//------------------------------// // Part Seven: Running from the Living and Chasing the Dead // Story: A Changeling Named Sin // by Art Inspired //------------------------------// A Changeling Named Sin Running from the Living and Chasing the Dead Through thick branches and twigs, Sin ran with sweat and justly escaping tears slipping down her face. The guards chased her like hounds from hell, trying their best to catch the pony and return her to the place she mustn’t ever lay eyes upon again. Mud splashed as she quickened her pace to the best of her abilities. Things became foggy with smoke rising from the rough terrain her hoof kicked up with every trot. Her vision blurred as trees became seemingly repetitive, vertical lines that passed by her sight, making the changeling become confused towards where she was going, and how she became lost in the forest to begin with. What started out as a seemingly well-lit trail she followed somehow became a circled death trap, and all she could do was continue galloping for not only her life, but her pursuer's as well. Just when she thought safety had been reached, seeing a clearing that might give her some flying room, she slid to a halt, and stared at the immensely large boulder that blocked the remainder of her path. The treetops shaded the surrounding area, making small holes in the soil. Her teeth gritted, “No! Not now…” Turning to see all the scouters approach from the small patches of moss, spears at the ready, and expressing somewhat relieved but still annoyed gestures, she gulped in terror of the possible outcomes. No room and no time to prepare for fly meant she was completely cornered. There was no escaping this, it seemed. Her only thought was the death of her friend. The way he blatantly committed suicide forced her to think all these ponies were going to eventually do the same thing he did. The leader, a helmeted pony with jade eyes approached, and asked, “Are you alright, your highness?” No answer, just her backing up into the rock that shielded her way. “Please, we need you to return to the palace. Princess Celestia is worried about you… Why did you run? Where were you planning on going?” The mare looked around and began to see it; the aura of energy she required to live, but hated to consume. Slowly, purple haze of shimmering, smoky energy left the stallion's bodies. Some were blue, which meant not all loved her, but still enjoyed her existence. Either the heat was getting to her, or the spirit of her friend, Silver Blade, was calling out to her. Behind the parade of royal Canterlot soldiers was a translucent being, young and well. Silver looked at her, inflicting pain in her chest. Her woozy head felt light, almost as if she couldn’t focus on the actual world, but instead, just her mind. Inside, images raced, the thought of killing all those ponies, forcing them into committing suicide, all of them, giving their energy to her without her approval, destruction, madness, eternal pain; it all relapsed inside her head, and just when things became too much to handle, everything went yellow. Her eyes opened, something that scared everypony as she did. Beaming radiance of unimaginably golden luminosity bursted from her eyes, and soon, the shimmering phenomenon was seen pouring from her hooves. Light, the kind that could blind a poor soul shined from the changeling’s vision, holes and mane. Some guards tried to shield their eyes while bafflement overcame each of them. Soon, the mare’s wings hummed and lifted her entire being up from the ground. Her mane looked like it was underneath water while levitating strands hovered like seaweed, and in one moment, her horn flashed once, but it was enough to send a dense orb expanding outward towards the crowd. The moment it touched each guard, they fell. Thuds of impacts sounded like a drum roll, and once all were lying in the grass, all motionless, Sin lowered herself. She landed with grace, opened her eyes, and stared at the sight of thirty or forty of her friends, all seemingly asleep. Her hoof rose to the mouth of the leader, waited, and felt his breath upon her fur. Relieved by this, she looked around, pondering what had happened. Never had energy like this emerged from her heart. The feeling of power and aptitude was unreal. The overflow brought chills through her spine, and after she looked around, her saw Silver again, still staring at her from behind the shrubs of trees. She chased him, following the ghost as if she wasn’t going to survive without it. She felt stronger, more agile than before, but why? She was exhausted not ten minutes prior to now. Where did that burst of power come from, and why did she get an immense energy boost from it? She asked herself questions like the answers were to rise up from Silver's grave. Soon, he was too far despite her amazing speed. Coming to a small, hasted trot, her vision observed the woods. The wildlife was nothing more than the same lines of bark that surrounded her. Things fell into the void of speculation once again. The power she felt was undeniably amazing, and random... Or, maybe not. Her mind thought about how it came to pass, and the feelings she felt just before the incident occurred. Fear for her friends, a longing to somehow protect them from her, and how much she just wished for them all too… fall asleep. It was as if her mind crafted what she wanted, and given the situation she was in, power, dormant and secret released itself when she needed it most. “Absurd!” she told herself. Madness is sometimes a good thing, for it keeps many on edge during harsh times. The first stages are talking to yourself, but if your intentions are good, why worry much about your conscious status? “I’m not magically skilled the way my mother is, nor her sister… How did this strength come to be? It doesn’t make sense… I’m a changeling, that means I live on love… but I haven’t feasted for a while. How can I possibly still feel energetic? This isn’t adding up… I need answers.” The walk through the shades of leaves above head became an unruly stress for her, all because answers weren’t presented. Revelations would clear her mind of the headache for sure, but what other questions would arise once she received her answers? She knew things were never that easy. With every antiphon came a new mental interrogation. The process is repetitive, and never stops, no matter how much one wants it to. Lines of light, visible thanks to the dusty dirt that lofted from the forest ground fell through the open spacing in the trees, and Sin, on the edge of losing her focus, heard humming noises coming from behind the bushes. Two sad and hurt voices in rhythmic unison chanted a song that was almost heart shattering. The changeling peered her head around to see an ash colored being with her back facing the mare. Her straggly mane resembled bog moss, and the holes in her hooves immediately brought about a deep phobia of who this must be within Sin's mind. This mare’s head slowly rose, and turned to reveal an old, wrinkled changeling queen, ready for fate to take her soul to the next plane of existence. Her eyes, white and blind looked around for her daughter, wondering if she imagined the trotting of hooves. Slowly, with a broken, scratched voice, she muttered, “Cocoon… Is that you?” Chrysalis had said Sin’s real, birth name, making things even harder for the golden maned mare. Her real mother, the one who truly brought her into the world was sitting, decrepit and just barely alive right in front of her. Would she be able to answer some of these enigmas that swirl through the princess’s head, or make matters worse for her, or even hazardous, do both at the same time?