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.