Sunset Rekindled

by EldritchNexus


The Call of the Gods, Part 2

Back at the colony of New Mustangia, the Summerstar was finally restored to pristine condition and was fit to be airborne. Nose Nip, Frosty, Sunflower, and Maud Pie were having lunch in the Summerstar's lounge, when Hotrod Sterling entered the room.

"Howdy, compadres!" he said to them, heartily. "Mind if I drop by for a spell?"

"Go ahead, sir." said Nose Nip.

Sterling joined the four for lunch, eating even more than the others.

"So, now that---I say!--now that this airship of yours is fixed, what're y'all gonna be doin' next?" Sterling asked, his mouth full.

"Finding this Bahaggara place, and then picking up the rest of our friends." Nose Nip answered.

"Of course, o' course!" Hotrod Sterling chuckled. "Except, well...the strangest thing just came up earlier today. A work-buddy of mine from back West just came into my office, and would y'all believe what he went and told me?"

"What?" asked Maud Pie.

"He told me--I say!--he told me...that some rich fella in Las Pegasus had his blimp or whatever it is stolen, and that this blimp was supposed to be headed our East our way! Now ain't that the darndest thing? And apparently, some of my buddies got stuff stolen from 'em, too?"

"Who's them?" asked Nose Nip, nervously.

"Yeah, who?" added Frosty, equally nervous.

"Well, the folks that swiped the rich guy's blimp!" said Sterling.

"And would ya happen ta know who they would be?" asked Frosty.


"Well, I sure don't know that part." Sterling chuckled, heartily. "But y'all wouldn't mind too much if I asked ya: Just where did y'all get yer hooves on this fancy-pants airship we all are seated in?"

"Umm...Sunset Shimmer won it." said Nose Nip.

"Oh, ya must mean that fine young lady unicorn from earlier?" said Sterling. "And where did, uh...she get it from again?"

"No idea." lied Nose Nip. "We don't ask questions, we just fly her zeppelin around."

"Well, uh...look." said Sterling. "Y'all seem like a decent buncha fillies and gentlecolts, so here's a proposition I'd like to make."

He took a small bag of coins out of a pocket in his bright yellow waistcoat, and placed it on the table.

"How would y'all like to do a li'l volunteer work for me?" he asked.

"Define 'volunteer work'." said Frosty, cautiously.

"Well, I was wonderin', since y'all are headed to Bahaggara anyways, maybe y'all could transport some V.I.P.s there in this here airship?"

"What kind of V.I.P.s?" asked Nose Nip.

"Well, you sure ask a lotta questions, don'tcha?" commented Sterling. "Well, uh..."

"The Minister would be referring to me." said a female voice that spoke with a British accent.

A tall Saddle Arabian mare in orange-and-gold attire entered the lounge. She had a magenta coat, clear blue eyes, and a long curly black mane.

"This here's my right-hand mare." said Sterling. "A fine desert flower by the name of Mirage. Councilwoman Mauve Mirage to be exact."

"How's it going?" Nose Nip asked Mirage, casually.

"Yeah! welcome aboard, gorgeous!" Frosty said, before being nudged by Sunflower.

Mauve Mirage just looked at the four with a cold, skeptical gaze. She had a look on her face that basically said "Really? This is what I'm getting?".

"Mauve here's feelin' a bit--shall we say?--homesick." explained Sterling. "So she elected to do a goodwill mission to Bahaggara. Ya know, to keep things steady between them and our colony."

"Yeah, because she seems like a very friendly pony." Sunflower snarked under her breath.

"If y'all agree to this, I'll pay each of ya half your weight in good ol' cash." said Sterling.

"Well, I don't see why not." said Nose Nip.

"Well, then it looks like you get to do some flyin', Mirage!" Sterling grinned at Mirage, before turning to the others. "?By the way, y'all wouldn't mind to much if she were to bring her helpers along, would ya?"


By the time the Summerstar was in the air, there were at least a dozen extra passengers than what was originally promised. All of them were stallions from both Equestria and Saddle Arabia, and they each seemed to have brought along at least one briefcase carrying unknown content. Mirage herself sat still on the bridge's floor as Nose Nip and Frosty flew it through the air. She was now wearing a long jeweled coif that extended down her neck and along the sides of her head, completely hiding her mane. Her eyes were closed and she appeared to be meditating. After a while, she clasped her front hooves together and seemed to start praying.

Frosty took a moment to step away from the controls, and approached Mirage.

"So, uh..." said Frosty. "You hungry at all? Cuz we have food in the--"

"Don't disturb me." Mirage said quietly without opening her eyes. "I must keep my focus inwards."

"What for?" asked Frosty.

"I am attempting to renew the spiritual bond I have with my god." said Mirage. "I don't expect you to understand, so leave me be."

"Actually, I do understand." said Frosty. "I'm a kinda religious pony myself. Jehooveh all da way, baby! Though I also worship Princess Celestia and all them alicorns all the same!"

"Really." said Mauve Mirage, flatly. "I never would've guessed".

"And uh, what god do you worship?" asked Frosty, curiously.

"For the sake of personal security...I would rather avoid telling you." said Mauve Mirage. "Now let me meditate in peace. I would recommend you do the same or go away."

"Alright, alright." Frosty said, leaving while grumbling under his breath. "Didn't wanna stick around and chat with ya anyway."


"Sunset Shimmer and her companions pose no threat me, master." said King Nelphyn. "How many times must I assure you?"

"I have put that theory to the test, Nelphyn." said the voice of Saegmuntitus.

"Oh, really?" asked Nelphyn. "Because I would have simply sent the Maul-Ras after them if you wanted me to..."

"You may have more problems than you would believe if the other pieces I put into place do not halt their path." said Saegmuntitus, warningly. "And do not mistake any success they have for any incompetence on my behalf. What I have in store for them is absolute minimal effort. A test, if you will."

"Of course, master." said Nelphyn, casually. "I would be a fool to doubt your power!"


Sunset Shimmer and her friends and family were proceeding down the streets to the outer gate in Bahaggara's marketplace. They mostly kept to themselves, except for when they stopped to get supplies. Unfortunately for them, Equestria's currency wasn't as valuable in Saddle Arabia, so they weren't able to get as many provisions as they would have wanted..or needed, for that matter. It was after leaving the third store they visited, a bookstore, that some of them started to get a strange feeling.

"Hey, Sunset..." said Teddy. "I think somepony's watching us."

"Well, we are in the middle of a crowded street, Ted." said Lightning Dust. "Somepony's bound to be looking at us."

"No, I mean I think that we're being spied on." said Teddy. "You know, followed."

Sunset Shimmer stopped and turned around. The others followed suit. They were all looking back the way they came, but everyone they saw seemed to be going about their own business without even taking a passing glance at them. They even looked up at the rooftops and sky to see if anyone was looking down on them, but again there wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

"Well, thanks for scaring us there, Teddy." scolded Trixie, turning around. "I though that--"

She gasped.

"We might be in trouble!" she finished her sentence in a panicked tone.

Sunset Shimmer and the others quickly turned around again, and saw at least thirty equines standing in a crowd in front of them. They were all wearing long brown robes and masks that looked like they were fashioned from ox skulls. Felix Summerset immediately shifted to a defensive pose, as if bracing himself for attack.

"What the heck?" asked Sunset, surprised. "Where'd they all come from? They weren't here a minute ago!"

"Miss Sunset, those are the Acolytes of Jarukia!" Felix said, alarmed.

"And on behalf of our lord, we have come for one who is the spawn of infidels!" said one of the acolytes, approaching Sunset's group. "The one known as Radiant Dawn must come to our idol!"

"And what if he refused, huh?" asked Radiant, stepping forward to protect the others.

The acolytes brandished bladed tools and weapons from the front sleeves of their robes and held them up simulatenously.

"Refusal is out of the question." said the first acolyte. "Radiant Dawn shall come with us willingly, or by force!"

Sunset and the others entered their own fighting stances, with the unicorns' horns glowing, Teddy's front hooves raised up, and Lightning Dust's wings spread-out.

"You will not hurt my son!" Scarlet Blaze said, approaching the acolytes and Radiant. "I'm a priestess of Jehooveh, and I forbid--"

Suddenly, two of the acolytes brandished long black whips from belts underneath their robes. They swung forwards, coiling around Scarlet's front legs, and then forcing her off her hooves. She fell lopsided to the ground with a loud painful grunt.

"Mom!" Radiant shouted involuntarily. "Are you--"

Then three more acolytes brandished similar whips and entrapped his legs in their cords, pulling him towards them and forcing him to the ground as well.

"Radiant!" Scarlet shouted angrily.

She furiously blasted clusters of orange magical energy from her horn into the crowd of acolytes, who were already binding Radiant. As Scarlet blasted several acolytes away, the others all joined in at once. In less than six seconds, the whole street was engulfed in combat. Bodies were thrown around and spells were evaded or deflected, causing projectiles to be bounced into bystanders and buildings in every direction. Now the pedestrians were joining in and the fight became a full-blown riot.

This just made it even harder for Sunset and the others to focus on the acolytes, since there were now aggressive citizens attacking them, the acolytes, and even each other ever way she looked.

"Halt!" shouted a voice of a guard, who came charging into the mob, specifically towards Scarlet Blaze.

Sunset thought at first the guard was going to arrest Scarlet, but to her shock, the guard instead stopped a couple paces from Scarlet before brandishing a halberd and proceeding to swing it at Scarlet. Fortunately, Scarlet was able to dodge the first blow before it could hit her, Sunset blasted the guard away with her own magic before he could try swinging his weapon a second time.

"Mom, are you okay?!" Sunset ran up to her mother, yelling over the loud sounds of battle around them.

"Sunset, watch out!" Scarlet gasped.

Sunset turned around, as three more halberd-carrying guards ran towards her, each shouting "Halt! Halt! Halt!"

They all swung their weapons at her, but she was able to teleport away from just before they even touched the fabric of her cloak. She re-appeared in the doorway of a nearby shop to watch the battle unfold before her eyes: There were at least a hundred guards charging towards the rioters from both ends and every intersection of the street, their weapons drawn and all shouting "Halt!" ad nauseum Whenever a guard was within reach of one of the rioters, that was when they swung their weapons to maim or even kill their chosen target.

Sunset panicked and teleported around the battlefield, shouted as much as she could to her friends and family to scatter and retreat. Unfortuantely, it was too loud for her words to be audible, as they were drowned out by the sounds of clashing weapons and screams of agony. But it wasn't long before the others apparently got the idea to escape, and all broke free of the riot, which was getting bloodier and bloodier with every passing minute. But instead of escaping as a single group, they all scattered every which way was most convenient for them. Sunset noticed this, and produced one last spell: a massive blinding flash of light that disoriented and even demoralized most of the combatants. Most of the fighters fled away screaming, trampling over each other. Sunset was able to teleport away just in time before she could be crushed under a frightened rioter's hooves.

For the next five minutes, Sunset and the others were scattered throughout the marketplace, each being chased by a group of guards that were just as repetitive in their vocabulary as the guards that were attacking the rioters. It took such tricky navigating and lucky turns, but Sunset and the others were able to get to the outer gate, which--to their surprise--had already been smashed open, presumably by fleeing acolytes.

They knocked out every guard that tried to stop them, and galloped madly out of the outer gate and into the desert. They didn't stop until they were all as far away from the city as they hooves could take them. They all stopped in the shadow of a tall sand-dune and took a moment to catch their breath.

"Is...is everypony okay?!" Sunset said, frantically.

She looked around, and couldn't help but notice something horrifying:

"Where's Radiant?!" she gasped, when she couldn't see her brother anywhere.

"I don't know!" said Felix, still panting. "I lost sight of him when the riot began."

"Same for me." said Scarlet. "I hope we didn't leave him back in Bahaggara."

"No." said Felix. "More likely, the acolytes have already taken him to the shrine of Jarukia." deduced Felix. "Either way, we don't have much time if we plan to save him."

"Well, once we all get our horse-shoes back on, we should pay that shrine a special visit." said Sunset, her horn starting to glow wildly. "A very special visit."