//------------------------------// // Aftermath // Story: Sunset Eclipsed // by EldritchNexus //------------------------------// Professor Gordon Sampson was typing an important thesis on his laptop at Daystar Estate, located near the city of Vancouver in Canada. He was conducting research on what his daughter Susan Shelby called him about a couple weeks earlier: a doppelganger of herself from an alternate world that was living in Washington State. "Very interesting..." he muttered to himself, at least five times, supplemented once in a while by: "How unusual! How unheard of!" "Honey, do you ever take a break?" said his wife, Sarah Browne, who was laying on the sofa beside him in a greasy green bathrobe and black slippers. "Sorry, sweetie." Gordon smiled in a childlike manner. "Even I tend to forget the time for someone to sleep." "That's just it, I don't want to go to sleep yet." said Sarah. "I'm bored. Can't you do that research stuff later? Why don't we go out and have some fun for a change?" "I promised you that we'd go walk by the harbor tomorrow, didn't I?" asked Gordon. "That's what you said three days ago." said Sarah, yawning. "Well, since you're keeping yourself occupied, I'm going to get a little target practice in. If you need me, I'll be on the balcony." Sarah got off the couch and removed her bathrobe, revealing a dark greenish-gray tank top and dark brown shorts. She took off her slippers and put on a pair of hiking boots that were laying beside the ottoman. She also picked up a SPAS-12 shotgun that was laying atop the ottoman, and loaded it with ammunition as she went out on the balcony just outside the living room. She had a clear view of the countryside from there, which helped relax her. On the balcony was a catapult holding large spheres that would be launched for target practice. Connected to the catapult was a computer with a sensor that responded to voice command. Sarah put on a pair of mirrored sunglasses that were laying on a table next to the computer, and switched off the safety mechanism on her firearm. "Pull!" she shouted. The computer beeped in response, and the catapult launched a sphere ten yards into the air, which Sarah blasted with her shotgun. She loaded another sphere into the catapult, and repeated the sequence many times. As she did so, Gordon continued typing on his laptop, undisturbed by the sound of his wife's weapon. It wasn't until his laptop started to lag that he decided to save the document, close it, and reset the computer. While he was waiting for it to boot up again, he decided to turn the TV on and watch the news. At that moment, his smartphone rang, and he answered: "Hello, you've reached a private number, reserved for--" he said, before being interrupted. "Dad, it's Susan!" said the voice of Susan Shelby. "What's the matter, Susie?" Gordon asked his daughter. "Are you watching the news right now?" asked Susan. "I think you might wanna tune in right now." "Got it." said Gordon, turning to look out the door at his wife, who was in the middle of reloading her shotgun. "Honey, I'm gonna need you to take a break on that!" He turned the channel until he hit GNN (Global News Network), and looked on in awe and surprise. "This is Hector Ramirez here, giving you live feed on the aftermath of a very nasty exchange in front of Canterlot High School, in the suburb of Canterbury, Washington, near Canterlot City. As we can see here, parts of the school have been reduced to rubble, perhaps the most damage it 's sustained since over two months ago during an unspecified freak accident. Over two dozen are confirmed dead or wounded, and many people are being taken to either the hospital or the local police station for questioning." Riot police and emergency workers from Canterlot City are being sent to clean up the aftermath, but nobody can say for certain who is responsible or where they went, but we have word that the leaders of the organization known as the Chrysalis Syndicate are scheduled for questioning in the federal court, effective next week." Gordon Sampson just kept staring blankly at the TV, as his wife came back in. Not even Susan's voice on the phone could break his concentration. "Dad? Are you seeing it?" asked Susan. "Dad? Dad?!" "And In other news, Sombra Industries has denied rumors of them selling weapons to terrorists, but has been obligated to terminate its production of weapons following a successful lawsuit." said the voice of another reporter. "As of now, all arms production will be managed by Sombra's competitor, Summerset Enterprises. We're going over to--" "Wow." said Gordon Sampson. "I just don't believe it." He picked up the phone again. "Susan, I just watched it." he said. "Are you safe?" "Yes!" said Susan. "Richard and I watched it in Junction. And I got a call from someone from that area that said that we should leave town for a while. Things sound like they're gonna get complicated here for a while, and we'll feel safe if we leave for a bit." "Good." sighed Gordon. "Thank the lord." "You and mom won't mind if we come up for a while, will ya?" asked Richard Dawson, also on the other line. "Of course not!" said Gordon. Sunset Shimmer was in the throne room, standing before Princesses Celestia and Luna, the former having woken up only a few minutes before. She told the princesses about how the Chrysalis Syndicate crossed through the portal, abducted her, and tried to kill her. It was when she mentioned the Alicorn Amulet and King Nelphyn that Princess Celestia looked seriously disturbed. "Ah, King Nelphyn." said Princess Celestia. "Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time...a long time." "So you actually know...well, remember...who this guy is?" asked Sunset. "Because I for sure never heard of him before...at least, not until he tried to kill me." "King Nelphyn was the strongest earth pony that ever lived. He was truly a force to be reckoned with. He took over Saddle Arabia with ease, and was one of the most dangerous threats to Equestria I've faced since Nightmare Moon." "So why'd he turn evil?" asked Sunset. "He wanted to acquire the magical abilities of a unicorn, but couldn't." said Celestia. "He was jealous of this, and wanted to harness the magic himself." "I suppose that's where the Alicorn Amulet comes in, right?" asked Sunset. "Correct." said Princess Celestia. "I don't know where he got it from, but its power made him truly terrible. They say he possessed it for so long, that it made him more than an earth pony. He had power that could rival even the highest-level unicorns in Equestria. He had the Alicorn Amulet for so long, that he somehow managed to master it without succumbing to its corruption." "Like what happened with my friend Trixie." said Sunset. "Precisely, Sunset. "And this mastery of the Amulet prolonged his lifespan, making him nigh-immortal, and gave him access to magic that were previously inconceivable to ponykind. At that time, the only magic considered more powerful than the full potential of the Alicorn Amulet were the Elements of Harmony. They were one of the only things capable of removing the Alicorn Amulet from whoever it deemed to be its true master." "So that's why Nelphyn was able to remove it from me so easily when I wore it." said Sunset. "Since he wore the Alicorn Amulet in the past, he must have been able to cancel out the Amulet's magical lock." "Sunset, do you know where he is now?" asked Princess Luna. "I don't know." said Sunset Shimmer. "He said something about going back to Saddle Arabia." "Did he say what he would do once he went there?" asked Luna. "I don't really recall." Sunset shook her head. "Ah...it's so late in the night, which has long enough for you as it is." said Celestia. "You can put your worries aside until tomorrow. In the morning, I shall send messengers to Saddle Arabia to see if King Nelphyn has been up to anything. In the meantime, good night." "Good night, Princess Celestia." said Sunset, letting out a long, well-deserved yawn. Sunset left the throne room, and stopped to speak to her brother. "Red, it's been one heck of a month, hasn't it?" asked Sunset Shimmer. "It sure has, Sunny." said Radiant Dawn. "You know, I wonder if I was right to come back to Equestria as early as I did." said Sunset. "What d'ya mean, sister?" asked Radiant. "Well, it's just that I've done a lot of things in the human world. Stuff that I was hoping to make up for before I came back. But I never could between my boyfriend and the Chrysalis Syndicate hunting me, and...well, I just seem like a redundancy." "'Redundancy'?" repeated Radiant. "What're you talking about?" "Well, I'm just saying." said Sunset. "It seems like a lot of the stuff I did this month seemed like stuff that could've been resolved without me. Fillydelphia, our mom coming back..." "Yeah, but you did a lot of great stuff, too!" said Radiant, frowning. "You gave a lot of us a new purpose in life by being here. Trixie, Lightning Dust, me! If it weren't for you showing up when you did, I'd still be living at Daystar, Trixie would be wandering the roads in vain, and Lightning Dust...well, would've just been Lightning Dust." Sunset thought about it for a moment, then smiled. "You know, you're right." said Sunset. "I mean, what good would I have done if I stayed in the human world, anyway? Here, I have so much potential to be what I want to be. In Canterbury, I probably would've been stuck helping those girls at Canterlot High with some boring talent show or whatever." The two siblings chuckled. "I love ya, Sunny." Radiant smiled. "Love ya too, Red." Sunset smiled in return. The two hugged each other. Then Sunset Shimmer continued down the hall. She decided to take a walk through the garden to get a breath of fresh air. It was mostly tranquil, the only sound breaking the silence were the chirping of birds... And a rustling in the tree. Sunset gasped and looked up. Her horn started glowing, illuminating the branches. There on the lowest branch, was a bat. A small, straw-colored bat with reddish-brown tufts of hair on its head, and bright greenish-brown eyes on its fox-like face. It was climbing along the branch and reaching for a red apple hanging from it. It started grappling with it. Then just as the bat was about to sink its teeth into the apple, the apple broke off from the branch, taking the bat with it. The bat gave out a terrified squeal as it fell. Thinking quickly, Sunset dove forward to catch the bat on her back, at the cost of the apple getting impaled on her horn. "You okay, little fella?" Sunset told it as she levitated the apple off of her head. "Are you hurt?" The bat squeaked graciously, and started hugging its savior's mane just as a guard entered the garden. "Oh, come on!" complained the guard audibly. "Another one? I thought we got rid of them all days ago!" Sunset turned to look at the guard, the bat squealing as it clung to the back of Sunset's head. "What's the problem?" "Our garden's been infested with bats for the past few days." said the guard. "Seems like we missed one. Miss Shimmer, if that pest is giving you any trouble, I can get rid of it for you." The bat squealed anxiously into Sunset's ear. Sunset levitated it off her head. She took a moment to look at it, its brown eyes staring longingly into her bluish-green eyes, its lower lip quivering. Sunset looked at it, and couldn't help but be reminded of how she was when the Elements of Harmony blasted away her inner evil: frail, shameful, and repentant. And the bat was so young, too. Practically a baby, probably all on its own. "No thanks, guard." said Sunset. "This bat's gonna be with me from now on." "Are you sure, ma'am?" asked the guard. "I'm sure." said Sunset. "It's just a baby. It probably doesn't even know how to fend for itself. I'm gonna look after it. Besides, it looks like a fruit bat, so it shouldn't be harmful anyway. A girl one, too." "You can tell?" "Yeah, I've done my share of looking after animals not too long ago. And I think now's as good a time as any to have a pet." The fruit bat hugged Sunset's neck lovingly. "Wanna come live with me?" Sunset asked the bat. The fruit bat nodded. "Then welcome to the family...Bathilda." Sunset said. Sigma and Canopy, who had overheard the earlier conversation, while both disguised as night guards, left the palace. Once they were out of sight of any guards, they shed their equine disguises. "Well, that was a waste of our time." said Canopy. "Ma'b'." said Sigma. "But oi sho' th'nk 'at Lo'd Umbriel will wann' he'r 'bout wot we jus' he'rd." "He sure will." said Canopy. Remix flew up to them. "Where've you been?!" said Canopy. "We haven't heard you in almost a week!" Remix held up a trophy in his holey front legs. On it were silver letters that said: #1 Mixmaster in Equestria DJ REMIX ACAPELLA "I was nominated for three awards, but managed to get one." Remix told them, with his raspy, guttural voice. "Well, what'dya know." said Sigma. "Least somebody's hap'peh we cam' he'e!" He started to laugh, and so did Remix. Canopy looked at the two, a bored expression on her face. She rolled her pupil-less eyes, dismissing this buffoonish behavior. Ultimately though, even she couldn't help but join in for a good laugh. Which she did.