//------------------------------// // Part Ten: Areas and Forbidden Places // Story: A Changeling Named Sin: Acid's Rage // by Art Inspired //------------------------------// 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.