Twilight had seen many heinous actions done towards her fellow ponies. From the changelings capturing Canterlot to the theft of Equestria's magic, the world that she sees to to shine every day did seemed brighter than the words personally written in the journal she found through a series of enchanted locks that merged with book Mayor Mare had given. Her heart twisted as the contents of her lunch tried to escape, but she was quick to wave a spell that calmed her body. She took a deep breath as the journal pages came to life and re-enacted a dark memory of the man that she found to be Celestia's mate, her eyes still glued to the horrors that play before her as though it were a sick movie made by some pony that gets their kinks out of this stuff.
It was only by the good grace of her assistant standing next to her and putting a claw on her back that she was able to brace for the nightmare that was surely one of Sin's past experiences as an exiled prince. She didn't want to see the things before her, but everything about this man relied on finding and reading the secrets that are in that book.
"You okay?" Spike asked as he handed her a cup of tea, a special brew to calm her nerves as the pages pieced said memory together. It began playing in front of them, and boy, did Twilight wish she'd never been so curious about him.
Twilight quickly took the tea and guzzled it before the memory started. She hardened her heart and embraced the terror that was building in the animation spell she used.
"Let's just get this over with." She told him, leaning into his side for comfort.
The horrors of what lies outside her country began with a high pitched scream of pain and violation.
. . .
The past played, and burning villages lied in the wrath of a single man hellbent on the destruction of a single species that crossed him for the first and last time. Males slaughtered by his bare hands while the females were freed from their shackles by the copies he made with strands of hair and intense amounts of magic. The nightmare passed down through the eyes of the children as their dark savior walked through the fires that burned their crops, his eyes as white as the fury in his heart as he removed his hand from the chest he impaled, blood gushing onto his face and chest as he removed the heart and crushed. He tossed it into the fire as more soldiers charged at him with spears and swords at ready, but the numbers of a powerful army did not compare in the eyes of their slaves.
"Caribou . . ." Sin hissed with absolute disgust. He stood in the middle of the kingdom, feeling the unwelcoming earth tremble beneath his feet. He was surrounded on all four by the infuriated monsters that took enjoyment in enslaving and raping any female they can find untouched. As he stood there, he sent out a menacing aura and scowled at the leader of this army as the king stood at the balcony of his castle with a certain queen in shackles, her eyes filled with hope behind the fluids that defile her face.
"Our king gave you the chance to join us," one of the caribou stated, raising his sword at the unmoved man. "Now the mare you come for will watch you die!"
The sword came down to Sin's skull with a single inch gap between him and the surprisingly sharp blade. The caribou believed him to be dead until they saw that a finger with an elongated and strongly hardened fingernail blocked the attack. Everyone went in silence as Sin wasted no time making his wrath known to all that stand in his way. Accepting the horrors and consequences to come, he flicked the blade, snapping it in two, and drew Setsuna.
Sin knew his strongest connection was with the sword, and it was right now, as the prisoners of his blade screamed for blood. Not even they had the heart to commit such disgusting things to females and demanded in the connection of his mind for the blade to be coated in red and turn the caribou into creatures of history.
He grit his teeth, thinking about the mare sitting atop the balcony for him to come to her rescue. He was touched in the wind blowing against his face the odor of the caribou king having already violated the queen he promised to protect with his dying breath.
"The women and children will live, but every male will die." He whispered to Setsuna. Holding his blade sideways and with the runic symbols pulsating, he made a complete circle of the army whilst swinging Setsuna with lightning speed. He made an unseen cut across the first attacker's throat so that the first death would be a lesson before the blood could drip onto the unholy grounds where he stood.
He stopped with his eyes on the caribou that reignited his fury. The subordinates gasped in response to the blade, after realizing the flashing reflections of the blade was him countering. The time of their processing was too slow however. Sin had already done the impossible to them, and showed such power by slowly sheathing Setsuna.
Letting out his breath slowly, he narrowed his eyes on the bastard that took his friend. "Die."
The females looked at Sin with awe as the click of his sword fully retracted did the number to the soldiers. Dying together and with fear in their hearts before darkness took them, their head came off with a sickening sound as their bodies fell to the charred ground.
One of the females that were freed by his hair copies stood up and gazed at him with shock. "He's a god. . ."
Sin turned his attention to this freed caribou. He looked over his shoulder, glaring at her hatefully while the rest of the army had second thoughts about defending the king and his prize.
"I am not a god!" He roared, frightening the females. He looked away, glaring at the rest of the burning kingdom.
"What are you then?" Another bravely asked.
Sin clenched his fists and raised his discharge level, passing his tail burst and into the first stage of his power in a flash of light. The remaining soldiers backed away slowly with their weapons raised in anticipation of a surprise attack, but what they did not realize that from his statement came the unbound energies that he feared and desperately worked to hide.
"I AM ANGRY!" The ground below him rippled in response to the exploding combination of magic. The air shimmered with fire and light beamed through the cracks, and then broke apart at the nearly transparent aura that was rapidly turning as black as the sky.
Letting out a slow, rumbling breath, Sin sheathed Setsuna and sent it away with a snap of his fingers. The Caribou were confused by this but grinned with the presumption of his mind finally snapping; that is until he blinked, and the green in his eyes was replaced with a horrific and painful transformation that made him appear much more. . . demonic.
"You're blood is not worthy of my blade." He growled.
Dainn looked at Sin with awe as he waved his hoof, commanding his army to attack. "It's astounding how so much power can be used so foolishly."
Sin sent the mare above him one silent look, turned his attention back to the caribou and abruptly disappeared before their very eyes, sprinting. Panic and chaos immediately boomed around the city-wide army as he sprint around the walls, the sparkling magic in his hair the only thing that gave away his absolute rage. There no doubt in minds of the females that their savior intended to destroy their counterparts and save the king for last.
"Where did he go?" A corporal roared, spinning on his hooves as the burst of speed from the immortal created gusts that tore the ground beneath his feet. Houses that were still intact shattered and blew out of the city, right before their eyes. The soldiers stared at the females with anger as they found not a trace of the man.
"Answer us!"
None of the females said a word. No one moved, not even when the remaining light of Celestia's sun was pushed back by the clouds that darkened to bring pitch black into the city. The fires went out, as did the lamps. They were blind now, and the ground was still crumbling as the gusts grew stronger and more violent. They were prey, caught in an invisible spider's web. They were afraid.
"He is one man," Dainn announced, jerking the chains on his prize for reassurance. He scouted the area for Sin but found no avail to the whereabouts of his enemy. He was starting to fear that it was mistake giving Sin the chance to join his conquest.
"Are you really going to stand against me?" He screamed into the sky, jerking the chains again, making the queen yelp as the collar dug into her neck. "Does your daughter mean so much that you would stand against my army? Would you rather not join me and have all the mares you want?"
Sin's voiced echoed in the blackness. "And watch you and your disgusting breed enslave, rape and torture the spoils of your war—" He stopped behind Dainn, as silent as the darkness around him, his eyes glowing a sickly glow while his daughter saw him from the corner of his eye.
He whispered into the Caribou's ear. "That's not my style."
His eye's snapping wide to the deathly words tickling his ear, Dainn drew the blade of his ancestors and swung as quick as he blinked. He thrashed at the darkness blindly, but the taste on his blade was only air. The voice of his enemy came as a gust tickling his skin before he realized it was gone. Fear was not an emotion felt by the conqueror, and it shocked him to feel a chill run up his spine.
"Ever wondered what terror is like?" Sin asked with a chuckle, his voice carried in magic whilst illuminating his presence to the middle of Dainn's army. He wanted to enjoy the terror his voice could bring, but he had little time for being a monster and lacked humanity. Not even the smallest shred of mercy was in his heart.
He tilted his head at the first caribou who was foolish enough to raise his blade. He smiled, as he was taught by the dark alicorn shackled inside the core of his soul. A sickly grin born of insanity and the blackness of his mind; there was no sense of good in the immortal's blackened, oozing the corners of his eyes as the saliva in his mouth was turned into the blackness of his murderous intent.
He winked at his prey.
"Well let's see how you like living in a world of darkness.
. . .
Twilight snapped her mind from the horrendous scene of death and shut the journal loudly, startling her assistant as the memory dissipated with the screams of the caribou echoing through the castle for a few seconds. Despite the experiences she had with monsters and tyrants as a young mare, the horrors of this man made a strong knot in her stomach and filled her chest with dread. She wished she had not delved into the memories of this creature that her teacher said to be her mate. The screams were all but glued to her mind while she stood up and walked away from the book, shocking her dragon brother.
"You never walk away from a book," Spike pointed out as he put a comforting claw on the mare. He wanted to be the one to comfort Twilight, but ultimately, what he could do to raise her spirits would not take her focus off of the short lived memory she had mistakenly watched to understand Sin a little more.
"Celestia said that he is her mate," she uttered those, loud enough for Spike to here. The idea of her teacher having such a powerful relationship sickened her as much as the secrecy. "How could she be with something like that?"
"Well. . . you know the princess is not going to tell you everything about herself. I don't know what else to tell you, but even a princess has some secrets." Spike countered, trying to be logical with the purple pony. Twilight scoffed incredulously.
"I need answers. . ."
Sin walked through the corridors of Canterlot with a single purpose once he was certain that Luna would be alright and Celestia was sleeping, making his way to the throne room and not even bothering to respond to whispers shifting from maids to guards, much to his liking, as he did not want to stop and give somebody a good chewing for their poor judgment. Despite the long and drawn out conversation that transpired between him and Luna, he had obligations to his annoying role in authority. . . though he did wish that today was a little more peaceful. He wished to return to Celestia's room and go through his belongings to find the proper attire for his upcoming date with Cadance and not have to worry about leaving the alabaster princess in such a vulnerable state, but as his old teacher had revealed when he was just a sniveling kid with uncontrollable magic, his greatest weakness was worrying too much.
Passing by a group of guards that were talking about how it was unfair to have their status jeopardized, Sin entered the throne room and saw that court was on pause due to his orders for Celestia to rest, startling the nobles as they waited for someone to answer them.
A lonely guard at the steps approached him and bowed.
"Your majesty, the nobles are growing distraught due to the princess'—"
"Everyone, go home." Sin cut off in stern tone, stunning the nobles. "Princess Celestia is taking a few days off. You may return tomorrow to speak your disputes with me."
The halls were overcome with silence between the prince and nobles before it was broken by a snobbish mare that sat in the front. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard to the man's ears as he tried to shoo them out of the castle.
"And just who are you to order us to leave?"
"Says me, her fucking husband." Sin emphasized with removing his shirt to reveal the cutie marks on his chest. Some remained in silence of their shock whilst some whispered to one another, believing it to be a scandalous statement. "Yeah, this is what happens when you merge your mind and soul to the princesses. You get hitched to them." He put his shirt back on. "Now all of you get the hell out of here and come back tomorrow. Guards, make sure they leave."
Arguing with a bunch of unsatisfied nobles was ludicrous with only three guards. Sin did not care though, he watched as the stallions clad in their defaced armor had to funnel them out with some force before shutting the doors. Then again, he contemplated that his magic could unleash a hellfire right there to scare them off, and he wondered whether or not that would be the best move to make, just to drive them out.
His mind had settled again. Around him the world seemed to slow and calm down so that his time was partially his. He could not understand why Celestia dealt with ponies that could not even keep their damn mouths shut and agree to leave so that their princess could have a little time to relax—or in her case, recover. Shit, back in the gryphon kingdom there was no insubordination or a single voice that rose up when orders were given. But this was Equestria and the culture was peace and equality.
God, how he missed being a general and maintaining peace with an iron fist. That time was long gone and his life there was beyond destroyed with the corruption of his old friend.
He pulled his gaze away from the doors and drifted over to the throne. He began to assess the responsibilities he weighed on himself and the guards returning to their posts. At first hindsight of the work ahead of him, everything about it made him internally scream to tear down the system that his ill wife constructed and rebuild it, but after a few moments of studying why she had made society to be so soft, he realized a key part of himself had been forgotten and remembered his old self for the prince that was still a young man learning to adapt and survive in a world that was much more violent than it was now.
"They listen to those with love and respect," Sin chuckled those words with skepticism. He shook his head after finding a comfortable spot on the throne. "Jesus, I'm getting too old for this shit."
His distress escorted a certain mare to his still form resting on the pinnacle of Canterlot. He did not pay attention to the mare teleporting into the room as he expected when his emotions were all over the place, he simply stared into one of the etched windows that detailed Equestria's history and listened to the pony walking up the steps and taking a seat next to him. As much as he wanted to be alone, he stayed with her, afraid to leave her alone. He'd witnessed what this mare was capable of when ignored and treated like a ghost, especially when her sole purpose right now was to have him.
"I have not felt your anger so strongly," Luna said to him, leaning into his shoulder. She did not hesitate to to put her hoof in his hand and drape a wing across his back.
Sin looked slightly pale, so ravaged by the magic he had been pouring out for days and ignoring his need for sleep, bags now visible beneath those soft eyes that glow with remembrance of his past self. But he was still too stubborn to admit weakness and was not ready to let his guard down. He turned to his princess and looked into those eyes of blue, needing to see she was here and helping him get a grip on things.
Again he felt the call of their connection, that unbreakable bond pulling them together in a kiss that stunned the guards. Now it was certainty that he was the prince that word had spread about. He took a deep breath and slumped in the throne, enough to rest his head in Luna's chest as the oppurtunity was taken with both of her wings curling around him, knowing he was slowly falling into rest.
"I'm so tired of picking up the slack," his whisper tickled the alicorn as she rubbed his cheek, a determined smile adorning her face. She could tell by the lifeless gaze in Sin's eyes he needed a break, and to her credit, the best method for relaxing was a simple thing. She was the expert in this field, but the last few days had her thinking.
"Do you remember what we did to spend time together?" Luna asked, her eyes closing obediently under the memories, her face peaceful, not showing any stress or worry that had been stamped there just moments before. Sin unexpectedly chuckled her and looked up to the ceiling with eyes that longed for the past.
"We would always spar, and you would kick my ass every time." Sin remembered it very well, and in those strange green eye that always given Luna pause, as they were so filled like those of the determined teenager she knew was long gone, she saw the fire of their past reflecting there—their fire. She was the manipulator of that fire.
Luna nodded her head again, and then glanced at the guards to shoo them away before action was taken. Sin, her beloved, so close she could smell the aroma of his shampoo, latched onto the memories and left himself wide open to the powerful and intelligent mare slipping away from him to refuel his tired soul. She loved everything about him, and her faith in him would never waver. He was her life and she stood ready to bring back a piece of his lost self.
She let go of her worries with confidence, becoming the primal pony that her mother feared. It was always a bit of a wrench going from regal to visceral, but once she shed the crown, chestplate and slippers, there was a sense of freedom unlike any she'd ever experienced.
She moved into Sin and took his hand. He was not surprised, but she felt the watchful presence of the fighter burning in his soul. She sent the man both love and friendship in a strong grip, grateful that her strength could no longer crush his bones. Her actions confused Sin as she summoned all of her strength.
"Luna, what the hell are—" he was stopped mid-sentence by the alicorn using her strength to throw him off the throne and almost into a wall. The man's lightning fast reflexes were his salvation as he realized that the mare he wanted to lean against tossed him away like a piece of trash and smiled proudly at him.
He landed on his feet gracefully and Luna thought of this moment as her first real strike back at the man's depression. She made no time for her husband to recover and ask questions. She attacked swiftly with her wings launching her at him and a retracted hoof aimed at his chin.
No one had ever managed to throw Sin off his guard, not and lived to tell about it. He studied the alicorn in a split second and hardened his fighting stance before she could take him by surprise a second time. The softness of his skin tensed with the muscles tightening, his motion as hard as steel during the collision of hoof and fist that sent an air-like shockwave throughout the room, his cheek slightly bleeding by the graze she did make.
"You are stronger than us, aren't you?" She threw another at her lover and watched with keen eyes as the blow was twisted and sent into a pillar with a flick of his wrist.
"What gives you that idea?" Sin asked, smirking at the princess and redirecting the same hoof into the wall on his right. He could actually feel a decent amount of strength behind that punch, as it did what very few ponies he met and fought over the years. It made his hand tingle with pain and sparked a familiar connection with his wife. He was impressed that she had not lost her touch, and almost excited to have a little fun with her.
"You had Discord on his toes—not to mention you possess a alicorn body," Luna pointed out, referring to the alicorn body he hated. Sin's immediate reaction was to scowl, and all it did was make her heart skip a beat. She loved irritating the man, it made her want to see the edge of his power and if she could win him back with their old ways.
"Don't bring that up," he ordered, blocking a kick this time that was aimed for his torso. "I hate that I can change into one."
"Then silence me," the princess mocked as she turned around, flicking him on the nose and revealing the sacred parts of her that only he could arouse. Sadly though, it was not that kind of battle, and she stole the moment by facing the immortal again before his eyes became glued to her posterior.
"A little confident, are you?" Sin threw a punch briefly, refusing to back down at his wife.
Luna chuckled, ignoring the few strands of her mane falling to the floor. "Only when I am around you. After all, you lost every bet we made. Which reminds me—" she gave him bedroom eyes whilst allowing a moment of patience. "Do you remember our last bet when we sparred?"
"I remember," Sin admitted happily, lowering his guard to respect Luna since she did the same.
"Then tell me; there is only reassurance in my heart if you speak of it." Luna clarified.
Sin nodded. "The bet was that if you won, I had to give you a foal."
Luna snapped back with Sin into sparring, and circled brought herself close with a hard kick above the waistline. Fist and hoof exchanged for a solid minute before they found themselves in a standoff that was judged by sheer strength. Luna forced some of her magic and let herself go as the excitement overtook her.
"You can't beat me, Luna." Sin said casually, pushing the shaky mare back. He turned away from the pony to sneeze. Confronted though, with old instincts and feelings, knowing this mare was seeing into his mind and experiencing his emotions, he could hardly bear to overpower her.
"I'm not trying to best you. I am trying to earn your love once more." Luna retracted her hooves, a sweep of her wings and she found herself on top of the man before he could realize what had just happened. Her body trembled and she made the effort to surprise Sin with a kiss that was unlike anything they shared before, truly believing that the past could bring them close again.
She closed her eyes, falling into the bliss of her husband's taste as he froze. She forced her tongue and let the swelling pride as his wife consume her until air was needed. She remained on his waist, allowing Sin some time to process what she just did. When he managed to understand where it was going he saw the old Luna in her gentle eyes and embraced her on the cold floor.
"I guess you win again. . ."
"Which one?" She questioned with a cocked brow, genuinely concerned. Worries were nothing more though, for he returned the kiss and hugged her tightly, stealing her breath.
"Both," he whispered.