Sunset Eclipsed

by EldritchNexus


Back In Canterlot

Finally, the train from Vanhoover stopped at the train station in Canterlot in the early evening. Sunset Shimmer and her friends came out of the train cars, and were greeted by Princess Luna, Captain Star Shield, and a number of night guards and Shadowbolts.

"I am glad to see you once again with my awake eyes, Sunset." said Luna. "You have done well, my student."

"Thanks, Luna." said Sunset. "But really, I couldn't have done it without my friends and family."

"Regardless, I can tell that we have much to discuss." said Luna. "For I have news of my own. It will have to wait until we have returned to the palace."


"What? Are you hoofin' kidding me?!" exclaimed Sunset in disbelief. "Umbriel escaped? How the heck could this have happened?"

"I don't know, my student." said Luna. "But these circumstances were beyond our knowledge and control."

"I bet it was Ghost's doing." said Sunset. "That albino slimeball is practically implacable with that teleportation spell of his."

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle was able to experience this herself." said Luna. "She sent a message up to Canterlot a couple of days ago, telling us that a white Changeling attacked her and Fluttershy, and stole the Alicorn Amulet from the zebra known as Zecora."

"So Twilight wasn't able to stop him?" asked Sunset, skeptically.

"I'm afraid not." said Luna.

Normally, Sunset Shimmer would've been glad to know that there was at least something besides fitting into the human world that Twilight Sparkle didn't excel at, but her time as Princess Luna's student had made her a more mature and dignified mare, not to mention the fact that the circumstances were a lot more dire than trying to win some silly popularity contest at a high school. Sunset remembered what Trixie Lulamoon told her about how the Alicorn Amulet was a powerful magical artifact that apparently powered-up its wearer's magical abilities to several times their normal state, at the cost of turning them power-hungry and insane.

"Oh, that's just great." Sunset muttered in shock. "And if Lord Umbriel has it, then there's no telling what he's gonna do next."

"Well, he was not wearing it when I fought against him a few days ago." said Princess Luna. "But I still have reason to believe that if the Changelings have the amulet in their possession, then something horrid may be in store for Equestria. One can only hope that Queen Chrysalis still has no interest in invading Equestria again."

"Well, even if the Changeling Royal Family doesn't pull anything again in the near future, we've still got one or two other things to worry about." said Sunset Shimmer. "One: King Craw's back in action, thanks to my carelessness. There's no telling what he'll try now."

"And the other?" asked Princess Luna.

"The Chrysalis Syndicate. If the Changelings of this world aren't going to threaten Equestria, that doesn't mean the Changelings of the other world won't do something bad."

"Sunset, do you think the Syndicate may know about the portal to Equestria?" asked Luna.

"I don't think so." said Sunset. "I mean the only Syndicate member present was Ghost's counterpart, and he was distracted by the Canterbury Police, so he couldn't have seen me go through the portal at all. Even if he did, he wouldn't be able to do anything to follow, because of the time-frame between when the portal opens. And the chances of him or someone else figuring out the failsafe are even more slim."

"Unless, of course, there was something on the human side of the portal that could show them how the portal works." said Luna. "Did you leave anything Equestria-related behind at all?"

"No." said Sunset. "The only thing I ever brought from here was Twilight's crown, and we all know what happened there. The only way they'd find anything about the portal to Equestria is if somepony else had crossed over before me, and brought something with them."

Princess Luna paused, an uncomfortable expression on her face.

"Luna, what's the matter?" Sunset questioned. "How many other ponies before me have ever used that mirror?"

"I don't know for certain." said Luna. "But my sister once said that a number of ancient spellbooks and scrolls had disappeared from the palace archives, and were never recovered."

"Well, it wasn't me." chuckled Sunset. "I didn't even hoof...foot...whatever through the Crystal Mirror until after the guards confiscated everything I took from the Canterlot library."

"I am aware of this and believe you, my student." said Princess Luna. "But the artifacts I refer to had vanished more than three hundred years ago, before any of your known ancestors or relatives were even born."

"Well, that changes everything, doesn't it?" chuckled Sunset with a puzzled look on her face. "So do you think that these artifacts could've been brought to the human side of the portal at all?"

"It is possible." said Luna. "Though I hardly think the identity of the thief would matter much, since they would have passed away a long time ago, especially if they stayed in the human world."

"You're probably right, Luna." said Sunset Shimmer. "Well, I'm gonna be with my friends. See you tonight!"

"And I will look forward to our next meeting, Sunset." said Princess Luna.


APPROX. TWO MONTHS, ONE WEEK AGO...

A strange black-haired man wearing a leather jacket and red-rimmed shades entered the apartment complex on Dodge Boulevard, his right arm slung around a cardboard box. He walked inside silently, and stopped by the landlord's desk.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a Miss Sunset Shimmer." said the stranger.

"Who the heck wants to know?" asked the landlord.

"It really doesn't matter." the stranger replied in a low, ominous tone.

"Look, I just want to know why you'd be looking for Sunset Shimmer."

"I'm just dropping something off in her room."

"Well, Sunset happens to be up there at the moment, so I'll phone her for you and tell her to expect company." said the landlord, fumbling with the cordless phone in his hand.

But the man reached over the desk, and seized the landlord by the wrist so hard, the phone fell out of his hand.

"I insist that it be kept a surprise." said the stranger, letting go of the landlord.

"Ow! Jeez, you've got some muscle there, don't you?" groaned the landlord, uncomfortably. "Shoot, I think my arm's gone numb or something. Okay, if you want to drop it off so badly, she lives in room number thirty-two, on the third floor. Now get going, before I sic my dog on you."

The stranger nodded simply, ignoring the landlord's threat, and ascended the stairwell, and went up to the third floor. He stopped outside Room 32, and stood silently in front of the doorway. He scrutinized the hinges, contemplated how hard he should strike the door, when there was a loud speaking voice coming from inside.

"Nah, I don't need you, Flash!" said the voice of Sunset Shimmer. "I've got everything I could possibly need to become Princess of the Fall Formal...again. And just you wait till you see what I have in store for the school this time around. When I win, you're gonna regret breaking up with me!"

There was a moment of silence in the room.

"Oh, I can't really tell you, baby." said Sunset, sinisterly. "But tomorrow night, I'm gonna be making a little errand to personally acquire a little something that will make this year's Fall Formal unforgettable. Bye."

Then the repeated thuds of Sunset's booted feet approached her apartment door, which she unlocked, and opened up. As she did so, she was recapping the first stages of her big plan.

"Okay, first thing to do is--and who the buck--I mean f--" Sunset exclaimed in surprise, when she noticed the strange man standing before her. "Umm....are you a new tenant or something?"

The man said nothing. This angered Sunset deeply.

"Talk to me, you weirdo!" snapped Sunset. "You've got three seconds to say something, or so help me, I'll--"

The man leaned forward with great speed. He extended his left arm, and put his hand on Sunset's head. He stroked his fingers through Sunset Shimmer's red-and-blonde hair as if he were petting her, while blankly looking at her face, which gradually began to snarl angrily.

"Get away from me, you freak!" demanded Sunset, angrily pulling herself back.

She was about to slam her door shut again, but the man suddenly stuck his leg through the doorway and caught it before it could shut. Sunset quailed, and sank against her bed, her fists tightening and eyes opened wide.

"Get out of my room, or I'll beat the tar out of you!" shouted Sunset, who started to reach for something from underneath her bed. "Whatever nasty thing you plan to do to me, you'll regret it!"

"If anyone is going to regret anything around here, it will be you." said the man.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see, Sunset Shimmer." said the man.

Sunset Shimmer brandished a golf club from underneath the bed, and attempted to strike the man in the head. But he caught it with no effort. Sunset quickly stood back up to try and punch the stranger, when the man pushed Sunset onto her bed, and set the box he was holding down on the floor. He approached the girl, and bent over her to gaze into her wide green eyes.

"Go on, big guy." Sunset groaned in defeat. "Do your worst."

"I'm afraid my worst will have to wait...for now." said the man. "What I'm doing right now is putting the pieces into place."

Sunset just looked at him confused and puzzled. Before she could open her mouth to ask again, the man pulled out a syringe with three needles from his jacket pocket, and stuck it into Sunset's navel through her t-shirt, injecting her amber-skinned adolescent body with a triple dose of modified horse tranquilizer. Sunset's teeth began to chatter and her body shuddered uncomfortably.

"Wh--what is-ss t-this?" twitched Sunset.

"Nothing you need to worry about...yet." said the man. "For now, you should go to sleep, my pretty. When you wake up, you won't remember ever meeting me."

Sunset Shimmer felt compelled to obey him, and she calmly shut her eyes and fell asleep on her bed. As she slept, the man opened up the box, and inspected its otherworldly contents to make sure nothing was missing. Quietly, he slipped it deep underneath Sunset's bed, and stood back up to grin wickedly at the resting humanized pony, groping her bright, dormant face.

"So go ahead with your plans." he whispered. "May they succeed or fail. In the end, it won't matter at all."

The man walked outside the room, shutting the door behind him, and walked back down the stairwell to the first floor. He walked outside, preparing to initiate the next phase of his enigmatic plan, and pulled out his Smartphone. He dialed an encrypted number, then texted the following message:

Ms. Crystal Iris Roachanov, or should I say "Supreme Commander Chrysalis", I am an informant with invaluable intel for your organization. It appears that your "buddies", the Diamond Dog Cartel, are up to no good elsewhere, and have set up shop in the town of Canterbury. If you don't know where it is, it is located in Washington State, fifty or so miles to the south-east of Peach Creek, near the American-Canadian border. I advise that you send a reconnaissance team to spy on the area around Canterlot High School, particularly about four nights from now. That's when something big will go down.

You will not be disappointed.

- K.N.

After he sent the text message, he looked back at the apartment, grinning wickedly again.

"The master will be pleased, for certain. For now, I let everything continue as planned."

Then he went into the alleyway beside the apartment building, and disappeared into the darkness.