it is.”

“Luna, I know I’m supposed to protect my kingdom as well all my loyal subjects, but what would you have me do? I love Sin more than them, and I know this is both pompous and illogical of me… but, she’s my daughter. I miss her… so, very much.”

Luna shook her apologetic head and explained, “It’s time… you ended this. She’s never going to be found. You’ve seen what she can do, and that note explains everything about what she truly is… How were we supposed to know the type of changeling she is.” Celestia levitated the note that sat next to her on the small work bench. It was the only thing that pushed her to forcefully continue the meaningless scavenge.

"I seemed so long ago."

“When our guards found you, the note sat on your wing, and you were peacefully unconscious. She’s able to put anypony to sleep. It’s happened more times that we can count! Good soldiers are out there harming themselves for this absurd cause. She’s never going to return, and even if she did, you know there’s still the threat of Acid…”

The princess of the day read aloud the letter, but not a single tear shed unlike all the previous times when she uttered the words printed on the paper. “My dearest mother, I’ve been so sorry for my actions and know how it must feel to lose a daughter. I’ve lost many things myself, but it’s as a new friend told me. Everyone loses something in life, be it a family member, or a friend. I’ve lost many things, and you’re one of them. You may not be deceased, but I know in my heart this is most likely the last time I’ll ever see your smiling face again. I’ve some information to give you. I am what you should come to know as an Evolver. I can never stop absorbing love. Not only that, but I can unfortunately take the souls of those who I’ve killed through power extraction and have their souls follow my every trotting step. This curse I’ve donned is unwanted, but you losing me is just the same. On a final note, I’m searching for something; A being named Acid. It’s his doings that show me my course in life. If I ever return to the palace, there will be no way of ending his might of chaos. From what I’ve been able to gather, he’s an all-powerful Evolver, and must be stopped. Please, I beg you, end the search for me. I’ll simply use my powers to cast a sleeping spell on my pursuers, just as I did with you. If you keep this up, more of your guards will be wounded or worse. Listen to me plea. It is my last request as both your daughter and friend. Sincerely, a changeling named Sin.”

The note was placed on the table, Celestia turned her woeful gaze at her sister, took a deep breath and ordered her to call off the search. Though it was a hard decision, Celestia knew deep within her loving heart, she was finally making the correct choice. Sometimes, when you love someone, you have to let them go.

Author's Note

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