by SaiyanUltima
My Little Pony is solely owned by Hasbro. Nothing, except The Ultricorn, is owned by the original writer of this story.
Please rate and review when finished.
Chapter 1: A New Beginning
Rewritten 5/19/15
Sound came to him first. A low, rhythmic squeak growing louder. Sin Firestorm felt the rhythmic squeak vibrate in his ears throughout his entire body. It annoyed him. Each little squeak seemed to travel through every hair, reverberating his skin, jarring him until he thought he might shake it apart.
He did not move. He refused to move from his seat. It was too much of an effort even to open his eyes and search for that unbearable, insistent squeak-or why it wouldn't leave him be. If he opened his eyes he would have to remove the hood from his head, and that would give away his face to the waitress walking past him. If he stayed very still in his seat, he probably could fall back asleep until the next stop, even though he felt as if he were on a lump of rocks.
He lay there for what felt to be an eternity, his mind wandering to a place of serenity as the train whistle echoed outside. He found the way there, a small peace of heaven to bring back his oasis of sleep. He found the wide, warm blanket of yellow inviting silk, the wind blowing through the sheet so that it overlay his body perfectly. A low hum of music slithered through his head, the sound soothing.
Sin smiled, breathing contently to the crevice through his cloak. He could see the land of his first home come into view, moving slowly out of the border, which is covered in heavy snow. He wore a long, black cloak, the hood over his long, snow white hair so that no one can catch a glimpse of his tan face. His clothes clung to his skin, his toned muscles and waist, the top emphasizing his torso.
He was a man of handsomeness, but also a charming mystery to the mares that know him for his reputation. His body was strong, graceful, an ethereal man who mares beckoned to him for just a minute to glimpse what he hides underneath with his smile.
He stayed where he was and drank in the view of the country, gazing happily to the snowy regions of his second home. It made him happy to see the Crystal Ponies back from Sombra's tyranny. To have a winter that surrounds them with lush and beauty. The Crystal Empire was just was just as beautiful as he remember it, the crystals tall, glowing in the sunlight. A small aurora in the sky as the train briefly stopped to board some ponies.
Sin sighed contently, holding his gaze for as long as the train remained still. The Crystal Empire always made him happy when he could see it, but now it was great joy to see the rumors being true about a small drake saving them from the monster that nearly destroyed him in the past.
He watched and waited for departure, holding his luggage softly while the snowfall became gentle. "It's to see that everyone is alright," he said to himself, ignore how the boarding ponies accidently bumped his bag. "I just wish that I had time to see how things are now."
After ten minutes of waiting the train began to move forward and whistle. Ponies from different families waved at their friends and family until the speed mixing with the snowfall blinded them from the world. Sin was a clever man words came easily to, but his humbleness conflicted with his need to say something. Whether it was to himself or to a pony, he wanted to remove the weird giddiness in his chest and talk to one of the Crystal Ponies that are suspiciously staring at him.
None of them approached him, never closed the distance between them, but somehow, it never mattered. The Crystal Ponies were alive and healthy, so he was content with their curiosity. He no longer had to worry about his old home being a wasteland in some sort of realm that prevents time. He found that since the Crystal Ponies are happy and the Crystal Empire is back where it belongs, the terrible pain of failure ceased to exist.
For the first time though, something disturbed his quiet and peaceful thinking. The rhythmic squeaking turned into a thud and clutter, so loud now that he could not deny it being next to him. The clutter slowed down, but this time he knew it was not the cart the caterer was pushing around. The sound throbbed his enhanced hearing, jarring not only him to awaken, but the stallion that is sitting in three seats ahead oh him.
The sound ended, but with it came a low shuffling of hooves and a whimper of young age. He felt through his magical sensory a pony despairing for good reason. He heard the first tear running down her cheek and falling onto the floor. Emotions from this mysterious fluttered wildly as if answering to the deep despair. The sound of whimpering grew louder, no longer a soft moan over the whistling of the train, not a steady tune, but a rush that swelled with the same ebb and flow as the sorrow he felt so long ago.
"Oh no," the pony cried softly, unaware that Sin was taking in her adorable form. Her fur was a soft pink, glistening with the melted snow as her wings fluttered in grief. Her horn was short yet seeable through the candy color of her purple and dark yellow mane. She was a filly, a very young filly at most, but she was surprisingly an alicorn. "Mommy, my crystal doll just broke."
She spoke for the first time to the alicorn next to her; at least since their leave of the one who broke their hearts. Her voice was high-pitched and cracked, like all fillies that are upset about something, not carried on the heat inside, but rather of a shaky breath. One moment she was whimpering to her shattered doll, and the next she was sinking deeply into her mother's matching fur, crying to her heartbeat while a purple hued wing rested around her to hide the tears.
Sin could feel the same despair coming from the older mare and could not help but feel sorry for the two. Something was wrong and he knew it just from sensing their emotions. All of it on their expressions. Or was it in their eyes? His magically empower senses, usually so good at sight and scent, seemed confused and off balance. The pink mare was incredibly beautiful and very comforting to the filly, surrounding his atmosphere with a strong sensation of attractiveness.
Her lashes were perfectly smooth and very dark, surrounding her pink diamond eyes. A true beauty. So pink they were startling to Sin. He'd seen eyes of this glow before. From two mares of ancient past. There was no mistaking those eyes when they corned to him. A flash of calmness within them as his hood fell down. Her bow of a mouth was a stallion's perfect fantasy of kissing, her lips full and naturally pink.
She sure is a beauty.
The staring continued, a steady, consistent flush growing across her cheeks. He felt it in his chest, a rapid pulse that refused to leave him alone. Through his mind, he seemed to follow the path of kindness running through him, bringing a natural instinct that has not been felt for hundreds of years.
He looked away to meet the filly with his gaze, but the mare's did not. She was held captive to his emerald stare as the toy beneath his dangling feet piled at the filly's hooves. He wasn't the kind of man to allow anything or anyone to ensnare him with sorrow or despair, but this filly somehow baited him. Perhaps it was the fact of her being the first filly he has seen in hundreds of years.
He forced his hands to work—that first movement that he knew would make the mare and filly either scared or curious. He sighed in frustration of his own choice. He scooped the broken doll and lifted it to his mouth, breathing a heated incantation as the touch of his magic brought the pieces to life.
He ignored the filly whimpering to her mother for him taking her broken toy, concentrating. The incantation continued without a break, so steady, so flowing and powerful, he would have assumed it was from his heart, but that cannot be right when he has not felt many emotions for a long time. Still, it was a confusing kindness that called to him just as it commanded the doll to piece itself together in a black and white aura.
Sin did not take but a minute to repair the crystal doll and return it to the filly, his actions more meaningful to the filly than he knows. If he said anything, he would have to face greeting her and her mother. And yet a warm, utterly electrifying gasp of joy worked into his heart as the doll became whole once more. He was met with a smile from the teary-eyed filly while returning the doll to her, placing it within the hoof he turned over.
"She will never break again." he said kindly, and again was given a giggle from the filly.
Why did she smile so much? He's a complete stranger to her; it should be fear she feels, even if he repaired the doll. He's a man under a cloak, an unknown immortal at best, and she was expressing happiness for such a small, good deed.
The confusion grew, more consistent with the change in their feelings, a strange heralding of everyday life. There was nowhere to hide from the filly and her joy. He could feel the soft curling of her hoof wrapping around his arm, and then around his stone heart to chisel away the dark nature that is his human nature.
Cold and silent. Relentless and uncaring. Yet his body felt extremely tingly and warm as the filly nuzzled his forearm. Her affection teased him, soft and tickling and so fresh, like the gentlest of hands massaging his skin. His mind seemed to follow the motion of her gratitude, almost as if he were new to it, unfamiliar of what it means to be rewarded when you are kind to someone.
"Thank you, mister." the pink filly said lovingly. How long had it been since he heard someone thank him? Was he so deprived of his own emotions that it has destroyed the bodily memory of what it means to feel good about something?
Was he nothing more than an empty shell?
Sin looked down to the filly as if he expected her to remove the curtain of her gratitude and express disgust or dislike of his figure. It's what he's use to nowadays. But for some reason—that is strange to him—the filly smiled up to him and laughed.
He reached down and pet her mane, only to have her mother break up this moment. "Um...you're welcome." he replied. Suddenly he found himself alone again, staring at the mother of the filly after she nudged her to their seat.
He continued to look at the two with slight curiosity. There was no way to ignore what he just felt, no matter how much he wanted to. He knew now that it would not stop, not ever, not even if he returned to his feeling of loneliness.
I feel...glad. I haven't been glad in a long time.
The mare looked back and smiled under her blush for his handsomeness. Her pink diamond eyes seemed to take on the sparkle on multifaceted cut of gems he'd seen adorning royals from multiple countries, although a hundred times more brilliant than the eyes of the two mares he recalled.
She looked away very slowly, her eyes stressing to remain on him as the train picked up more speed. I've never seen something like that before. Judging from his voice and the magic he used to fix Skyla's doll, he must be some sort of ancient male. Still...why do I think he's so cute?
Whispers drifted through her mind like tendrils of morning fog. She couldn't seem to retain a clear head, but that look he gave her rose and fell into her heart, as if she were infatuated in an instant. She pressed a hoof to her chest and breathed lightly. The sensation of attraction hit her before she realized her wings sprung out and ruffled. Real attraction. Burning. Swelling. Her heart refused to slow down, to let her calm down and think where she will be staying for the time being. When she tried to turn around and see if the caterer was coming, the cloak which hid his body laid across the table, revealing the man to be very toned and healthy and with many scars under the sleeveless shirt.
"It's getting hot in here." Sin said to himself, ignoring the number of mares staring at him.
The alicorn locked on his chest quicker than whatever is happening to her mind. She leaned a little closer to get a better look, her rude staring covered by the many quiet sighs of mirth from the other mares. Her heart stuttered. She'd barely seen him, a brief minute, but it was the best minute she has experienced in her life. His muscles were exquisite. Large but nowhere close to the equivalence of a Minotaur. A real fantasy for a mare like her. And his chest...Dear Celestia that oddly muscled chest just reeked of masculinity; even if he is a foreign species.
Her lips went dry over his for. She wanted to have something like that in her life, something that is a stallion with good-size muscles to go with his kindness. She breathed in his direction and watched his arms stretch in the air, straining the veins and muscles to bulge for a second. Once again she felt her attraction spike to her wings. Fast. Unexpected. Relentless.
Calm down, Cadance. You are both a princess and a mother and you can look elsewhere. Just breathe and take your mind off the weird creature.
She was not having an easy time doing that.
This is going to be a long ride to Ponyville.
The gaze Sin had exchanged with the alicorn continued to move through his mind while the busboy gave him his luggage and a farewell. He watched the mare walk through the crowd with her giggling filly while avoiding any crashes with ponies that cannot watch where they were going. Strangely the alicorn did the same. She could almost track him as if that one moment of breaking contact would be the end of their encounter. She actually felt the need to follow him to wherever it is he needs to be.
Why am I so interested in him?
Unfortunately their encounter ended at the split halls which lead to different sections of Ponyville. Hers being a straight path to SugarCube Corner while Sin's led him to the pony that requested his presence immediately.
She frowned when his image disappeared behind the wall. Why did that wall have to be in front of her?
Darn it. Maybe we'll see him again later today. I don't even know his name and I did not forgive him for fixing Skyla's doll.
Sin had no idea what he was doing when he pushed through the doors. The reason for him to be in this town seemed less than necessary, but things were beginning to change in front of him. Change in a way that removed the mask of peace in this crowded town. Happiness and friendship ran deep as a combination of action and influence mixed together, but some were trapped in their own worry right now.
He wasn't certain why some of the ponies walking around him expressed concern, or what made the atmosphere so conflicting with the joy of others, but something was amuck with this town, and he did not like the way it was going.
Something foul is in the air, almost as if death has been through here.
His wits had been with him while making his way through Ponyville as the odd creature under a dark cloak. His appearance drew the attention of many and invoked curiosity during the short walk into the market that stands between him and the building known as City Hall. If there was there one thing he knew for absolute certain, his presence was complete mystery to the townsfolk. He didn't spend much time thinking about his reputation being so little in this country, just the fact of needing to reach his destination before he draws more attention to himself.
However, he couldn't move on, because the mare standing in front of him had a bit of a problem with a stallion pulling on her designer satchel.
He watched as the purple mane unicorn fought desperately to keep ahold of her satchel, but the strength of a mare is less in comparison to a pegasus.
"Release my satchel, you ruffian," the unicorn said in an elegant—maybe French—accent, her mane on the fritz as the stallion used a hoof to toss snow into her eye. "I said let go. This is a one of a kind satchel signed by Sapphire Shores herself!"
He felt a twinge of pain from listening to her voice, her soft and pleading tone reminding him of the last mare that was mugged broad daylight. Her voice had locked him both in a sea of remembrance that seemed endless and a sudden sense of justice.
"All the reason for me to take it." the masked stallion chuckled, his hoof reaching for a small knife while the mare tugged harder and fell on her rump.
Sin caught a glimpse of the knife, his body screaming into action. Oh hell no!
Sin might be with different purpose, but the act of violence to a pretty mare like her made him think differently. He took a single moment to absorb the best idea for ending the situation in the best way possible, while going to work with a silent sprint towards them. The mare had barely blinked and gasped the knife when Sin appeared in front of her, his hand firmly clenching the stallion's hoof as she looked up to the right side of his face.
Sin was still hidden under his the hood of his cloak when the stallion realized he had been stopped, but the heat surrounding the human was touching all three of them. Without a single moment to have thought this through, the stallion would already be tainting the snow with his own blood.
"I suggest you put the knife down and run while you still have a chance." Sin said calmly. His voice never change. He did not seem intimidating with his lack of verbal aggression. Before, when he was still angry and naïve in Griffonia, his composure would have been broken already. Now he was different about these things, almost too calm and collected for his own good.
Where the hay did this freak come from? If the masked stallion had to think about a different body temperature other than the one he felt from the man's aura, or the strength that squeezes his hoof to the point of breaking, he would have to be quick about it. He chose the best decision and held that in his mind while dropping the knife. Sin's words spoke to him, but the meaning behind his threat said all that needs to be known through the depth of his eyes.
At once, the knife dropped and he was released for it. He took a gasping breath. Heat filled his cold lungs, but there was little time do anything else. He knew from how quick the man was that his life is in peril. Only one option remained, and it spoke to him. Conscience to mind. He could not deny it.
I'm getting the hay out of here.
How the stallion had obtained the speed of a road runner astounded Sin in a such an amusing way. How could he run so fast in such a crowded place with his tail tucked between his legs? He sent up a small laugh of enjoyment that only he could understand. The townsfolk, however, thought of it to be weird for him to be amused by the mugger's retreat.
"Oh I love it when they run from someone that is bigger than them," he chuckled while adjusting his hood. He should have recognized this as a moment of a damsel in distress, but that was old and boring already.
Luckily no one was hurt, and the mare behind him only had to deal the fact that her rump was a chilly from tripping on her own hooves.Well it's certainly nice to know that somepony has gallantry in their heart. She looked up and took Sin's hand for leverage. She smiled at him and he felt the giddiness run through her heart, brushing his skin as a tingle of warmth in her friendly gaze.
"Thank you, darling," she said while dusting herself off. "If you had not come to my rescue I would have been short of my prized satchel and groceries."
"It's no trouble at all, ma'am." Sin replied. His voice brought a calming sensation to the unicorn. A small wave of peace ran through her body as they shook hoof and hand in the middle of a staring crowd. The wave went up, contracting around her entire figure. She could feel something about him that made her stress disappear, and wouldn't you know it would be his friendly smile under that cloak?
"It was no trouble at all," Sin replied. "But would be so kind as to tell me where City Hall happens to be? I'm supposed to be there in the next ten minutes to meet someone known as Mayor Mare."
The unicorn nodded slowly, her eyes never leaving his for the simple fact of curiosity. "Yes, I can tell you where City Hall is," she replied. She turned from her savior and pointed to the tallest building in the short distance. "Go straight down this path and walk towards that building. There you will find Mayor Mare."
"Thank you, Miss..." he remembered that neither of their names were exchanged, so it was quite embarrassing to speak with this total stranger; that is until she told him her name.
"Rarity is my name, Mister..."
"Sin Firestorm."
"Sin Firestorm," Rarity repeated, tapping her chin with her hoof to odd clarity of his name. She wasn't one to ponder such a name. She didn't think much about others, but something about that name made a bell ring in her head. He wasn't a previous customer or a friend of the past, but somewhere in her past was a vague memory of a client talking about someone by that name. "Now where have I heard that name before? Certainly we've never met before, have we?"
Rarity thought she was talking to Sin, but found herself talking to the air, as if no one was there at all. It alarmed her that she might have pondered his name a little longer than usual, but how was the man there when she took a moment for herself? Maybe he went his way after giving his name, but there was no way to tell.
Rarity frowned after spinning in place to see which direction he went, but, alas, he was nowhere to be found.
"I know I'm not imagining things. He was here a second ago." she said to herself, before shrugging the confusion. "Oh well, I need to get back to my store and cook. Sweetie Belle is probably hungry."
Sin stayed very still in his seat next to the mare at her desk, tuning his acute hearing to get past the way she hums, the flicks of snow falling onto the window, the laughter of some colts and fillies, reaching for some sort of silence that is nowhere to be found. Nonexistent. And yet the sounds seemed to be so close to him; even though they are small, his gifts amplify his senses greatly. They seemed to be all around him. Some mused up to him in a bad combination of music while others drummed as the beats he heard from an old band in his high school years.
Thank god for them quitting. Otherwise his ears would be taped shut. Still, each separate note or voice drew him to multiple directions, just as he took in a deep breath and sipped the coffee he found on a nearby table. It wasn't the best, but at least the secretary behind her desk offered to heat it up and add a little hot chocolate mix to it.
She greeted him just as the door was thrown open by the winds of winter. This was City Hall. He could not wait to have his day finished so he may have some time to relax and adjust to his new living. Unfortunately it seemed to take forever and no one was hurrying with their work. The most he could do was sit quietly in his chair and sip his coffee while the Mayor dealt with some problems of her own. He forced his eyes to shut just as the tan-furred earth pony to his right sorted through a stack of files, her main interest being the large folder that had his name on it and the stamped approvals of six different monarchs from different countries.
He open his eyes when the folder landed on her desk in thud. That much was evident to his reputation as an immortal in secrecy. There was suspicion and confusion surrounding the mare, although she had no reason to feel that way. It was more that he remained silent and patient in his seat, those qualities you rarely find in a male, let alone an immortal. His file was unique and sorted as an alphabetical list of the countries he served and protected. Then there was the many signatures of commanding officers from different generations, which were valid with the stamps of the royals that are alive today. And finally there was his history, a list of his current ranks, and a letter of recommendation from each monarch he served.
His file hung in her hooves with impressive results. There was more than adequate skills and abilities in his list, great long rows of the magic he possesses, various weapons in a pouch that she has yet to see on him, and multiple forms of combat learned by some of the greatest warriors of their time. This made the secretary look up from the folder to Sin, her eyes beading with shock. She was uncertain as to why such a creature would spend his entire life becoming an influence of power and responsibility. There had to be a reason behind his history as the man his superiors call The Reaper Ghost.
But what made him like this? What drove him to be this machine of war?
"Mr. Firestorm," Sin recognized that she was deeply concerned about his presence. The room, although small, felt hallow from his lack of emotion, and she did not like it, not one bit. "Are you aware that the recommendations of a town guard are quite below the standards your superiors inform through this file?"
"I am very aware of my position degrading to a simple guard for a small town," Sin answered nonchalantly, his approach nerving the mare as she closed the file and set it in the drawer. "But your mayor informed me about the situation your town is experiencing. Her reason for my presence is Ponyville being the next target for a mysterious series of foalnappings across Equestria."
"And you are aware that we are in need of someone to protect Ponyville, not lock it down?"
Sin couldn't help but chuckle at the mare, her words a little insulting, although it was understandable. "Miss..."
"Terra." she told him.
"Right, Miss Terra," Sin paused, inhaling a steady breath. "My methods of protecting the weak and innocent do not involve locking down a town or interrogating everyone that so much as bats their eye the wrong way. I am a man with reason and conviction, and I stand by my morals as the guardian I am. My standards are protecting everyone and everything from those who wish to cause harm, so please refrain from your assumptions of me being a snobby man that is here for bits, because I am not. I have more than enough bits in my bank account to retire for the next seven hundred years."
Terra's heart began to pound in alarm of his cold tone. She had no idea what to think of him now, but, luckily, she didn't have to find out. The doorknob to Mayor Mare's door turned and instantly the sound made her look away, her body settling when the human's gaze no longer met hers.
"Terra, is there anything else I need to sort out before going on my lunch break?" an experienced and feminine voice asked at the door, her muzzle poking out as a certain filly peeked through the gap, eyeing the human with much curiosity...and fear.
"Y-yes, you have one more thing," Terra replied quickly. She did not want to deal this man anymore—give or take the tone of fear she used. "Sin Firestorm is here and wants to speak with you about the position you offered to him in your letter."
"He's here," the older mare said excitedly. "Well let him in. I don't want him to fall ill from your poor skills of coffee brewing."
"Hey! I make great coffee!" Terra yelled, ignoring the chuckle Sin gave her. "You drink it every time I give it to you!"
"No, I do not," Mayor Mare said flatly. "I dump it in the flowers after you leave my office."
Sin did not wait any longer for the two mares to finish with their argument. He placed his cup on Terra's desk and made his way to the office at the end of hall. He looked down to the peach furred filly that was still peeking through the gap of the door, her curly, red mane covering her eyes. She was not as friendly as the mare in front of him, her first action was running into a corner and hiding in the dark. Obviously she was afraid of Sin.
"Mr. Firestorm," Mayor Mare said happily, grabbing his hand and shaking it while the colt muttered a hello. "So glad you could come to Ponyville. I was worried that maybe you would not accept my request."
"Well you did say there was trouble around here, so I could not turn down your request." Sin replied, and then dropped his hand from the mare's hoof. At once the formalities went from joyful to serious, as if they understood each other's reasons in an instant. Still, Mayor Mare kept a warm smile and a calm head in all of this atmosphere, all the while of watching the terrified filly poke her head out of the darkness between the wall and bookshelf.
"I'm glad you came to our little town," Mayor Mare said. "Ponyville has not been the same in the last year. Everything that has happened affected many parents, and on top of that I have everypony coming to me about new plans for security." She looked towards her window and bowed low, offering the silence with a disappointing sigh of regret. "But they fail to realize that what they desire must pass in the eyes of the princess, including our youngest princess. Twilight Sparkle."
Right there in that small office, surrounded by very perceptive photographs of the town, Sin felt a kind of snarling rage reach from outside of the town to his chest like an arrow making hitting its mark. He actually felt malice in outside of the town as the Mayor approached her seat. Waves of hatred and immeasurable fury banded somewhere in the miles that separate Ponyville and the Everfree Forest, and beneath the skin of his palm, he felt magic surging through his veins in a subconscious defense. He fought back the urge to leave and investigate, refusing to allow the power inside him freedom.
He experienced such emotion with such intensity once in his life. The other side of his quiet nature seemed to be a little difficult to control. He was going to have to get used it—and so were the inhabitants of his body. He doubted if the darker side of himself and the gods he harbors would be so accepting of a sudden intent to search and discover this distant fury.
He glanced at the filly to see how she was took his presence. The filly was still frightened—there was nothing at all in Sin's demeanor that suggests her to not be afraid—but still, something about his posture and tone attracted the filly. And a sword? Come on. Nopony has the right to wield a dangerous weapon in Ponyville. Big or not, even she could see that it was ridiculous of him to have a blade under his cloak.
Who is this weird Minoatur? the filly thought, while braving the act to search through his belongings, which were now on the floor, next to the door. He must have had a really bad haircut, or he is what Miss Mayor told me about when she picked me up from the orphanage.
There was the smallest hint of amusement in the human's breath when his eye caught the unicorn prowling his bag. She was catlike as the Mayor collected her thoughts, unaware that he was watching the filly untie the bag and search for clues to his reason for being here. Kid, you sure are curious, aren't you?
Mayor Mare looked up from the folder on her desk. She raised an eyebrow at the human. That's funny. I don't remember anything about monarchs of different countries recommending his services. Mayor Mare didn't even try to hide the glint of suspicion she has for the man. It was nothing at all like the neutral stare she usually uses.
Mayor Mare sent him a quelling glare. She forced Sin's attention back to her with a small cough, determined to get his attention off the filly. "So the rumors about you are true?" she questioned. "You are, as the monarchs of Equus would say, the Prodigy of Death. An immortal that lives normal. A god that walks amongst us yet acts without authority."
Sin responded to those words with a glare of his own, his tone lowering to a very threatening note as the filly removed a set of clothes from his bag. "I am a man of many titles, but I am not a god." he admitted, causing the mare to tilt her head. "Gods are beings that do not bleed. Gods are indestructible creatures that live to their own standards and thrive off the love and respect of mortals. I am none of those and never will be what you call a god."
"But the paperwork here says differently, and the monarchs you once served have given me a full description of your abilities in these letters," Mayor Mare pointed out. "What makes you say that you are not like the princesses? A god that lives among us."
Sin looked away and sighed to the wall. "Because gods do not give a damn about every little thing that happens in life, and they are invincible." His frown deepened as he pulled his shirt down, revealing one of many scars across his chest. "I am neither of those things. I can bleed and die, and I have heart for everything that happens. I give a damn."
Mayor Mare managed a weak smile. She saw a glimmer of hope in the man's words and knew in her heart that her ambitions can be fulfilled with him around. She breathed away the nervousness that seemed to come and go through her skin. "Well at least you are humble, I think." She definitely needed to observe him more, and possibly read his file once more to get a better understanding.
Sin looked over Mayor Mare, glanced to the world outside of City Hall without saying a word to her, and watched the edge of the Everfree Forest with slight suspicion of the hatred he sensed.
It's weakening very quickly; even if I left this room right now I would fail to track it. His soft groan moved through Mayor Mare's mind, but she didn't reply. Something very bad is happening around this town and Mayor Mare seems to know about it more than she lets on. I'd better be quick with this conversation if I am to make accommodations of living.
Sin nodded, not to Mayor Mare, but to his own choice, pursing his lips. He felt like he might be in for a bigger fight than what is expected to come when Ponyville is targeted, but that is assumption from the hatred he sensed. He took his seat in front of Mayor Mare's desk, and both stared at one another as if they might engage in an unpleasant conversation at any given moment.
"Let us be quick about this," Sin suggested. "I have to book a room at the hotel and prepare. The last thing I want is to be ill-prepared for whatever comes to this town."
Mayor Mare tried to laugh, but Sin's serious gaze kept her from expressing, and if she tried to shake his hand again or attempt speech, she just might get his bad side.
As if the problem was already amongst them, Mayor Mare's hoof glided smoothly to the second folder and made its way towards the human. He did not posture or speak when the folder edged his side of the desk, but he was definitely at a thin line of patience. Instead of prolonging his time, Mayor Mare went straight to the point and did not stray from that road.
"Seventeen orphans from different towns and cities; all missing and without any trace to their whereabouts," she began coldly, unfolding the second folder with her hoof. Once she did, Sin's expression darkened and became threatening. "Six families found dead on travelling roads; all of the foals found missing. And to make matters worse, the ones behind it are untraceable. Not even Princess Twilight can find clues to their whereabouts, and she is very renowned for her talent in magic."
The terrible need to change, that darker, more malicious, other side of him, had almost broken out, but the aftershock of such a sudden feelings was a blow to Sin's pride. He'd nearly lost control of his emotions in front of a filly and a grown mare—and he mastered his emotions years ago. Not once in his entire millennia had he ever come so close to becoming the monster he became years ago. He knew he was a dangerous man, but that monster inside was deadly and merciless. Though he was a human, built from betrayal and violence, in a time when no one understood what he is, that beast he created from his own anger had almost won a second time.
He had managed to overcome that thirst for blood. He able to fight off that urge to let himself be the monster. He forced himself to stray from the darkness. And yet it hurt his pride to have felt the slightest glint of his inner-self pushing the boundaries for freedom.
Sin looked away and pushed the folder to Mayor Mare, his eyes burning with disgust as she removed the grotesque pictures from the desk. "Don't ever show me stuff like that again," he growled angrily. "Just get to the point and let us be finished with this."
Mayor Mare put a hoof to her chest, indicating the nervous breath she released. She adjusted her glasses, just for a moment, as he eased down onto a more comfortable level of emotion. "I am sorry for showing you those, but I felt it was necessary for you to know how serious I am about having you here."
"I think we both know," he said sarcastically. That much he and Mayor Mare were certain of. "Now what would like for me to do about this?"
Mayor Mare leveled herself on three hooves and pointed at the filly behind him, as if the answer to their problems were right behind him. "To be blunt with you, that filly is a survivor the Wonderbolts found in the snow two weeks ago," she began, forcing all attention on the filly, who happened to be putting Sin's belongings back in the bag after he glared at her for dumping all of his stuff out. "If it had not been for Admiral Spitfire and Captain Rainbow Dash patrolling the roads, she would have froze to death. She is the only lead we have to finding out where the other orphans are at."
"Okay," Sin nodded. "What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to become a guard for Ponyville, and I want you take that filly into your care," Mayor Mare said. "She has no friends or family to take her in, and I believe that whoever foalnapped her will come looking here. Her name is Rose Spark, but that is all I know about her. She has no line of family, no evidence or history to her biological parents, and nopony will adopt her for the simple fact that she was foalnapped by the monsters committing so much evil."
Sin sighed into his cloak, tapping the hilt of his sword. "I don't know if I am capable of adopting a filly and raising her properly, Mayor Mare. My lifestyle is consistent to that of a swordsman with little to look forward to. Besides, I'm positive that I cannot adopt her because of my...my..."He broke off, groaning again.
"I know of your attitude towards children, Mr. Firestorm," Mayor Mare confessed, and if that didn't make Sin cringe, then the folder on his history did. "Your superiors, the kings and queens of the countries you served, provided in their letters, at my request, how well you do with children." she held the first letter up to him, the seal of Saddle Arabia shimmering the light through her window. She smiled warmly, and possibly sarcastically. "And look at this reply from the Queen of Saddle Arabia."
Dammit! Sin thought.
"It says here 'Sin Firestorm is both an excellent leader and caretaker for children. His care for foals is so amazing that it is equivalent to the love of a father," She coughed into her hoof, just to ignite her victory. "And from witnessing the many years he spent as the loyal protector, caretaker, and friend to my five foals, I wholeheartedly say that Sin Firestorm is more than capable being a father."
Sin turned away to glare at anything other than Mayor Mare. She realized he was angry—not at him—at the situation he fell into upon arriving here. She smiled at him and approached, her touch gentle to his hand as the door opened to reveal the Secretary with certain papers.
"Incapable and lifestyle is a nice excuse, Mr. Firestorm," she said mockingly. "But you fail to see that I am in a tight spot as the Mayor of this town. I need somepony to protect the citizens and raise Rose Spark. Somepony like you, Mr. Firestorm."
Sin's eyebrows rose sharply, as did his gaze return to the mare. He flicked his fingernails against the front of the table and Rose Spark snuck into the conversation. "You had this planned out in the beginning, didn't you?" he asked in his most professional tone.
Mayor Mare giggled and moved from around his seat. The mysteries of his presence vanished during her circling of the human, as if it had never existed in the first place. She walked around him, observing his every move, his sword being the spark in her eye as long tails of his hair shifted in beckon of the unknown magic he radiates mildly.
Mayor Mare smirked arrogantly. "I cannot imagine a more qualified stallion—or whatever you are—for the job I need to fill." she leaned low and very saucily whispered. "Let's just cut to the chase and be done with it. You fill in the position, become the guard of my town, and I will offer you many interesting things to help you adjust to your new lifestyle in Ponyville."
Sin inclined his head, Immortal to a normal man with needs, keeping a very sharp eye on the earth pony. "And what exactly do you have to offer?" he asked.
"Twenty-Thousand bits a month and a tax-free home that is currently vacant; "Mayor Mare began, drying the moment with a flat and authoritative tone. "Now only that, you'll have free medical insurance, lifetime passes to every formal gathering in Canterlot. And just so don't think twice, I'll throw in a bonus of thirty-thousand bits and a license to carry a weapon."
Sin's eyebrows shot up again, so did a dark smile, "I didn't know carrying a sword is illegal."
Cadance tried not to scowl or grimace at her former sister-in-law. She'd never been this angry or hurt by someone she knows and loves, but the shock and awe of her most trustworthy friend denying her refuge removed all faith and hope. Her daughter, Skyla, had been telling her to give up on Twilight giving them a place to stay for the week. Already, the filly had grown in wisdom from the recent escape of her father's verbal abuse to her and her mother.
For Cadance, to keep strong in front of her only daughter, she complied, even though Twilight was being completely unreasonable and heartless. Gritting her teeth behind her neutral expression, she eased back slowly and shook her head as the purple alicorn fumed. She shrunk from her growing anger and kept calm about this, although she felt the sisterly bond they share drain from her body. Tears sparkled in the corner of her eyes and a low hiss escaped between her teeth.
She tried very hard not to unleash her Royal Voice on the young mare. When she did, fiery pain ripped through stomach and worked its way into her chest. "Twilight, I divorced your brother for the simple fact that he is abusive to Skyla and I and spends most of his time at the bar with some friends."
Twilight pushed back the strands of hair rumbling over her burning eyes with a gentle brush of her hoof. She was in denial of her old foalsitter no longer loving Shining Armor, but the proof was imminent in her eyes. "You could have talked it or had Princess Celestia council you both," she replied angrily, causing a bit of a scene in Sugarcube Corner. "You could have done something other than divorce him. You married him. You love him and-"
"I loved him," Cadance clarified calmly. "I loved Shininig Armor in the beginning, but things went downhill after the Crystal Empire was saved by Spike. He showed his true colors to me and I became scared at that moment." she took a moment to catch her breath, disappointment filled in her eyes. "Twilight, I am asking you as a fellow princess to let Skyla and I stay in the castle for a few days. I do not want Celestia to know that I left the Crystal Empire just yet."
"Not happening," Twilight quickly replied, shocking her friends, who happened to be comforting a very upset Skyla. "I thought you were my best friend and the best sister-in-law in the entire world, but you destroyed a good marriage with my brother and-"
"Twilight Sparkle, everything is not sunshine and rainbows!" Cadance interrupted loudly, her royal demeanor showing as the crowd gathered. "The world you think you're in is not real. This is real life and sooner or later you will have to realize that everything will not go your way. Shining Armor and I may have divorced recently, but our relationship has been dead since Skyla was born, so stop acting like a filly, grow up, and realize that bad things like this happen."
Twilight gave her that look under her hateful gaze, the one that said she meant to end things in her own vendetta, the one a few ponies found to be the flaw within her. God, she was spoiled and ignorant. "You're such a horse!" she yelled furiously, all the while controlling her magic from bursting at the tip of her horn to destroy the pink alicorn. At this point, Cadance was in turn to be stunned by the purple princess. She had expected Twilight to blow things out of proportion, but not like this. "You were always a horse to my brother, always flirting and teasing him while giving the same thing to other stallions so he would be jealous. You nothing more than a tramp, a big, bucking, tramp!"
Silence ran through the room...Until...
"It's okay, Cadance," a feminine voice said from behind the pink alicorn. Cadance was no fool to the voice that just drifted through her ears. She could never forget that friendly mare she befriended in Canterlot High. "You can stay with me at my new house Mayor Mare is allowing me share until my cloud is fixed."
Cadance spun around and gasped at the mare. Her eyes widened and trickled with tears as the fiery-mane Pegasus winked at her. "SPITFIRE!"
"In the fur, bubblegum butt." Spitfire chuckled.
The thought of taking care of a very young filly was almost too much to handle. It was news that still surrounded and surprised the human. He had never said he would be a bad parent, just insinuated that his lifestyle would not be healthy for the child, and he correct. The warm inevitability of parenthood and rejuvenating challenge, however, did give him a whole new purpose in life. To be a good parent to a child. For him, it felt good to have a child of his own, but also bad in some way—that is to say he barely remembers what it means to take care of someone.
For a moment his fingers ran cold after signing the final document of Rose Spark's adoption and his employment as Ponyville's town guardian. His hand slid down to his sword as he imagined sharing a home and his life with the suspicious yet excited filly.
He turned to the giggling unicorn. His eyes soften, gently locked onto her. Parenthood? Town Guardian? Great, I just signed myself up for more responsibility than what I am use to. I'm an immortal, not a sitter. I haven't been a caretaker for a child since I found Deadeye on the street, and that was twenty years ago.
Rose Spark's soft laughter brushed through his mind. He smiled as she relished having a real home and a real dad. Then again, what's wrong with having another child to raise and nurture? I do love kids, and kids love me; at least in some perspective.
Rose Spark wanted to hug him. The need to do so came out of nowhere, although there was still suspicion of his reason to accept Mayor Mare's offer. She was staring up at him, at the warm nature in his eyes and his barely noticeable scars that were slightly parted across his smile, and all she could think about was having a real dad to do what she wants. To take care of her. To play with her. To make her smile. To love her, unconditionally.
"You are as your superiors have told me in their letters," Mayor Mare said with a warm smile. "Under that bravado and cold attitude you are a very kind and gentle man—whatever man is."
Sin rolled his eyes and chuckled at the filly, but he did not reply to the mare, which she took as the victory she wanted.
"Now then," Mayor Mare began, folding the documents and placing them in a large envelope for mailing. "I believe I owe you a bonus and a key to the house that is now occupied by you and—" she abruptly paused in her sentence, remembering vital information about the house. Suddenly her warm demeanor became nervous and awkward, a sheepish grin as her expression. "Oh dear, I seem to have forgotten a very important detail about the house."
"What detail?" Sin's asked.
"Yeah, I forgot to mention that another pony will be staying with you at the time. She forgot to clean out her cloud of all the water vapor, so it's been grounded and very damaged from the blizzard freezing the vapor."
Sin gave a little grunt of derision. "And just who might this pony be?"
"Admiral Spitfire of The Wonderbolts."
Sin shot a glare over to the mare and placed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Great, and is there anything else I should know?"
"Yes, just one last thing. Her fellow Wonderbolt, Soarin, might visit every so often. He has a bit of a crush on Spitfire, and he has a tendency to act irrational when other males are around her."
Sin managed another very real-sounding groan, which earned him a giggle from the mare. "And here I thought I would have enough problems to deal with."
Sin held his breath as the mare reached into the bottom drawer of her desk for the key to his house and the bits she promised. He knew, by the way Mayor Mare played him into adopting Rose Spark, that he had more trouble coming to him than he knows at the moment. He knew he was correct when Mayor Mare's attitude sparkled with glee.
"I really need to learn to say no to things like this," he whispered to himself, making it a mental note. "If I don't, then it will surely kill me."
Mayor Mare found the key and bag and slid them across her desk for Sin to take. She eased down to her seat, positioning herself in a much more comfortable spot of the large cushion, watching the human mutter to himself. She could not do anything but giggle and glance down to Rose Spark making cautious steps towards him.
"Well I guess my work here is done," Mayor Mare chirped, before waving her hoof at the door. "I will hear from you in two weeks for your first day on the job. In the meantime, why don't you make your way to Sugarcube Corner for some sweets. I believe that a certain filly would love to have some hot chocolate."
"Thanks for the tip." Sin mumbled.
With the key in his pocket and the bits stuffed into the other, Sin left his seat and turned away. He made his way to the door and opened it, waiting for Rose Spark to make her way out of the room first. But, alas, she hesitated when the door opened, almost as if something petrified her at the moment. She was coherent and still with them, but her silence gave away an abnormal indication of fear stopping her legs from moving.
Sin was unsure of this, but he went along with the filly uncertain if she wants to leave. He looked to the door that leads outside and back to the hesitating filly, wondering if she was still upon this world—mentally in that summons. "Are you going to come along, or do you wish to stay here?" he asked.
Rose Spark snapped out of her trance and approached the human just as put his foot at the bottom of the door to keep it open. She was very reluctant to approach Sin, especially after the last male being a dragon that tried to eat her. In her head was that little pony known as conscience screaming at her to turn and back into the corner, but on the other hoof was her heart telling her to give him a chance.
It was confusing and terrible to the filly. Having two different voices speak to her made it difficult to think and feel. This was something a child should not go through.
"Rose Spark?" Mayor Mare said curiously.
Finally the filly looked up Sin and sank onto her haunches. She didn't trust him, but her heart was telling her to take that leap of faith. "Will you carry me through the snow?" she asked cutely.
Sin was caught off guard by that question—just for the moment. Nevertheless, he kept a strong composure and smiled at the filly as she raised her hooves to him, reaching for him to pick her up and carry her under that warm cloak of his.
"Sure thing, sweetheart," he said lovingly, reaching for the nervous unicorn with gentle strength. His hands were very soft to the filly's barrel as he used a little bit of magic to fold his cloak over her, his chest touching her stomach as buttons reattached. "We don't want you catching a hold, now do we?"
And with the filly tightly wrapped in his cloak, but gently held in his arms, Sin walked out of the office and made his way to the entrance. He carried his new daughter into the open world with only her head poking through the buttoning to see the hash blizzard getting stronger.
He nodded to himself and said, "Alright, no more lazing around for me. It's time to get back to work, starting with being a father."