Earning Freedom

by Daxisle

Self Condemnation

Self Condemnation

"Or else what?" Shade snarled, getting to his hooves.

Shining didn't want to answer that, he wasn't a cruel pony by any means, he'd rather this settled peacefully but wasn't about to allow the psychological advantage to go to the prisoner of the situation.

"Or else nothing." A voice came from behind, along with the unmistakable wooden click of a crossbow. Slowly, the stallion turned his head to see Sin holding his crossbow directly to the back of his neck. "What will be happening now is you will take your horn off my friend, dicipate your gollums, and return back to Canterlot."

"What are you doing?!" Shining barked in utter disbelief. "Did you forget that-"

"I'm well aware." Sin interjected. The two stood eyeing eachother, each daring the other to make a move. Sin could feel his hoof shaking on the trigger of the crossbow, he didn't want to do it and he knew he really couldn't, but Shining didn't know that. As far as he was concerned, Sin was just some anarchist scum from a backwater country up north. If even that. Hopefully that and a little bit of luck would be enough to push the bluff forward.

"Have you ever killed anypony before?" Shining asked, playing on the soul crushing and terrible emptiness that followed the act. Playing the psychology game against him. Sin didn't reply, but kept his bolt right to the back of his enemy's neck. Knowing all to well exactly what was being spoken about.

"Look," he hissed. "I know you don't like me and I know you don't trust me, but I trusted you when I brought you here. I'm asking you to trust me now. There's alot more going on here than you know about and if who I'm told is involved is really involved and this isn't played properly than there is a possibility that someone very close to you will get hurt."

It was a very VERY vague half truth that he knew would be considered a threat, but if Triple M was involved and anybody spoke about Luna's involvement with the statue being taken, she would be in trouble with her sister. That would hurt, right?

As expected, Shining growled that he didn't like threats, and Sin attempted to explain that it wasn't one, but there really wasn't a point. How else was anyone supposed to inteprate those words besides as a threat?

Slowly but surly, he'd worked the stallion into dissipating both his aura and the gollums. Shining etched into his mind the face of the red pony and swore he'd come back for him. "This isn't over, anarchist next time I see you it'll be to put you in chains."

"Duly noted." Sin snarked. "Now get to walking."

---

Cadence flew west through the badlands with Twilight on her back. The former continually swooping down to check and make sure they were still on her lover's trail.

Twilight had held her tongue for the most of the hours of flight. The sun was just starting to poke over the horizon behind them and with it, a sense of dread. Why would her brother be this far out into the desert? They were almost to Grand Junction now, what could cause him to come all the way out here, alone?

"THERE!" Called Cadence, swooping down to a small white speck bellow. Twilight's heart lept in her chest and she followed the pink alicorn.

As they neared the ground, the purple unicorn calculated the lack of time they'd have to slow down before stopping. Realizing that Cadence intended to dive bomb hug her brother, Twilight called out to the Alicorn before jumping for her life using her levitation to bring herself to a gentle stop on the ground.

"Oh Shining. I was so worried about you!" Cadance declared, hugging the stallion close and nuzzling into his chest. Twilight felt all her resentment evaporate in that moment, seeing two ponies she loved embracing eachother in such a tender way.

"I'm sorry, Cadence, I had to- OW!"

And like that the feelings of tenderness were done away with, replaced by repeated and angry wing slaps that hurt to watch. "Where. Did. You. GO! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" She demanded between each slap.

"I'm sorry!" Shining surrender, covering his face with his hooves. "I had a lead on-"

"Ok, Candance, that's enough." Twilight said, prying the aforementioned away. "I think that's enough abuse from you."

Shining let a sigh but immediately regretted dropping his guard as a flurry of kicks came from Twilight. "How dare you get engaged to somepony without telling me!? You inconsiderate featherbrain!"

The vicious assault was quickly ended by the other pony present and the two went off to cool down. Shining simply sat there for a moment, absolutely stunned at the treatment he'd just received. But, that was the price to pay for having a family who cared about you and falling in love with the Alicorn of Love.

---

Sin and Shade sat side by side, gazing into the last fire of the camp. Everyone else, save the Valiar who slept peacefully in Shade's bed, had long since abandon their god.

Funny how loyal these "anarchists" were when the state reared its ugly head to challenge them, fucking cowards. But, this was going off of what Luna said, and he didn't exactly have time to figure out what their stances and goals were. Probably just a bunch of what he referred to as "punk rock" anarchist. Ponies and such who didn't really plan on any structure of society, just wanted to "stick it to the man".

"I'm sorry." Shade said out of the blue. "For telling them to tie you up before."

"Yea, why did you tell them to do that, again?"

Shade sighed. "I don't know, I guess I thought you'd think I was the one who brought him out here and panicked. You always turned over others who wanted to be free from the Magical Horse Lady and the Beast. I figured you'd do the same to me."

Sin pressed his lips and nodded his head. Shade was right, he did have a habit of that kind of thing. "To be fair, though. The last one wasn't on me." Briefly explaining the mob who'd gone out ahead of him.

Another awkward silence passed as Sin contemplated exactly what to say. "Shade, we need to leave."

"And go where?" The bat pony replied. "You were the one who told me to face trial so I could live a life without running from the law. Now you want me to be on the run when my god is left to the beast?" He ended in a laugh. Sin tried again, coaxing the stallion into returning to the Federation with him, the Equestrians had no jurisdiction there and there were no treaties of indictment. They didn't need to be on the run or suffer for what happened here.

"Sorry Sinny." He chirped leaning on the Discord Statue. "But I don't plan to go anywhere without my god."

He thought he'd be more surprised to hear it, but Sin knew the answer before he even asked. "You're an idiot for staying." He said with a small shake of the head. "And I'm an idiot for staying by you."

This caught Shade off guard. "Seriously? Ya really mean you're gonna stay?" He narrowed his eyes. "This isn't gonna be like that time you used me to fight the dragon while you hid behind a rock like a coward, is it?"

'Ouch.'

"Ok, for the record, I hid because I had a plan."

"What about the time in that one valley when that ram was attacking Spike?"

"Uhhh, well I-"

"Or like that time we were walking along that goat path and that wild boar attacked?"

"That was because you provoked it by trying to steal it's baby."

Shade smiled dumbly. "But pork is sooooo delicious."

The chuckling devolved into silence again. It was an interesting thing, exploring the emotion of guilt. Not actively fighting it or trying to rationalize it, but just allowing it to happen. To simply feel bad for doing bad things, even if it was out of necessity or for the greater good. Especially considering just how many time's he'd really wronged the pony besides him.

"If you want to go, you can." Shade said with a smile as he stroked the fire. "I wont be mad at you or anything."

"Naw, I'm alright."

"Why do you wanna stay? It's not like you to help somepony who hurt you like this."

Sin sighed and tried to figure out the best way he could explain it: he foretold about Tyken's words, about his friends: Crasus, Zell and Windmane. How he abandon each of them when they needed him most. How his father had killed Zell and how he'd done nothing as Crasus ended his own life. Leading to the stallion's self loathing and growing inability to truly relate or get close to others. No matter who he became friends with, his father and brother had the means to kill them.

It hurt. Speaking about his past like this. It hurt realizing all of the guilt and pain for what it was. Acknowledging how much of a terrible, inhumane, pathetic, ass hole he was for turning away from those who cared about him. Maybe that's why he'd lived his life trying to make everything as black and white as possible, denouncing the emotional attachment and the influence it brought in favor of objectivism. To fight acknowledging everything he was forcing himself admit to.

A life dedicated to pragmatism.

"Because, I suppose we're both so alike. You understand me better than Mac and Spike could, they have ponies they love and who love them. I don't, I gave all of that up and just lived my life without loved ones."

"So you're family would never kill them and control you." Shade nodded. "If it helps, my family enslaved me to work under the beast just because I was a lunar pegasus. Said it was my 'honour bound obligation'."

Sin remained quiet as Shade also opened up about himself. Recounting the events that he'd told Discord weeks ago. As the story progressed, Sin's eyebrow grew higher and his jaw grew wider. Thoughts of "the box" burning a new level of hatred he'd never before thought possible. Even leading to him openly yelling at the incredibly disgusting anecdote from time to time.

"And after they moved me to the bigger prison, you helped me break free. And here we are now."

If the oaken pony felt like crap before, he felt like an undeserving useless sack of shit now. Shade had suffered so much, he'd endured probably the worst pain any thing could ever feel and the Federalist had farther abused him, taking him to fight dragons, dogs, goats, ponies and griffins. Yet not once did Shade complain.

It was enough to drive the stallion into depression, suddenly very regretful about embracing his emotions.

"Sin?"

"Yea?" He replied weakly.

"Thanks." Shade said, a genuine smile on his face. "For freeing me and standing by me."

And now he was thanking him for it too. As suddenly as the last wave of guilt and shame had come, an even bigger wave took him now.

Tapio damn, you really are a piece of shit. Dude.

A faint whimper was heard and both looked behind to see Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle and a pink alicorn neither recognized standing behind them. The last of the three the one wimpering, as evidenced by the tears in her eyes.

"Is all of that true?" Twilight asked in utter disbelief. Shade merely nodded.

"That's sad, but I'm afraid that doesn't excuse either of your actions." Shining Declared as he stepped forward and catching them both in his magic. "You two are under arrest for acts of Treason to the crown."