Sunset Eclipsed

by EldritchNexus

Craw Unleashed, Part Two

"C'mon, let us get out of here!" said Lightning Dust to the two Changeling drones guarding her and Scarlet Blaze's cell. "Just for a couple minutes! I haven't been able to stretch my wings since I first wound up here!"

"Keep quiet, pegasus!" snapped one of the jailors. "Neither of you are getting out of there until the general sends someone to collect and/or interview you."

"Can I at least get a bathroom break or something?" asked Lightning Dust.

"We'll send a basin in there in a couple of minutes." said the other jailor.

"What, so I can take a whiz in front of you guys?" groaned Lightning Dust in disgust. "I don't think so."

"Then sit down in the corner, and shut your trap!" said the first jailor. "I'd rather not spend all afternoon arguing with the convicts."

"When I get out of here, I am so whooping your flanks." Lightning Dust narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, don't care!" said the second jailor, clearly uninterested. "Why can't you be quiet like your unicorn friend in there? Say, what is she doing, anyhow?"

"I dunno." mumbled Lightning Dust, shrugging her wings.

"Well, I'm gonna go in there and check..." the Changeling said, whose hole-ridden hoof was now on the cell door.

"No, Chitin." said the first jailor, pushing him away. "We're not supposed to open those cells for anything! At least, not until the general sends a detainment team over."

"Oh, right." sighed Chitin. "Almost walked right into that one...literally! Nice try, you ponies!"

And then he sheepishly turned his back to the door, and whistled a song. Then he paused.

"Shoot, I just realized that neither of us has checked on the newest prisoner yet!" he said. "Node, could you stay here while I check on that big red unicorn down the corridor?"

"That's an affirmative, Chitin." said Node.

Then Chitin flew down the hallway, and landed in front of the cell door near the end, where Radiant Dawn was laying in a depressed slump.

"Oh, what's the problem with you, big boy?" asked the Changeling. "I know that our cells aren't the comfiest, but there's no need to start crying about it!"

"It's not the cell." scoffed Radiant. "I'm just in a lot of pain right now."

"Oh, really?" asked Chitin. "Well, tough luck for you. Our medics are out sick for the day, so you'll have to recover the old-fashioned way: Staying still and preferably keeping quiet."

"Is this how you Changelings treat all your prisoners?" questioned Radiant.

"Nah, we usually just put them in stasis pods until our leaders come to interrogate and/or drain them." said Chitin. "At least, that's Queen Chrysalis's favorite method."

"You're one of Chrysalis's soldiers, huh?"

"That's right." said Chitin. "Just got transferred over from her lair three days ago. Lord Umbriel apparently made a few requests here and there for some exchanges to be made every so often between the queen's soldiers and his own. Of course, I haven't actually met Umbriel himself since I came here, but still..."

"Interesting. Have you met him at all?" asked Radiant Dawn, curiously.

"Only a couple years ago, when he was still Prince Embryo. Really interesting, the Changeling Royal Family is--Wait a minute, you're not trying to distract me, are you?"

"No, of course I'm not. I just figured that talking about stuff would keep this debilitating, crazy-intense pain off my mind."

"Well, you'll have to find some other way to entertain yourself now." said Chitin. "Because chatting-time is over. I only came here to make sure you didn't try busting out of here like your sister."

"Where's my sister now?" Radiant tilted his head up.

"The general caught her trying to escape. She's being interrogated as we speak."

Then Radiant Dawn toppled over in shock, and started groaning in pain.

"Ow! Ow!" he found himself seizing up. "Please, help!"

"Oh, quit your belly-aching! It ain't that bad!" said Chitin. "Sunset's doing fine in there!"

"No, it's my pain!" shouted Radiant. "It's too much for me! I desperately need medical attention!"

"Only if you don't shut your mouth, unicorn!" said the jailor. "Really, do you think I'm going to fall for that trick anytime soon?"

Suddenly, Radiant stopped shaking and limply collapsed to the floor, where he remained silent and motionless. Chitin took a moment to blink his pupil-less eyes.

"Wow, I guess he wasn't kidding!" he commented, jokingly. "I mean geez, is there a doctor in the house?"

"There is now!" said a voice beside him.

Chitin took a look to his left, and saw at least four ponies standing in front of him, all outside of the cells. Before he could react, he was knocked back against the wall almost immediately. Radiant Dawn cautiously got back up in his cell.

"What in Tartarus is going on?" he thought aloud.

"Normally, doctors don't make house calls anymore." said a familiar voice.

Then a keyring enveloped in a gleaming aura was levitated to the keyhole of the door, which then opened up. And then Pressure Point rushed to the opened doorway with a small grin on his face.

"But in this case, I think an exception had to be made." he finished, casually.

"I never though I'd be so happy to see ya, Pressure." said Radiant.

"Same here, Radiant." said Pressure Point. "Now let's get the heck outta here!"

"Not yet." said Radiant. "Sunny's in this place somewhere. This will be pretty dangerous. Tell me you didn't come here alone."

"Nope." said Frosty, who came around the corner of the doorway. "We're here to help, buddy."

Nose Nip rushed up to the incapacitated jailor.

"Where do you keep the other prisoners?" demanded the earth pony.

"Look all around you, pony." said Chitin. "There's prisoners throughout this part of the stronghold."

"Then let's not waste any time!" said Trixie. "Let's start busting everypony out!"

After Radiant and Nose Nip tossed Chitin into Radiant's cell, the five ponies proceeded down the corridor, smashing open every cell door they passed by.

Meanwhile, Node was curious about the loud noises that were becoming more and more audible. Eventually, he became so distracted that he couldn't help but turn away from the cell he was guarding. Without warning, the cell door behind him was blasted open by a kinetic blast. Scarlet Blaze and Lightning Dust rushed out of their door, and looked around in case any other guards were around to obstruct their escape.

"Time to kick some Changeling butt!" shouted Lightning Dust, excitedly.

"And let's start with that battle-scarred general!" said Scarlet. "I've been wanting to re-arrange his face the moment I laid eyes on it!"

"Then count me in, ma'am!" said Lightning.

Then the two mares charged down the left end of the corridor, knocking aside more Changeling drones and breaking opening cell doors as they passed by.

---

"So, are you absolutely sure that you don't want to help me overthrow the Changeling Royal Family?" asked King Craw.

"Positive." said Sunset Shimmer, flatly.

"Well, that's a shame, my little pony." said Craw, rolling his red eyes. "Because I think you and I would make a great team."

"Hmm...maybe if we met before Twilight Sparkle defeated me and rid me of my inner evil..." said Sunset. "But it's just not in me anymore to try and pull a coup on the ruler of a powerful civilization."

"Not even against tyrants?" asked King Craw.

"Not even for tyrants." countered Sunset Shimmer.

"But surely, you would've wanted to take revenge against Twilight Sparkle for ruining your life?" suggested King Craw. "I can certainly help you get back at her. Seeing as she has taken away your destiny, just as my own destiny was taken from me by that no-good alien, General Gri--"

Then there was a frantic knocking on the door.

"General, there's a mass jail-break in the dungeons!" shouted the voice of Canopy. "And I've just found Sigma and several other drones stuck together against the walls just inside the secret entrance; We've been infiltrated and compromised!"

"Then scramble our security forces to quarantine the prison...permanently!" said Craw. "If we can't get the inmates back to their cells, we can at least make sure that they never see the light of day! And while you do that, evacuate the complex! Get all Changelings out of here, and send them to the nearest outposts! I will be joining you shortly!"

"Yes, sir!" said Canopy.

"Well, it looks like I don't have too many options now." King Craw told Sunset, once he was sure that Canopy had flown out of earshot. "Since I don't expect we'll be meeting each other again, I don't think I'll be able to save this for a more...poignant time."

Then he bent his head down, and licked Sunset Shimmer on the side of her muzzle. Sunset couldn't help but blush.

"I do believe that my counterpart might have owed you that at some point." smiled Craw.

Sunset Shimmer found herself daydreaming as she looked back up at King Craw's face. She imagined herself facing the human Craw. She couldn't but moan happily as she thought about him. But then she realized what King Craw said earlier, and shrugged off her romantic fantasies.

"Wait a minute, what did you mean when you said 'quarantine the prison permanently'?!" she gasped in surprise.

"I mean that the guards are going to collapse the tunnels to the lower levels, cutting the prison area off from the rest of Umbriel's lair." explained King Craw, coldly. "And when the drones are done, I'm going to do the same to the upper levels. I will see to it that nothing, pony or Changeling, stops me from exacting my revenge on Chrysalis and Umbriel!"

"That's just crazy, Craw!" gasped Sunset. "You're bluffing! Please tell me you're bluffing!"

"Pretty soon, it won't matter if I am or not." said Craw. "Because I'm going to be leaving this place very soon, and I will be leaving enough dead ponies to fill Appleoosa and Ponyville combined on your hands!"

Then Sunset Shimmer snapped; her horn began glowing wildly, and a powerful blast of magic erupted from her horn. Craw managed to absorb the blast with his own magical energy, albeit backing involuntarily against the door, which was knocked back off its hinges under his weight.

"You're not killing anypony today, Craw!" shouted Sunset, furiously. "And my mom and brother are still down in those dungeons, you monster! So I'm gonna see to it that you are stopped, even if it kills me! Do you understand?!"

"Then by all means, let us continue where we left off in Fillydelphia!" said King Craw, with a mocking bow. "After you, my sweet little princess-in-training."

Comments

[Lord Nopony]

King Craw challenges Sunset Shimmer to a battle! ~Pokémon Style!~ lol.

[tuntematon]

Let the battle begin.