The woman glanced around her. The tree towered her, branches swaying and dancing in the wind as she hugged herself, her wings locking around her as warmth. She'd been hobbling around for who knows how long, and not the tiniest sign of civilization had come into her view. No one had come to rescue her. Escaping had been a long shot, her pursuers knew that, but they had her scent. She could continue running in a straight line, knowing it would eventually lead to someone, something, or her own demise. Truthfully, that's what she'd been doing, mile after mile, but wandering as if she was trying to find her way. Several times she took care in listening for the ponies in cloaks, starting out, going a distance and then turning as if certain.

Her legs were throbbing. They had ensured that her brother was with them. They gave their word that he was alright. But how long ago was that?

She wanted a familiar face to appear as no threat to her at all. It would be dark in a few hours and there was no telling what could have caught her trail. She followed the sound of a explosions and screaming until the forest was completely silent, struggling over the uneven ground and exposed twigs piercing her frozen feet. Some animals scurried in the falling snow, some rushing for the shelter of brush and leaves in an effort to avoid her, while others, maybe predators, waited to strike her down.

Twice she thought she a pink horse flying to her left. Intellectually she knew that could not be possible, but she told herself there was no logic, searching for someone by the name of 'Sin.' That would be the best chance she has to find help. Her heart seemed to throb a little when she thought of that flying creature being the lead to a town or a home that is welcoming. She had watched her own people destroy one another for years, so selfishly, and uncaring to the consequences that destroyed them.

But how long did she sleep in that green pool, and how many years had gone by since the explosion?

She made her way to the voices in the distance and found a large opening that was to a meadow. It was the best thing to the first sign of freedom as she fought the blistering pain in her feet, making her way down a small slope.

"Please. . ." she whimpered, tears freezing to her flushed cheeks. Adrenaline began to pump through her veins like a violent river. "Please—for the love of god—be a way out."

The moment she tossed aside all worry and rushed the hole in the trees to see if someone was there, she knew she was not alone. A rustling sound came from behind and three figures jumped out. A chill went down her spine and she lifted her head and carefully looked back. No. . .NO!

She made certain that her scream to opening had a clear shot so that no one could discern it—that is to say if there was a single soul around. Sprinting, she let her gaze move from pony to pony, a woman lost and alone and terrified there in the brink of her potential freedom. Unfortunately, the situation was all too dire for her pursuers.

"We can't let her get to Ponyville."

"Isn't the target residing there now?"

"Yes, but it is too soon for his capture. His lordship wants to fully evolve her powers before the attack."

"Then we have no choice but to use force!"

Connection? Which was strange, because according to the documents she found, there was one other human they've failed to apprehend over the months of her unwilling experiments. She wasn't even a special being—she was human—and yet she knew with certainty of the new wings that something inside her was desired by him. The only explanation could be that the human in the folders had passed so much information that she was tuned to the facts.

Maybe it was the similarity in their eyes. Maybe it was the sense of familiarity she got with seeing his picture. Or more. Was there more? In the beginning her imagination was getting the better of her. The cloaked figures had magic and they would use it. She just had to get out of the forest.

She somehow unfolded her wings and closed them up, gaining better balance and speed, her feathers dried with blood as her feet bleed, bruised and swollen and hurting. A normal man would be foolish enough to fight those monsters, but would never know when to pick their battles. The poor soul could feel those hollow eyes burning through her as she ran. Her heart began to pound harder than ever and her mouth went dry.

She knew terror. Terror beyond any gory movie, and right now, she to get away from it. She was no longer chained to a wall to be abused physically or mentally or spiritually. She was alone with no one to help her. Without family. Without friends. With the notes she found in hisdesk, the blonde runner had what she needed for clues. She needed to find this man. She needed him to give answers. She took several deep breaths, fighting off the need to stop and rip every twig that is stuck to her wounds. Her body shivered continuously from pain and the cold, and there seemed little she could do to save herself.

As a child she had retreated to a sanctuary in her mind where no one could harm her. She no longer had that luxury, no matter hard she tried to find reason to be happy. That monster took her happiness away and replaced it with fear. Said fear was too great and the ponies behind her felt it. They fed on it. No. . . Thrived.

"Help!" she screamed and then waited for a response. There was not a sound to be heard, other than snow crunching beneath her bloody feet and their hooves. She tried again. "HEEELLP!"

A Few Minutes Prior

A hush snapped and Sin spun to his right to see a tall, broad stallion rushing his son into the house before locking the door. He had to be as frightened as the other ponies with that easy fluid grace and absolute silence from the man reminding him of the cold stare he had with Discord. Sin's eyes were the color of blood with a glittering, piercing, extremely focused state that seemed to look right through Celestia. His mouth went a little dry. He was not as rough-looking when Discord put him in his place—and maybe tougher than he appeared. Clearly he'd done some thinking.

Cadance wore a long cloak he summoned with a snap of his finger to cover her from horn to hoof, but flared out with gryphon symbols and a large emblem on the back, giving her a more dominant look than most would see. Celestia and Luna were the only ponies to see the cloak was tightly woven and ancient with various enchantments protecting it and the Princess of Love from the cold. Sin's physical wounds had already disappeared, but the real stab to his chest was the pride he carried. His chest was thick with the same scars and rippling with breaths heavier than most. His hands were firmly pressed in his pant's pockets, but he would bet his life the two sisters him already figured out. When he hid behind his hair and coughed, Luna caught the tightening of his jaw from the wind blowing harshly for a second.

She tried to pity him, clutching his sheathed sword like it was her lifeline until her eyes rested on the worried Draconequus next to Fluttershy. She held onto the sudden revelation of their daughter being alive as Sin's reason for giving her enough of his time to explain herself—and, maybe, give her another chance.

Sin loosened the curl of Cadance' wing from his arm as if to show he did not need her to support him. He kept some dignity trudging through the town to have all eyes on him. Whether the ponies were angry or afraid, he was not going to run away from the terror he created out of spite and hatred. He had many reasons to destroy the Spirit of Chaos, but none of them were good enough to use a peaceful town as his battlefield. He was just appointed Town Guard, and here he was the monster. He could not be more ashamed of himself than ever.

"I came across this during your tirade with Discord. You forgot to sheathe it." Luna handed the quiet man his sword before taking his left side for herself, something she missed more almost as much as moving the moon. Almost. She could not help nuzzling him while her sister approached. "I am glad to see that you are unharmed, my love."

"Please," Sin scoffed, startling the group as he locked eyes with Discord. "It's going to take more than forbidden magic to beat me. Besides, I was just holding back. If I had released the first stage of my power, he would be in for the fight of his life."

Discord crossed his arms together as if wondering if he could trust that statement or not. "I seem to recall knocking you on your butt more than once." He spoke in a stern tone, although he could just speak calmly. "I was suppressing my power to make sure I did not injure or kill you."

"You wanna bet on that!?" Sin snapped, moving a closer to him, his hands smoldering with fire and electricity. "Let's go all-out and see who is better right now. I've been dying to kick your ass for a long time!"

"You're still a foal compared to me."

"Says the most childish ass in the entire world!"

Celestia had enough of this squandering. She stomped the ground in a reflex action to get their attention. It seemed a little silly since she was certain their fighting would not happen with some conscience in both of their heads, but still, she could not take that chance.

She raised her voice, switching to the stern mare everyone fears. "You two will cease this squabbling immediately!" She barked, successful in drawing their attention. Unfortunately for Sin, she turned her gaze on him. "It has been over a millennia since we last saw you, and here you are, picking fights and destroying part of the town in the process of abating your anger towards Discord. Have you no shame in your actions?"

Sin's expression darkened. "I don't know, princess. Perhaps you can tell me since you're rather good at having your actions fuck up everything. For example, my entire life."

Celestia was struck hard by those words and failed to manage herself; even the cold and stern glare she wore was melted by the guilt she suddenly felt. She hardly looked at the spiteful man now. "After all these years you still hate me."

"I do not hate you. If I did, then we would not still be connected," Sin told her whilst pointing at the cutie marks on his chest, scars and burn marks making it more sickening than a relief for the princesses to know he still loves them. "I'm still pissed at you for banishing our child and banishing me after you used the Elements of Harmony on Luna."

Celestia sank down to her haunches, allowing her wings to naturally fall and brush down the snow as if she was still unsteady and unable to stay strong. The need to scold her mate for his recklessness was dead but she was well versed in listening to his every word. The guilt deepened and the feeling was cold and heavy.

"You were half at fault for what our son had become; did you really think that by spending so little time with our foal would not have consequences?" Her pain was strong. Perhaps it was stronger than banishing her sister. She wasn't so sure, not in the midst of her emotions running rampant. "You saw what became of our son and knew that it was too late to save him; not even the Elements of Harmony could save Cinder from his hatred."

"Cinder?" Twilight questioned, staring back and forth at the two. "Who is Cinder?"

"Celestia and I's son," the girls gasped deeply. Sin had held his glare on the Solar Princess for a moment before sparing his gaze towards the purple alicorn next to Cadance. "Cinder Soul was the first pony in the Del Sol family to be half alicorn and half human. He was believed to be a bastard foal until Solaris saw the resemblance in our eyes. Celestia and I. . ." he paused for a few seconds, shamed by the past they made. "We were teenagers and already having a foal. We we're not even engaged yet."

Celestia smile this, this time more naturally. "Still, neither of us cared at the time. I was in heat and you were ready for the next step."

Sin crossed his arms and exasperated. "Yeah, because I was certain that we could not have a baby. Human's and ponies do not breed offspring on my world. But look where my stupidity and your ignorance got us—parenthood at seventeen years old and facing the wrath of your father. Now we're both terrible parents."

"I faced his wrath, while you just ignored him."

"That's because you cared what he thought. I, on the other hand, did not give a shit."

Celestia glared. "And it's because of you not caring what father thought that he kept you from Cinder and I over the years. If you had taken the time to understand him, just a little bit, we would not have lost our son to dark magic."

"That is Solaris' fault. Not mine." Sin countered, ignoring Twilight as she stepped between them to settle their argument. "I told you having your dad teach our son both sides of magic was a dumb idea, but you still went behind my back and agreed with your parents."

"I was thinking about what was best for him!"

"So was I, but I thought about his safety first. I knew dark magic would corrupt him, just like it did with Luna." Sin exasperated, throwing his hands in the air in defeat. "Jesus, why am I arguing with you about this now? I should be ignoring you!"

"Because you love me," she reminded him, although it was not the best thing to say. "And you cannot stand losing to me in an argument. No matter how meaningless the conversation is, you have poor impulse that drives you to argue until you win."

Sin chuckled in a dark voice and grew a sinister smile. "Oh ho ho ho, we're going to talk about our problems, are we?" he asked in a serious tone, his eyes flaring with every ounce of his rage towards the past. "Well it's my turn, and I think I'll remind you of your inability to get facts before making stupid decisions. After all, it was you who banished me BEFORE GETTING THE FACTS!"

"I was twenty-two years old. I was young and ignorant."

"But you were old enough to have me sent away."

"I cried for months after finding out you were innocent. I did everything I could to have you brought back to me."

"Well you failed, my love," he chastised, mocking the upset mare to the point of tears. "Because look at me. I'm a mentally and physically tarnished man who had more horse dick forced in his ass and mouth than the average prostitute. My body is ravaged with years of torture and horror. And I have two gods sealed inside me." He gave her a thumbs up. "Yeah, great job in having me retrieved. Your searching skills are not to be questioned."

"Fuck you!"

"Oh, so Tia does remember my language. Well sorry sweetheart, I'm not in the mood of fucking a traitorous, hormonal bitch like you!"

"That is enough from you both!" Twilight said in a sharp tone, drawing the attention from both past lovers who were panting from all their ranting. "With all due respect, Princess and Mister Firestorm, we have bigger problems to deal with." She pointed at the destroyed sections of Ponyville. "Part of the town is damaged and ponies are afraid to step outside of their houses after what happened."

"Send me a bill. I'll pay for all of the damages." Sin demanded, though in a very disrespectful tone.

Celestia and Luna laughed, suddenly amused and relaxing. The tension eased completely from their bodies and they sank down in a patch of dead grass while the group bathed them in confused looks.

"What the hell is so funny?" Sin asked harshly. "Do I have something in my teeth or my hair?"

"No, we're just happy to see that you're still so energetic." Luna answered, and then turned to her purple friend. "And 'mister' is the wrong term, Princess Twilight."

"Prince Firestorm is the more accurate term," Celestia clarified, specifically to her distraught human who was giving her a suspicious look. She and Luna shared mischievous looks as he furrowed his brow. "What," she giggled. "Did you really expect Starswirl to sit back and watch Solaris burn your adoption papers. You are still royalty because of him."

Luna giggled in her hoof. "He was so desperate to repay his debt to you for saving his laboratory that he forged another set of documents for father to burn."

As angry as Sin was at his Tia and Lulu, he could not help expressing some shock for the deceased unicorn.

"Son of a bitch," he said lightly, almost smiling. "That old fart did have some balls. I always thought he was a nut-less wonder."

The girls were quick to regain their composure. Still, none of them thought or had the slightest hint of their violent newcomer having a connection to the princesses, let alone relation to them. Twilight saw new history in their eyes and knew she'd been given the opportunity to acquire some very juice information. Muttering silently to herself, she idly summonsed a pencil and some paper and began writing down everything she heard. However, Sin quickly recovered from the shock and glared at both mares who were eager on the inside to see if he was happy to still part of their family.

Unfortunately. . .

"Banished, remember. . ." Sin reminded before turning away, collecting his thoughts and emotions as the faintest sound of someone yelling sailed across the sky. "Besides, I have no desire to be a prince in your clusterfuck of a family. I'm quite content being who I am."

Luna tilted her head, her face clearly contorted disgust of such an insult. "Which is. . ."

"Millionaire, Swordsman, Teacher, and most of all. . . Retired General."

Celestia was little taken back by his accomplishments. "Retired General?" especially that one.

Discord grinned at the man. "You forgot to add 'angry boy with tendencies to violence' to your list."

"No one asked for your opinion, you colorful fuck!" Sin approached the Spirit of Chaos before anyone could say anything else. "Do us all a favor and keep your fucking mouth shut. It's already bad enough that I have to look at you and hear from everyone that you are 'supposedly' reformed."

Discord frowned and nodded. "You really want to kill me, don't you?"

"You're damn right I do," Sin snapped so quickly it scared the girls. Celestia and Luna were not surprised by his behavior, but the tears were quite a shock. The last time they saw their mate cry was when he became a father. "I lost everything because of you and Solaris. I lost the only friend I had and the one chance to return to Earth. Starswirl had the portal ready until you destroyed the spell. I lost the only chance to see my family again. AND I MISS MY FAMILY!"

Sin set the silence again, a steady, but horrifying silence, Cadance and Spitfire pitying the man while Celestia and Luna looked away with guilt. Sin tried not to think about what he'd lost that day. If Discord had not intervened when he was set free, he would be back on Earth. He knew that with certainty, but that meant giving up on the two mares who dumped him for false accusations from their father.

Cadance and Spitfire sat down directly behind the Sin in the only patch of grass that was visible. Without saying a word, they veered away from the fear and worry of what he might be and comforted him, moving fast, doing what they can to help defuse the situation.

At first, Twilight was certain the man was going to snap and attempt killing Discord a second time. The rage in his eyes seemed to show that. Her heart accelerated and she felt compelled to apprehend him before having her own teacher stay her approach.

Ordinarily, it would be wise to arrest the human and have him locked away for questioning of his strange power, but her irritated teacher sliced through the conflict and worry like a sharp knife. Like everyone around, she pulled from the fact of Sin being a potential danger to Ponyville, drawn into the sudden apprehension her friends felt when Celestia stepped forward.

"Sin, are you really that adamant of destroying Discord?" she asked plainly. It was not within a second that his gaze met hers with enough hatred to burn a house down.

"Yes I am, I want his fucking head on a silver platter!"

"Well let me tell you this, and you'd better take it to heart." Celestia coughed to clear her throat, and turned her eyes to the cowering Fluttershy that was beyond frightened for the Draconequus. "If you were to kill him, then you would be imprisoned forever."

"Like I give a shit," he spat. "Better alone in a cell than stuck in this fucked up world with you and your sister!"

"I'm not finished," she raised her hoof to silence him. "You would be imprisoned, and you would have to answer to his foal."

If there was ever something that could strip the man of his voice, it was that. Nothing, not even the betrayal of his former king and comrades stayed his tongue. He witnessed countless horrors and unspeakable twists in life that would make the best of psychiatrists cringe or quit their job. But hearing those words did the impossible, and it surprised Celestia a little. She would not express it though.

Sin was not oblivious to her statement. He knew damn well what she meant and took it as a scary revelation. "You can't be serious. . ."

"I'm very serious," she pointed at the Element of Kindness. "She is his wife and to be the mother of his foal."

"We found out last month, before the blizzard came." Fluttershy whispered.

Sin and Fluttershy exchanged a long glance. His heart began to pound with disbelief. He would this an eccentric moment among everything. More than anything, he would be joyous and congratulate her with a gift fit for a noble, but this was the one mare in the entire world that could love the Spirit of Chaos. The friend that became his enemy. His bane. His reason to hate. Such news did not surprise the girls. They already knew from the way she had been acting and the small growth to her belly.

The shock muted his rage and filled his mind with confusion. Sin's eyes snapped towards the smiling Draconequus. He appeared as though someone just stole his favorite toy and crushed it. Celestia and Luna approached and sided with him, comforting him. His eyes, bright in color, had lost their ocean of anger and became dull as Discord turned his attention to Fluttershy. Above the various thoughts drowning Sin, someone's voice pitched to everyone and echoed. This drew the girls away from the stunned man.

"What was that?" Spitfire asked, her wings sprung for action. She even felt her body warm up from the adrenaline.

Breaking from his focus on the pregnant mare, Sin frowned at the mysterious screech. "Whatever it is, I am not the cause of it." Everyone turned towards him with suspicious looks. This made him very defensive. "Hey, I may be destructive and methodical—and possibly a little insane—but I protect the weak and innocent."

"You attacked Discord, and he is innocent." Luna said with a smirk, receiving a bemused look from her mate.

"Blow me," he gave her the middle finger.

"In your dreams or in bed?" she cooed seductively.

"Oh shut up."

At this moment, the snowy meadows were no longer blank. Pressing snow, no matter how painful, into her wounds couldn't possibly compare to the fear. Still, she as her instincts instructed and so did Sin. She screamed at the top of her lungs towards the town before losing her balance and crashing into the unforgiving ground.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

In the middle of the group, Twilight and the others had gone on the defensive, startled by the intense pressure radiating from Sin. Sensing the many layers of fear coming from this stranger, he tore past his grudge towards Discord. He bit at it, fell deep into the abyss of his mentality, and even demanded for power. The barrier held though, so he climbed from his pride and anger surrounding the peace he needs to be in control. Most of the time he would drop in defeat and wait for his occupants to help him, but this was a serious matter of somepony being in danger.

Little did he know that the 'somepony' was a 'someone'.

"I SAID GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Apprehend the girl now," a male voice barked, the owner coming over the top of the hill with his comrades giving chase. "If she gets to Sin Firestorm, all our research will be for nothing."

The woman stepped onto a sharp rock and felt her ankle extended to the right, her screams of agony like music to her pursuers. A large crack echoed from her leg to her mind as she fell again. Her back was covered with scars and tattoo marks. The two younger ponies stared at her with lifeless eyes as she crawled towards the first sign of civilization. Neither said a word. Neither moved, not even when the man coming to her rescue pushed his speed with magic.

"She has broken a leg," the second male announced, gazing at the bone poking through for freedom. "It appears that she lost her footing and twisted the bone."

"We'll have to wait for it to heal before conducting our next test." his ally added in a deeply feminine voice. She reached into her cloak and removed a small, metallic box and opened it. Inside it were syringes with three distinguished vials of highly potent narcotics, each having a higher level of medication than the other. "I will sedate her before we head back."

"I don't think so." The sound of his voice caught them off guard. They were not ready for the man approaching at full speed with his sword still sheathed.

At first, the woman was certain the man running towards her was just an illusion, until her moment of desperation seemed to become his. He heart accelerated and she felt her body go numb after both mysterious figures were blown away by his weapon. She wasn't able to see how fast he was, but with what little energy left in her body, it seemed that her pursuers were knocked back by the hilt and sheath.

Suddenly, she felt the shift of her body, two hands turning her over before she was lifted to sit against his chest. This touch was more misleading than her disbelief of the wings on her back. She leaned closer to the man and then she would have, obviously to make certain he was truly real, but now he was in full shock, giving the three ponies the opportunity to make better time in completing their goal.

Seeing this happen, the leader bid his comrades to remain hidden.

Sin moved her hair from her face and gasped. No, not a pony. This creature was a human. And she was no ordinary human, she was family to him. More family than the ponies who tossed him away, and she smiled at him.

"Jonathan. . ." she whispered.

A short breath was all she could muster before passing out in his arms. Drawing several deep breaths, Sin continued to hold the woman. Twice, he shook her to see if she would open her eyes, but her mind was more damaged than her body. At least her breathing did not completely stop. Both times, he caught a small glimpse of nostalgia.

Then he felt her everything. He felt the woman's essence being her own. He hadn't prepared for that either. Nothing could have prepared him. He was still uncertain of her being real or a fake made by some sick bastard.

"Elizabeth. . ." her skin felt so cold to his palm. Her face was so ravaged with pain, he wanted to cry. There was blood all over her and dark circles under her eyes. Her figure was suffering malnourishment, her cheeks almost as hollow as her stomach. Clearly she had been reduced for the pleasure of another. They hadn't cared whether or not she had starved for weeks or bled in hundreds of places across her broken body.

He realized her life was in peril, and every ounce of his experience as a parent came flooding through his body. "Hey, don't fall asleep on me. If you are her, then you need to stay awake." His words were meaningless to the unconscious girl, but he was not going to accept this. He proceeded to shake her. "Come on Elizabeth. Look at me. Look at your brother. Look at your big brother!"

Elizabeth did not make a sound or the smallest movement. Not even a twitch was seen or felt as he grasped her shoulders. Sin wanted to drop to his knees, cover her face and sob. How could one living being do such heinous things to another? To his family? How much would you have to be evil? Shaken, he threw aside his fear of her being a fake and pressed his lips to against hers to keep her life strong. A completely taboo method of transferring magic into someone, but he was extremely desperate to keep her alive. It was more than just wanting to keep her alive, he was needing to give her some of his magic to not lose himself to another painful loss.

He pulled away, ethereal strings of black and white magic slithering into her mouth. "You're going to be alright sis," Tiny beads of sweat dropped and dotted her forehead and ran down her face. He stayed as still as possible to direct the magic he transferred to her organs, but the pain had been excruciating, even with the power of two alicorns traveling through his body.

"Elizabeth." His voice wobbled. He choked on the lump in his throat. Through the transfer, Sin concluded by the feeling of her remaining energy that she was not a fake. He realized his sister was really here, yet he hadn't managed to believe—this.

He did not move or give his attention to the cloaked ponies carefully watching him. He kept his eyes on her. His forehead touching hers. But he felt her life absorbing his magic.

"Sin Firestorm." The leader whispered, and then removed a white crystal from his cloak. He did not tell it to do anything, just simply let it go and watch the credentials appear in a large image from the light that beamed at the tip. He knew it would not be easy retrieving his test subject or defeating the immortal.

Digging deep into the information, he commanded the crystal to scan the man in front of him, keeping his voice low and called on the important facts.

"Subject thirty-nine of Aether's Research," he began, searching through the history. "Retired Gryphonian General. Banished Prince of the Del Sol Family. Master Swordsman and seven time war hero for three countries. His only known weakness being a strange overheat from too much magic building in his body."

"What is his magic discharge?" the second male asked. "Surely he has grown stronger, I presume."

The leader nodded. "It says that his last reading was taken by King Talon, which was fifteen years ago. Three hundred thousand is the suppression state of his magic discharge."

"And now?"

"In his emotional conflict right now, eight hundred and seventy-two thousand." He looked down at the man in disbelief and dispelled the white crystal, returning it to the pocket in his cloak. "That cannot be correct. That's one-third of our lord's discharge level."

"Regardless, Yarai—" the female adjusted her cloak to take a predatory stance, "the three of us are more than capable of apprehending him, so let us be done with this goose chase and return with them both."

"No, not now Claro." Yarai stuck his hoof in front of the mare, pushing her back. "We will run too high of a risk with the princesses approaching already. Remember that Celestia and Luna are still in love with him, and that would hinder any attack if we show ourselves. For now, let us keep a safe distance and observe the girl's growth."

Sin sank down on his knees, trying not to sob. He had no idea how Elizabeth could be in Equestria, and with wings, but there was no real explanation for his arrival either. She lay as if struggling to breathe, her eyes sunk and receding when sunlight beamed through the clouds and touched them, yet there was still no sign of her waking up. Not her spirit. Not the screaming banshee that scolds him for every stupid thing he does. Sin ignored Celestia and Luna descending to his side, eyes wide and mouths gaping as they met the slumbering girl bleeding in his arms.

Luna dragged her hoof under the girl's hair to see her face properly. "Another human?"

"She's not going to live through her injuries," Sin looked up to her, tears dripping from the corner of his eyes. "But she is real. She really is the sister I told you both I have."

Celestia gazed from the girl to her mate, her eyes swimming with a mad desire to help him save the poor soul. Even that was recognized by Sin, and he had to commend her for it, maybe forgive a little.

She nuzzled Sin's grief-stricken face and then down at the girl's forehead. "She has wings, but feels so cold," she pointed out, as if it were news. She realized said wings were fully developed but also damaged, feathers broken or missing and joints bulging in the wrong places. Of course she knew the cause of it. The poor dear had been tortured. The monsters that did this would surely pay.

Sin ran his arms under Elizabeth, scooping her up carefully while Rose Spark approached, curious and worried that she may have been too judgmental of her adopted father. "I can't believe that you're really here, sis. I have missed you so much." He whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"She's beaten all over," Cadance pointed out, tears welling up in her eyes from seeing her human cry. "Who would do such a thing to. . ." She broke off and shook her head, remembering what it was like to be beaten. "This is so wrong. This is cruel and pure evil. Why would anypony want to hurt your sister?"

Sin hugged his sister firmly. "I don't know why someone would do this," he looked back to the top of the hill and watched his stalkers back away as the blizzard gave them more cover. By the time he blinked his fury, they were gone. He scowled at where they once were, powerful hatred radiating from his eyes. "But I have feeling it was more than one. And when I find out who did this to my sister, even the devil himself will be afraid for them."

It had been absolute in those words Celestia and Luna believed that Sin would reign hell upon the monsters, even as the god they saw him become throughout his fight with Discord. It had been frightening watching the one they love turn into a monstrous deity, hell-bent on destroying Discord. Now it was terrifying to see behind his human eyes a demon or a god made of his own rage and hatred, the flicker of light and darkness in his soul drawing the attention of both mares as he walked past them, making his way back home. It was more frightening to see said eyes change color.

Sin drew back to look over his shoulder the two sisters. "Don't expect me to be soft because of my sister mysteriously appearing. You're both still on my shit list and will be till you earn my forgiveness, so I suggest you get to work if you want your 'Sinny' back."

"May we walk back with you and help with your sister?" Celestia gave him a feint smile. "With our magic combined we could heal most of her wounds."

Sin shook his head and continued walking. "No, I want to be alone. Besides, I don't trust you or Luna with helping me treat Elizabeth. Just go home and come back in a few days. By then I will be in a better mood."

Celestia and Luna looked at one another, crossing a confused look before looking back at their mate with hurt looks. "Well, just know that we still love you." Luna told him.

"It's going to take much more than undying love to win me back," Sin confessed, never breaking stride towards his house. ". . .Much more.