//------------------------------// // The Wrath of King Nelphyn // Story: Sunset Eclipsed // by EldritchNexus //------------------------------// "What the devil is going on up there?!" said Supreme Commander Chrysalis, looking up at the rooftop. "There seems to be someone else up there, sister." Captain Umbriel deduced. "And I doubt it's another of our men." "I'll go up there." Sergeant Craw said, clearly. The two siblings looked at him. "Sunset Shimmer's my woman." he said, an intense glare in his eyes. "If there's anyone she'll listen to, it'll be me. I'll bring her back here, alive or dead, like I should've done last month." "Don't fail this time." Umbriel told him, holding up his Deagalizer in a threatening manner. "Or else..." "Wait a minute." said Corporal Ghost. "You're the guy that kidnapped Rainbow Dash! I thought you were gunned down weeks ago!" "You'll find I am much harder to kill than your typical mortal." said the man. "This world may not have much in terms of magic, but it will take more than a few pieces of metal to vanquish me." "Who are you?" asked Sunset Shimmer. "I am Nelphyn." said the stranger, turning to Sunset. "I was once the ruler of Saddle Arabia, in Equestria." "Saddle Arabia?" repeated Sunset. "Ha! I get it!" said Corporal Ghost. "It's like--" "Silence, human filth!" snapped Nelphyn. He took off his shades, and opened his eyes. Where his eyeballs should've been were two bright red points of light in dark sockets. The red lights grew bigger and brighter, and each let out a trail of pale red smoke that lifted into the sky. The two lights connected between Nelphyn's eyes, and two beams of fiery red light blasted forth, knocking Ghost over the edge of the roof. "Now perhaps us Equestrians can speak in privacy." said Nelphyn, coldly. "But...but...why are you so interested in me?" asked Sunset Shimmer. "I didn't know the Alicorn Amulet was yours...or anypony's for that matter." "Naive little unicorn." he grumbled, closing his eyes again as he put the shades back on. "But I suppose you have the right to know." He placed a hand on Sunset's right temple. Sunset felt her teeth chatter as images flooded through her subconscious. Sunset Shimmer now found herself in her pony body, in the middle of a scorching hot desert. "This is Saddle Arabia..." said Nelphyn's voice. "Four hundred years ago." Sunset turned around, and saw many tall ponies pulling on ropes. She looked and saw that they were attempting to drag a monolith across the sand. "What are they trying to do?" Sunset asked, hoping the voice would answer back. "What you see is the construction of my empire." said the voice of King Nelphyn. "Your empire? But that would make you--" "Hundreds of years old." said Nelphyn. "But allow me to skip ahead a bit." The desert blurred, and Sunset Shimmer found herself at the great doorway of a palace located in the middle of a grand desert city. All around her were many tall earth ponies. Some of them had markings and tribal ornaments on their bodies. All were bowing at the gateway, which slowly opened. Out came a massive earth pony wearing Egyptian-esque attire. His face was concealed by a black-and-silver headdress with a chrome-plated mask. "Go, my soldiers!" the masked pony shouted with a deep, booming voice. "Go to the ships! Invade Equestria!" "KING NELPHYN, YOUR TYRANNY HAS COME TO AN END!" said the unmistakable voice of Princess Celestia, who was speaking in the Royal Canterlot Voice, a voice Sunset was thankful she never had to hear in real life. The alicorn dropped down from the sky, flanked on both sides by royal pegasus guards. "So, you discovered my plot, have you?" asked King Nelphyn. "However did you learn of it?" "That would be my doing." said a nearby Saddle Arabian. Sunset turned to look at him. He had a copper coat, green eyes, a short red mane and beard with curls. He had a fire-shaped cutie mark, and similarly shaped markings on his face. "Maroon Inferno!" said Nelphyn, furiously. "How dare you!" "Maroon Inferno?" repeated Sunset, curiously. "I have lived under your horrible rule long enough!" said Maroon Inferno. "The rest of you may fight for this tyrant if you wish, but I am defecting to Princess Celestia right here and now." He went to Princess Celestia's side, and bowed to her. "A pity, Maroon." said King Nelphyn. "You could have died as one of my heroes. Your descendants would have remembered you for your greatness. But I see that you would rather die a liar and traitor." "That's enough!" said Princess Celestia. "He made his decision by following his heart. Not unlike you, when you decided to turn your rule of this peaceful land into an iron-fisted dictatorship." "And I would willingly do the same to any other land in this or any other world." said Nelphyn. "And with the power of my Alicorn Amulet, I can make this happen!" He revealed the pendant he was wearing around his neck. It began to radiate with a bright red light. Suddenly, Sunset Shimmer's vision began to blur, and she was back in the human world. King Nelphyn had taken his hand off of Sunset. "No! I refuse to show any more." he said, angrily. "The memories anger me too deeply. But I will give you a brief summary: Princess Celestia overpowered me, used the Elements of Harmony to strip the Alicorn Amulet from my body, and then shot it across the world with her telekinesis." "But it didn't... turn you good?" asked Sunset. "Absolutely not." said Nelphyn. "But it did drive me into hiding. I had to forsake my own civilization, my own empire. I eventually learned about the Crystal Mirror. Since I was an earth pony, and had little to no magical properties to begin with, I had nothing to lose by going to this word. I would bide my time, waiting for my master to give me my next instructions." "So, you're the one that stole those books from the Canterlot library all those years ago?" said Sunset Shimmer. "And I planted them in your apartment, where the Chrysalis Syndicate would find them." said Nelphyn. He put his hand on Sunset again, flooding her mind with the memories of their first encounter, and what happened immediately after. "So that's why I...wait a minute." said Sunset. "You brought the Chrysalis Syndicate here?! You monster!" "Yes, but enough exposition." said Nelphyn. "Now, it is the time that I destroy you." Nelphyn's hand began to glow an infernal red aura. There were suddenly heavy metallic footfalls and the maintenance door was slammed open again. There was a gunshot, and a bullet shot Nelphyn's shades off of his head. "Get...away...from my....woman!" shouted a familiar voice. It was Sergeant Craw. Flanking him were three other Chrysalis Syndicate soldiers. Nelphyn turned to look at them. His eyes still had that baleful light, and red smoke was trailing from them once more. "Your petty lives don't matter to me at all." he said. "If you choose to protect this lesser equine, then go on. But know that I will destroy all of you, regardless." He put the Alicorn Amulet around his neck, and dark clouds started to appear in the sky. Lightning struck the amulet, even as King Nelphyn wore it. It produced a strong flash of light that enveloped Nelphyn's entire body. When the light cleared, he was covered from head to foot in the same Ancient Egyptian-looking attire, headdress, and mask he wore when he was the ruler of Saddle Arabia. But this time, a horn like that of a unicorn protruded from the brow region of the mask. "Time for all you to die!" said Nelphyn, as a layer of armor of a similar style began to cover his body. He banged his ironclad fists together, producing a powerful shockwave to knocked Sunset and the four soldiers over. He then sprouted a pair of black-feathered bird-like wings from his back, which then became covered in a similar metal substance. He grabbed the wings, and pulled them out, revealing them to be shield-like objects, which absorbed whatever bullets the soldiers fired at him. "Sunset, I'm going to get you out of here." said Sgt. Craw, who had gotten back up and ran towards Sunset while she lay on the ground. Sunset just looked at him, wide-eyed and afraid. "I...I don't trust you at all." said Sunset. "You probably want to kill me as much as he does!" Craw took his helmet off. "I wouldn't blame you for believing that." said Craw. "Except that I'd be giving you a few more minutes to live." He helped Sunset up, and put an armored hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to get you out of here. Back to Equestria." "Why?" "I don't have time to explain. Let's go!" He then quickly led her through the maintenance door while King Nelphyn was busy fighting off the other soldiers. "Ladies and gentlemen, there's something going on on the rooftop of the school." said Pressure Point, on the TV. "It seems a massive armored figure is now attacking both Sunset Shimmer and the Chrysalis Syndicate." "He better not hurt Sunset!" yelled Frosty. "That girl still needs to pay me last month's rent!" Sunset and Craw ran through the dark hallways of the school. "Don't worry, I don't think he'll find us here." said Craw. "Can't I?!" Nelphyn's voice rang throughout the building. "Maybe not. But there is something that can. Come to me, my loyal servants! Let them know the might of the Maul-Ras!" "What's that supposed to mean?!" Radiant Dawn slowly got back up, and heard an ominous noise, like Shepard's Tone. He looked around and saw a dark centipede-like mass coming down the stairs, spiraling in mid-air. He dove aside just in time, as it spun through the Crystal Mirror, weaving around the cables as it went. "What the heck was that?!" he said. The creature came out through the other side of the portal, and broke into three sections. Each section unfolded into skeletal creatures that looked like a mixture of a velociraptor and a scorpion. One of them leapt through the air and through the doorway that led through the front door. The other two scaled the walls and broke through windows. "You know, sister, I'm thinking that keeping the portal open wasn't a good idea." said Captain Umbriel, taking his helmet off. "I have a feeling the police will be blaming us for this." "Right." said Supreme Commander Chrysalis. "I want Proxy Squad to be sent in there to get rid of those things. Once their bodies--and whatever made Sunset Shimmer be able to use magic--are secured, I want those cables gone!" The five (Aggro was nowhere to be seen) members of Proxy Squad loaded their firearms, and charged inside. Sunset and Craw ran around, looking for the stairs to the second floor. After a while, they stopped to catch their breath and recall the layout of the building. "Craw, you've been here for two months, and you can't even find it?!" said Sunset, frantically. "You've been here for more than two years, and you can't?!" said Craw. "For your information, I do know where it is." said Sunset. "But I'm not going to tell you." Sunset glared at him intensely. "I loved you, Craw." she growled. "I loved you so much!...But now I don't know if I could trust you at all." "I'm aware of what I did, and I don't like it any more than you do." Craw told her, flatly. "To think I wanted to have a...committed relationship with you!" Sunset scoffed, her face reddening with anger. "To move in together, to have kids! But not anymore. I don't care if the entire Syndicate's going to be waiting for me out there. I'm going alone from here, as I have been ever since I lived in this cruel world." Sunset began to walk away, but Craw walked up to her. "Sunset, ever wanted to use a gun?" He took a spare revolver out from his belt and handed it to Sunset. "Why?" she said, nervously. "Because I have a feeling you're gonna need it for whatever you face next." said Craw. "No...just no." said Sunset, giving the gun back with her tongue out in disgust. "I hate guns." "Your funeral, baby." said Craw, coolly. "Don't worry, though. I'll see to it that you get out of here alive." He gave her a smile, which caused Sunset to involuntarily blush, her anger subsided. Then they heard a noise, and a classroom door was knocked off its hinges. A Maul-Ra charged into the hallway, making fluid-like motions as it moved its head to face the two. Sunset Shimmer cried out in fear and hid behind Craw, who was similarly shocked at the monstrosity that he saw. However, the fact that Sunset was defenseless and afraid had prompted him to take action. "This is going to be interesting." he said, aiming both of his pistols. King Nelphyn effortlessly threw the three Chrysalis Syndicate soldiers over the edge of the roof. "None can escape my wrath! No exceptions!" his voice echoed around the school. Corporal Ghost climbed back to the top of the roof. and approached the armored humanoid. His armor was battered, and helmet broken apart. "You...really...shouldn't have done that." said Ghost. "I don't care who or what you're supposed to be, Mr. Saddle Arabian, but nobody does that to me!" "Worthless human, if you wish for me to kill you, then stay still." said King Nelphyn, raising a glowing hand. Then there was a sound of helicopter blades spinning in the distance: Black Six had returned. "Well, that's my cue to get the heck outta here!" said Ghost, who turned and bolted for the door. "Engaging target, supreme commander!" said its pilot. The Comanche helicopter fired its machine guns and four Sidewinder missiles at King Nelphyn. The bullets, once again, were absorbed by an invisible barrier. The missiles, however, were stopped telekinetically and detonated in mid-air dangerously close to the helicopter. "Pulling back, pulling back--" said the pilot. Then the helicopter was caught in a red aura, then telekinetically crushed, and shot into the distant mountains, where it exploded into a fiery mess. Despite this, a dark speck was just barely visibly, dropping slowly from the sky, indicating the pilot managed to eject in a parachute. "Worthless fools." Nelphyn said, quietly.