//------------------------------//
// Fillydelphia Runnings 
// Story: Earning Freedom 
// by Daxisle 
//------------------------------//


Fillydelphia Runnings






"Hey, Sin? How much farther to Fillidelphia?" Krystal asked as the trio, plus Angel, wondered down a lightly wooded path due north.

Sin cracked his neck, and recalled the map. They'd left the cabin by the lake a few days ago, once Sin had found everyone in company to be fit for travel once again.

"Should be another day or two, assuming we keep up this pace." The Federalist replied. His eyes trailed up ahead, watching Scootaloo flutter her wings to power her makeshift scooter along the trail, the white rabbit of their troop standing behind her and clinging to her leg for dear life.

At first, Krystal was against the filly even having the contraption, convince that it would eventually lead to some kind of injury. However, once Scootaloo had expressed the logic of how it used her wings to power the small vehicle, the alabaster mare relented in her dissuasion of use. Hell, there were a couple of times the two had watched the filly actually take to the air with the scooter, if only for a short flight before coming back down.

It was beyond impressive for Sin to know that Scootaloo had spent her recovery time making it. He'd kept them all at the cabin for about 5 days, and since it only took her 3 to heal completely; thanks in no small part to Madam Feelgood, Scootaloo had elected to use her time to put her engineering and mathematical research to use and create her favored mode of transport. Some of the parts were purchased by Sin, of course, but that was for the finer tuned things like nuts and bolts. Everything else, the filly had scavenged from the cabin. Piping for the handles and body, wheels from a small red wagon, a wooden frame from one of the floor boards... all things considered, it was quite a spectacle to behold in both it's utility and durability.

'It's good she's using that time with Value to be productive. Honestly, I was afraid nothing would come from that. Especially after that air balloon issue.'

Sin internally nodded. It wasn't that which worried him, though, for their entire time of travel since the incident with Sombra and Soarin, Scootaloo hadn't said much of anything to him. He'd tried to initiate a conversation with her on multiple occasions, but the filly would just give him a death glare before turning away and proceeding with whatever she was doing.

She did thank him for financing her endeavors, but that was about the extent of it, which Sin would accept. The nightmare he'd had about the Reaper slicing her open had stolen any and all desire to push back against her rightful anger. The same with Krystal, if he was being honest. 

Ever since that night, he'd put alot of effort into being nicer to the two mares, hoping that the pony in white would leave his mind be. While yes, the stallion did see them as a bit of a burden to his plans, they... were nice to have around in their own way. He'd grown to appreciate the slowly developing dynamic between the three of them. Hell, even Angel had taken it upon himself to be helpful with assisting Sin in searching for food.

Valiar was another matter, though. His presence, while scant and reassuring to Sin, put off both Scootaloo and Krystal. The trio would see him maybe twice a day if they were lucky, and he only gave the Federalist any mind. Scouting ahead for any potential dangers they might face.

The only thing that made Sin a little unnerved was how pleased the Red Mage seemed to be about learning that Soarin and Sombra were tracking their troop. Apparently, the stories about the Fell King and his powers were well known to him, and Valiar relished the challenge of engaging Sombra in a magical duel.

Sin, much to Valiar's chagrin, requested that the duo not be engaged unless they initiated it. Though loathed, the red stallion accepted the terms, but deemed to keep a quiet eye on the two.

"Woo hoo!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she jumped a hill, taking herself about four feet off the ground with the help of her wings.

"Careful! Don't get too far ahead of us!" Krystal called before shaking her head. "My goodness, she's going to hurt herself one of these days."

Sin smirked. "Yep, and like a big girl, she'll get right back on an go even faster."

Shooting him a mildly disapproving look, Krystal humphed and continued her trot beside him in silence.

'Hmmm...'

What's up?

'Alright, so here's another one for you.' Critic said, another scenario cooked up in his head. 'Picture it: a hurricane just struck a coastal city. Large population, some citizens are stocked up in preparation, but most aren't. The food stores, seeing themselves running out of product, raise prices and-'

Price gouging, Critic? Really? You're throwing that one at me?

'Well, I'd just like to hear your opinion on it, it's one that the two of us have always had as a given, but never really talked about.

You know my opinion on it.

'Yea, but I wanna fight about it.'

Sin sighed. Of course his position on "price gouging" was that it was a ridiculous notion. It was supply and demand taken to it's ultimate conclusion in a sharp incline of demand to a diminished supply. It was a way to deter hoarders and ensure that more ponies could get something, even if at a heightened price, as opposed to a couple claiming everything for a cheaper deal. Not to mention, incentive the producers to expedite the item to places in need, thus offering more to customers, and gradually lowering the price later on. 

When not allowing the price to go up, producers have no incentive to maintain supply to that demand outside of their own good will. And only a fool would rely on the good will of strangers in a time of desperation.

'Alright, but the ponies are suffering here and now, they can't wait for the new shipments to be delivered, nore can they afford to purchase adequate quantities of the item in question. What about if the shops limited the quantity of the item? Say one pony, one thing?'

Again, that was relying on the good graces of the shop keep instead of him or her acting in their own better interests. It can be a viable solution, with also relying on the good will of the producer expediting the item to said shop. However, the issues lies, yet again, in relying on the good nature of others to handle your necessities, and that just didn't sit right with Sin in the least.

"Perhaps the ruling authority may interject her own will upon these shops for these items." The icy voice of the Nightmare interjected.

Where once Sin had found the sound of her voice an enraging experience worthy of a head-to-stone exorcism, he'd come to expect the demon's input to he and Critic's conversations and debates. He'd even toned down calling her a bitch and other unpleasant names.

And what would you have the government do that we haven't already suggested?

"For one, we would make it mandatory that those in the city hold three weeks worth of provision in their dwellings for such an occasion. If not, had them forcibly taken from their homes and relocated to a safer destination with provisions already in place." She paused with a tisk. "Honestly you two, I shall never understand why you must make the most simple of problems have the most difficult of solutions."

Sin sighed internally... again. The Nightmare was your stereotypical dictatorial fascist Queen. In her mind, everything in the world could be solved with a whole lot of magic and a whole lot of violence. 

Despite already knowing the answer, Sin asked: And what would you have those do who'd refuse to leave their homes to your lovely emergency camps?

And to Sin's utter shock, the Alicorn of Insanity answered his question with another question. "Why would they not?"

...

"The pegasi responsible for creating such a storm would give adequate warning of the storm to come, of course, and as such, shelters farther inland would be erected to house the denizens of the hypothetical city. Shelters that would provide the basics such as food, clean water, medical assistance, and protection of my subjects. So why wouldn't they leave their homes to come to my camp?"

'Okay, now imagine you were one of your subjects and ask yourself that question again.' Critic snarked, only to be met with a scoff of indignation from the Nightmare.

Sin, however, kept his thoughts to them silent.

Any real reason he gave her wouldn't be one he could defend should she choose to get technical. Even if she wasn't a dictator in the works, some ponies would refuse to flee their homes simply because they would rather chance the event as opposed to chancing her care. While her refugee city might offer a better alternative... okay, it had a very high chance of offering a better alternative, some would stay. Would it be wise? That was the question.

They would say no because they wouldn't trust your ability to care for them, and they'd rather chance the storm.

"They... would rather chance a hurricane that will destroy their dwellings rather than stay in a camp I provide?" The Nightmare said flatly. "A camp that would have all they need to survive, and you expect me to believe they'd rather chance death in a natural disaster."

Many would, yes.

The Nightmare hummed to herself for a minute and made a dismissive sound. "And I suppose you and I would be in agreement in calling those citizens unfit for survival, Sinbad?"

Personally, I'd have left for greener pastures prior to the storm's arrival. However, those who stay behind and would chance the storm? ... Dammit I do not want to agree with you.

"But do you?!" The Alicorn asked with enthusiasm.

'Siiiiiin...' Critic said with an inflection.

Hey, you're the one who brought it up. Not my fault the Nightmare is as cynical as I am about the idiots of the world. Any way, back to before we were derailed. Price gouging is not a thing, it is supply and demand equilibrating in a time of-

Just as the pony's thoughts were getting started, a sudden feeling haulted both them, and him, right in their tracks. 

"Ugh, Islander!" Krystal said taking a heavy breath. "Why are you doing that again?"

Sin looked at the mare and shook his head. This pressure and sense of dread wasn't his aura's doing. He looked around, feeling the fear in his back grow. He drew his crossbow and turned about, searching for who ever was using the eyes of the predator. It couldn't possibly be Sombra or Soarin, could it? Had either of them discovered how to use it? No, they were too well connected to experience the hardship required. It wasn't Krystal. Valiar maybe? Would he betray them?

A sudden clopping of hooves on earth drew his attention behind them, and he lifted his crossbow at the ready.

What the stallion saw damn near made him drop the crossbow just like he dropped his jaw. It couldn't be... there was no way that... all the way out here?!

There, emerging from the bushline, standing a good chest, head and shoulders higher than himself, was none other than a brown, leather clad Centaur. His dim blue eyes gleaming pupiless down at the pony, the majestic golden coat of his lower body partially obscured by a quiver of arrows complimenting the mighty re-curve bow he held in his hand. A bow that Sin had only just noticed was nooked and trained directly at him.

"Listen to all." The Centaur spoke, his eyes hard and demanding.

It took Sin a second to respond, but in his stupor he found the response phrase. "Follow none."

Seeing the code answered in kind, the Centaur slowly loosened the strain on his bow and lowed it. "Greetings, pony. I see you wear the cloak of the Syndicate."

"S-Sin? What's-" Krystal began, only to have Sin raise a hoof and silence her. 

Her talking right now, or drawing any sort of attention to herself, was not something he needed right now.

"I do, as I am a member of the Liberty Syndicate, Sir." Sin replied with a slight bow of the head. The Centaur almost never ever leave the Northwood, let alone the Federation island. So from one Federalist to another, he was curious to know what could possibly warrant this highborn's presence in Equestria.

"You look... stupid?" The Centaur commented.

"Confused." Sin corrected. "Forgive me, my name is Sin, I was born in the Federation."

A look of genuine surprise overtook the highborn and he relaxed even more. "A Federalist in Equestria? Interesting indeed."

"The same could be said for you, Mister..."

"Nemo will suffice."

"Nemo", Sin corrected, dropping the mister. "If I may be so bold, what brings a Centaur to Equestria?"

The relaxation in Nemo's eyes slowly hardened once more, looking around as if he'd just been reminded that he was looking for something before returning his gaze to the pony. "We seek the Dark One."

Sin's muscles tensed and his breath caught in his throat. The Dark One? He can't possibly mean... the one those street prophets were always going on about, could he?

"W-w-who's the d-d-dark one?" Krystal stuttered, earning a reprimanding glare from Sin.

"Hmmm?" The Centaur's gaze shifted to the pegasus and regarded her for a moment. Sin noticed that the aura was still very much in effect, and was still making the poor mare tremble. "His name is Terik, the false Lord." He tore his eyes from the two and looked back to the thin forest. "The Ruler of the Forest believes the Dark One roams these lands, in search of easily consumable pony magics."

Sin pressed his lips for a second. 

'Oh joy, yet another bad guy to add to the list.'

But Sin knew better. Legends had it that it took Luna, Celestia AND Tapio to end Terik's rampage. The Nightmare, Soarin, Sombra, the Trotski, Chrysalis... none of them compared to the Centaur Lord. 

"Fortunately for your kind," Nemo continued with an almost contemptible tone to his voice "Terik is weak from his defeat and imprisonment in Tartarus. After inspecting the other two gates in the Federation and Minos, and finding them strong, we can only assume that it was the Gate in Equestria that he'd managed to escape through."

Sin nodded in comprehension, betraying nothing of his baleful thoughts to Equestria dropping the ball again. "But Equestria is full of nature. Shouldn't Tapio's eyes have found him?"

Nemo smiled and then chuckled condescending mirth. "Oh the innocence of mortals. Terik is diminished, but not powerless. He knows his usurpers' powers well and is more than capable of hiding himself from them."

Nonplussed by the insult, Sin bit his tongue and nodded. "I see."

"Do you?" Nemo asked, his glare bearing down on Sin as the aura intensified upon him. "Do you truly appreciate the threat the Dark One presents, little mortal?"

Steeling his resolve against the sense of dread, Sin nodded his defiance to the Centaur's challenge and question. He wasn't fond on being on the receiving end of the aura, and initiated his own, minus the Nightmare, to show that, while he wouldn't disrespect Nemo, he'd certainly not be pushed around by him.

"Resilient." Nemo said with a slight amount of praise in his voice. "Armed and not only able to resist the eyes of the predator but use it." His small smile dropped again. "However, little pony, understand that such weapons would not save you in an encounter with Terik."

Sin was no fool, if half of the stories about the fell Centaur were true, he wouldn't dare try to challenge him.

"Understood." Came the stallion's reply.

Nodding at the response, Nemo gave a small bow of his head and turned to 

With the oppression absent, Krystal let out a breath. Sin followed suit, his legs trembling from the amount of force he had to strain his muscles to stay upright under the highborn's gaze.

The highbron were here, in Equestria. That was incredible enough, but they were hunting a recently escaped demi-god who's power surpassed the sister Diarchs of this land, plus Tapio himself. Sin hoped, silently prayed that they would find Tirek soon, otherwise the Trotski would become the absolute least of his problems.

"You alright?" Sin asked, turning his head to see Krystal had regained her bearings and finally calmed herself down.

"I think so," the mare answered, her eyes looking at the place Nemo had walked off into, the Centaur having disappeared without a trace. "So, that was-"

"Not our problem." Sin interrupted, making the mare's mouth shut in reply. "This isn't something we can do anything about, so we're going to forget it happened." He began walking again, his steps far more stressed and robotic than they should have been. Sin swallowed as his eyes scanned the forest around them, his crossbow still firmly on his leg and loaded.

Sin told himself not to worry about it, he told himself that he would only stress himself out by thinking about Terik and his return. What were the chances of him running into the fell demi-god anyways? 

"Hey guys!" Scootaloo called, riding back down to them with a frown. "I've been waiting for you for like, ten minutes. What's taking you so long?"

Krystal was about to answer but Sin beat her to it. "Nothing worth discussing, just listening to the forest creatures is all." He said with a dismissive smirk.

Schootaloo quirked a brow, her eyes trailing down to the crossbow on Sin's leg. "Uh huh..." She said skeptically before shrugging and turning about, knowing that he wasn't going to tell her anymore, and taking point once again.

Krystal followed her stopping only momentarily before being encouraged by Sin to follow while he stayed back, knowing there was another he'd need to speak with. 

It didn't take long for Valiar to emerge from the tree line, his protective stone in a slow orbit around his body. "So, not our problem?" He asked simply, giving Sin a sidelong glance.

Sin shook his head. "Between the Trotski and Chrysalis, we've got enough to deal with." he turned to face the mage. "The Centaur are to be avoided at all costs. They aren't an enemy, but they will not hesitate to destroy those whom do them harm. Part of the Centaur creed is to react with overwhelming and devastating violence to any sort of aggression."

Valiar smirked. "So that's where you get it from. This Liberty Syndicate?"

Sin didn't reply to that, electing instead in taking a few steps forward. "We need to keep going."

And with that, the Red Mage took his place back in the treeline, leaving Sin to catch up to the others. 

'You're still thinking about it.' Critic stated matter-of-factly.

Yea.

He was, despite his reasoning, Sin couldn't help but let part of his mind be occupied by the Terik. He had no plan, nore inclination to deal with it, so it was only his own paranoia and search for self inflicted infuriating that brought Sin the pressure and stress he subconsciously wanted. Even if he shouldn't, he liked knowing there was something to worry about and prepare for.

'No point.' Critic said. 'The Centaur already search for him, and when he's found, less powerful than he was; he'll have the pony sisters, Tapio, likely Twilight and her friends, and one more weapon in Celestia's arsenal that she didn't have during their first fight."

And what would that be?

'Discord.'