//------------------------------// // Bad Graffiti // Story: Sunset Eclipsed // by EldritchNexus //------------------------------// Crazy Graffiti was trotting casually along Vanhoover's docks, shooting odd looks at every pony he passed by. After a while, he came to the apartment building where he was staying. He went up the stairs, and found his door was slightly ajar. "This is rather unusual." thought Graffiti. "I don't remember leaving the door like that!" The pegasus put his hoof on the door, and steadily pushed it open. Suddenly, his door shone with a teal aura. "Come on in." said a seductive voice. Graffiti went into his home, to see the source of the voice. Laying along his sofa was-- "Sunset Shimmer?!" growled Graffiti. "What in the--" "Oh, cool it, will ya?" asked the unicorn. "I only want a special request of you." Sunset got off the sofa, and stretched her back in a cat-like manner. She leaned suggestively against Graffiti, and batted her green eyes. "What would you like me to do?" asked the false pegasus, curiously. "You're a painter, aren't you?" asked Sunset. "I've got a...project for you. Show me to your bedroom. I'm willing to pay top dollar--bit--whatever--for this, too." "Well, I'll gladly do this, missy." said Graffiti, who slipped into his thoughts. "What is this unicorn up to? She knows very well that I'm a Changeling! Should I kill her, anyway? Nah...I'll milk this experience for all it's worth. And from the sound of things, this'll be worth a lot." He adjusted his sunglasses, and pointed Sunset to the doorway across from the front door. Sunset went through the door, and laid herself down on the bed. "So, how much are you talkin' about, beautiful?" asked Graffiti. "500 bits, at the minimum." said Sunset. "Wow, you're really loose with yer change, lady." said the pegasus. "Fine, you've got yerself a painter. Wait right here." He flew out of the room, and came back with a canvas and paintbrush. "Okay, so have ya got any requests..." asked Graffiti, his voice lowering so that he could snidely add under his breath: "Before I make mincemeat out of you?" "Yes, actually." said Sunset, stretching her body and moving her hooves into a suggestive pose. "Draw me like one of your French ponies." CRASH! CR-RACK! BOOM! "What in the--" Graffiti looked around, confused. The windows all shattered, and several pony-shapes of various sizes burst into the apartment. Before he realized what was going on, at least three pony guards were pinning him to the ground. Sunset Shimmer jumped off the bed, and approached the pegasus in a haughty manner. "Red, I think you might've jumped the gun a bit." Sunset whispered to her brother, who rushed to her side, wearing black armor and a full-face helmet. "You guys were supposed to come in and grab him after he started drawing me." "Sorry, Sunny." said Radiant. "I was just getting a little nervous back there. There's just something not right about--" "What in tarnation are y'all doin' in mah house?!" screamed Crazy Graffiti. "Drop the act, Ghost." said Sunset. "We both know you're not really a painter, or a pegasus, for that matter. Stand him up, will you?" The guards let go of Graffiti, just long enough for him to get back to his feet. "What was the point of this, then?" demanded Graffiti, dropping his country drawl. "Because I just love messing around with my enemies." said Sunset. "I'm not evil anymore, but it doesn't mean I can't be a little creative once in a while." "Not evil, anymore, huh?" asked Graffiti. "You sure could've fooled me." Then Sunset Shimmer raised her front-left hoof, and smashed it across Graffiti's face so hard, his sunglasses were knocked across the room. This revealed the two red eyes that he was concealing, and prompted him to reveal his razor-sharp teeth with a feral snarl. "That's for messing around with me back in Fillydelphia." said Sunset. Then she struck him again, even harder than before. The blunt trauma caused him to shift between his pegasus disguise and his true Changeling form. "And that's for the beating that your human world counterpart--at least who I believe him to be--gave to me on the way back to Equestria." "That reason's a stinking pile of--" Ghost attempted to swear, before being smacked in the face by Radiant Dawn, turning back into Graffiti. "That's for hurting my family!" Radiant shouted in his face. "Yes, and it's nice to meet you, too." said Ghost, panting from the pain. "I don't think we properly met back in Fillydelphia. I take it you're Radiant Dawn, the big stallion of the Daystar household?" "You've got that right." confirmed Radiant. "Not too proud of it, though. I'd rather like to know what happened to the rest of my family. My mother, for example..." "Oh, you must be referring to Scarlet." said Ghost. "She's a real conversation piece, that one. A real show-to-the-town, as it were." "'Show-to-the-town. 'What the heck is that supposed to mean?" questioned Radiant. "I think he means that..." Sunset began. "Oh, I just meant that she's really attractive, that's all." said Ghost, turning back to the younger unicorn. "I can see where you get it from, gorgeous." Sunset Shimmer couldn't help but shudder at Ghost's notion. Radiant saw and heard this, and struck Ghost in the head again. "Ow...oh, and she's a fiery one, too." said Ghost, snidely. "No wonder your brother's such a thug, Sunset. In fact, I think having her as a mother may have done a number on what might've been a quality gene pool." "What did you say?!" Sunset growled furiously. "Your mother is an over-sized Baltimarian brute." said Ghost. "She may look beautful and feminine, but in reality, she's too impulsive and violent to be reasoned with. How your father ever got with her is..." "That's a filthy, filthy lie!" screamed Sunset. Then Sunset threw herself onto Ghost, and started thrashing him in such a manner that made even Radiant cringe. As the two wrestled with each other, Ghost shifted back into his Changeling form. Using a telekinetic blast, he managed to shoot Sunset Shimmer into the ceiling. The amber unicorn dropped back down to the floor, aching in pain. Before she realized what was going on, she noticed that Ghost's horn was glowing with a baleful light. There was a flash, and Sunset Shimmer was gone. "Where'd you send her?!" demanded Radiant, who bolted towards Ghost. But the white Changeling dodged Radiant's tackle, and zipped towards the doorway. "I'll tell you." said Ghost, changing back into Graffiti. "But y'all will have ta hog-tie me first, suckas!" Then the impostor shot out of the apartment, and into the path of a certain bluish-green pegasus in a black flightsuit. "Graffiti, we meet again." said Lightning Dust, unamused. "What can I do for ya, blondie?" asked Crazy Graffiti. "How's the farm doin'?" "Drop the act." said Lightning. "You're under arrest." "Oh, really?" asked Graffiti, sinisterly. "Over mah decaying carcass!" He zipped past Lightning Dust, who wound up spinning about in mid-air. Radiant and his guards ran out of the apartment, with the reddish-orange unicorn huffing and puffing as he galloped down the stairs. "Don't let him get away!" shouted Radiant Dawn. "He's done something to Sunset!" Lightning Dust gave a salute in acknowledgment, wheeled around, and shot towards the false pegasus. They flew over the many buildings of the city, sideswiping and colliding with each other as they went. "What...did...you do?!" demanded Lightning Dust, as she pounded into Graffiti. "Be. More. Specific!" Graffiti pounded back. Lightning Dust hollered, and grappled with Graffiti as they flew over the city hall. The two airborne pegasi spun out of control and crashed hard into the marketplace. The two of them knocked over the Flim-Flam Brothers' contraption as they went. Graffiti limped away in the ensuing confusion, cursing under his breath. Lightning Dust clipped her wing, and was forced to chase after him while grounded. She galloped after him, running past Flam, who was mourning over his destroyed ice-maker, and Trixie and Pressure Point, who were visiting from the inn. "Lightning Dust, what's going on?" Pressure asked the rushing pegasus. "No time, gotta catch this criminal!" Lightning Dust shouted back. Lightning chased after the false pegasus through a back-alley, only to find he was gone. Frantic and worried, Lightning Dust turned around several times. Suddenly... "Hello, miss." said a voice. "Are you looking for something?" Lightning turned, and saw a yellow earth pony with a purple mane looking at her. "Yeah." said Lightning Dust. "I'm trying to catch a dangerous criminal." "Oh, really?" asked the earth pony. "Are you a guard?" "I'm a Shadowbolt." said Lightning. "I'm one of Princess Luna's special agents." "That sounds pretty cool." said the earth pony. "So, what kind of criminal are you trying to catch?" "Look out for a pegasus with a country drawl, an ascot, and a ten-gallon hat." said Lightning, turning around to continue her search. "Be careful, though. I think he might be...a..." "Changeling?" finished a raspy voice behind her. Suddenly, she felt a heavy body tackle her. "You know what, ma'by?" asked the voice, which was beginning to sound like Graffiti's. "I think you and I're gonna get along just 'bout nice! Yo, yo, yo." "Oh, cut it out with that stupid accent!" demanded Lightning. "That's not even cowboy talk!" "Okay, then." said Ghost. "I think I've been hanging around Sigma too much. I was beginning to get tired of that act, anyway.." "Not as tired as I am of you!" retorted Lightning Dust, who struggled to get away from Ghost. "Same here." said another voice. Suddenly, two strong pale bluish-green pony-legs bucked Graffiti off of Lightning Dust. The false pegasus crashed into a wall, extremely dizzy and nearly unconscious. He burst into green flames, fully shedding his Graffiti disguise, and revealed at last his albino Changeling body. "Whoa." said the owner of the legs. "What the heck is that thing?" "A dangerous criminal." said Lightning Dust, getting back to her feet. "Thanks for the help." "Oh, no problem." said the voice. "Hey, you're Lightning Dust!" Lightning Dust turned to see that it was-- "Oh, how are things going, Nose Nip?" asked the pegasus. "Just fine, Lightning." said Nose Nip. "I was passing by, and I saw that...thing attacking somepony. Would've been a bad idea to just them hanging like that. Where's Red?" Right on cue, Radiant Dawn and the other city guards had caught up to Lightning Dust and Nose Nip. "He didn't escape, did he?" panted Radiant, who was out-of-breath. "Nah, he got a taste of our local flavor." said Nose Nip, gesturing with his head towards the incapacitated Changeling. "He's right behind us." "Good!" proclaimed Radiant. "Thanks a ton, you two. Now, maybe we can find out what happened to Sunset Shimmer." Meanwhile, Sunset Shimmer found herself laying in the middle of a dark corridor. Feeling cold, she got back up, and trotted down the hallway. She saw that it wasn't a cave like the one that Ghost teleported her to during the crisis in Fillydelphia, but a regular household. The layout seemed eerily familiar to her. She passed several paintings, mostly of landscapes, but none she immediately recognized. She went down a flight of stairs, into what seemed to be lobby or living room. She saw an ajar doorway just across from the stairs, and decided to go outside. She turned around to look at the building she just left, and gasped: It was her childhood home; Daystar Manor.