Sunset Eclipsed

by EldritchNexus

The Big Night, Part 2

Supreme Commander Chrysalis and Captain Umbriel stood armored but unhelmeted at the statue, watching as the Hydra tank successfully shot through the shimmering base.

"Remix, can you confirm whether or not it's hit anything?" asked Chrysalis.

Remix nodded.

"The tank's hit its mark, whatever it may be!" said another operative standing nearby.

"Sister, what shall we do now?" asked Umbriel.

"Fire two more cables through the portal." said Supreme Commander Chrysalis. "After that, fire some warning shots."

Umbriel made a gesture towards the gunner of the Hydra tank, who ducked back into the armored vehicle to operate the controls. The quad-barreled tank fired away. After it did so, Captain Umbriel cocked his M249 machine gun, pointed at the shimmering base of the statue, and pulled the trigger...

---

Sunset Shimmer gasped as two more cables identical to the first shot out of the mirror and pierced the wall. The mirror's glass then suddenly began to flicker with hundreds of lights. Sunset Shimmer teleported away just in times, as dozens of red-hot lead bullets rained sideways through the portal and left many large holes in the wall around the cables. The floor was covered in broken plaster and marble.

"I've got to get out of here! Fast!" Sunset panted, and bolted through the door that led upstairs.

---

"That ought to to scare any pony that tries prying the cables off." said Captain Umbriel, raising his gun to blow on the smoking barrel. "What now, sister?"

"Proxy Squad, move up!" said Supreme Commander Chrysalis. "You will be sent in as the first wave!"

Lieutenant Sigma, Major Canopy, Corporal Remix, Private Hopper, Private Mantis, and Corporal Aggro all lined up in front of the portal.

"Remember, troops." said Captain Umbriel. "You are going in for Sunset Shimmer, and Sunset Shimmer alone. Therefore, do what you will with whatever else you find on the other side. Remember, as long as something is running through that portal and out the other side, it will never shut. So you shouldn't have to worry about being stranded on the Equestria side unless the cables are detached or severed. Which I highly doubt, since they have been reinforced many times over. You could haul a Boeing 747 out from the bottom of an ocean with them, and they wouldn't snap. Any questions?"

"No, sir." said Sigma.

"Then lock and load."

The six power-armored soldiers cocked their firearms, and latched onto the cables. They proceeded to zipline through the base of the statue, and came out through the other side. Lt. Sigma landed first, hitting the ground much harder than he thought he would. He took a moment to inspect himself, and brushed dust off of his body...only to find he no longer had hands. Nor was he wearing armor. Instead, he now had a black equine body with holes on his legs.

"Well, how'd ya like tha', gois?!" said his voice, which was now layered.

"This is...both remarkable and disgusting at the same time." said Major Canopy, behind him. "Why do I have these holes in my limbs? If I was Trypophobic, I'd be having a panic attack right now."

"Forget the holes, how the heck are we supposed to use our weapons?" said Private Hopper.

Suddenly, the headset on Sigma's head began to emit static.

"Sigma, do you copy?" said the voice of Supreme Commander Chrysalis. "Were you able to cross through without incident?"

Sigma put his hoof to the speaker attached to his face, and spoke:

"Well, I've b'n turn'd into a bug-eyed, bug-winged, bug-everyth'n', bug-pony...bug, bug-bug, whatever. So you tell me." said Sigma.

"Just as I suspected, then." said Chrysalis' voice.

"'Ow da heck am I s'posed to use my weapons?!" whispered Sigma.

"I've analyzed the artifacts that we've acquired from this world in the past." said Chrysalis. "Apparently, the ponies of this world are shown to be able to pick up objects without the need of fingers. Try picking something up."

"Copy 'at. Sigma out."

Sigma looked around, and saw his MP5K lying on the ground beside him. Instinctively, he reached for it, and surprisingly managed to pick it up, in spite of his lack of fingers.

"How the heck did you..." said Mantis. "What kinda weirdo laws of physics does this world have?"

"That of a cartoon, apparently." said Canopy. "Ziggy, can you fire that gun?"

Sigma shook the hoof that "held" the gun, clearly trying to find a way to pull the trigger.

"Oh, wha' a lo'd o' rubbish!" he shouted. "I can't ev'n shoot the blasted thing! Ya know, I think I'm startin' to hate this world already!"

Suddenly, his horn--which he just realized he had--emitted a green light. It shot a green orb of energy that struck the wall. The six transformed soldiers paused to look at the spot where it hit.

"Or maybe this place is unbelievably awesome!" shouted Aggro. "And look, we've got wings, too!"

"Wings that look like a dog chewed on them." snarked Canopy, examining her own. "I bet we wouldn't be able to fly at all with these!"

"Just watch me!" said Aggro.

He sped up to the door, his hooves leaving a trail of green fire as he rushed along the ground. His horn glowed, and the door was blasted off its hinges. He then sped up the stairs, even running up along the walls as he went.

---

Sunset Shimmer was speeding through the corridors in a crazed panic, hyperventilating as she went. Eventually, she bumped into Radiant Dawn in the darkness.

"Sunny, what the heck's the matter with ya?" he asked, concerned.

"Red, they're here!" said Sunset Shimmer. "The Chrysalis Syndicate has crossed through the portal!"

"What?!" exclaimed Radiant Dawn in shock. "I'll have to kick 'em out, then...!"

"No!" said Sunset. "They've got guns! They'll kill you for sure!"

Suddenly, a dark shape appeared, speeding towards Sunset in a mad gallop that flickered with a green flame, and leapt through the air. It tackled Sunset Shimmer without warning, and the two rolled along the floor, wrestling each other viciously.

"You're coming with me, Sunset!" said Cpl. Aggro. "You're a prisoner of the Chrysalis Syndicate."

"She's nobody's prisoner, you Changeling freak!" said Radiant, his horn glowing.

Suddenly, there was a flurry of green magical blasts coming from the direction that Aggro came from. Five more shapes were flying down the corridor towards them.

---

Razor Sharp was taking a walk outside, when he suddenly saw several night guards rushing through the streets towards the palace.

"Slow down, bub." said Razor, stopping one of the guards. "Where's the fire?"

"Sir, I must ask you to get off the streets." said the guard. "There's an incident going on at the palace. Some kind of attack."

As soon as the guard left, Femme Mystic dropped down from the sky beside Razor, and contracted her wings.

"Vot is zeh problem?" she asked, curiously.

"Let's ditch these disguises." said Razor, shapeshifting back into Sigma. "Someth'n's goin' on at the palace!"

Femme shapeshifted back into Canopy.

---

Sunset blasted Aggro off her body. She took a moment to realize that even though they had weapons and headgear, the Syndicate operatives were not able to use them in their present forms. And surely, they weren't as experienced at shapeshifting and using magic as this world's Changelings were.

"Red, I can handle these guys!" said Sunset.

"Sunny, are you sure?!" Radiant shouted as he hoof-punched Mantis in the gut.

Sunset went next to her brother, turned her head slowly, and said with a smile:

"Trust me."

Her horn glowed, and she shot several bluish-green bolts of magical energy at the six operatives.

"That's e'nuff!" said Lt. Sigma. "Fall back! Back to the portal!"

Sunset chased after them, until she came back to the basement. Radiant quickly went after her. Sunset used her telekinesis to levitate all six Changelings and juggle them around in the air.

"Let's see how you guys like being tormented!" Sunset shouted.

Like bullets coming out of a revolver, each soldier was shot back through the mirror one after the other. Even rotating accordingly.

"Tourists." quipped Sunset as soon as the last one was sent back through the mirror.

"Good job, Sunny." said Radiant. "Think that was the last of 'em? Now, let's get rid of those cables--"

Suddenly, another shape emerged from the portal. This one was large, muscular, and extremely familiar by this point to the two unicorn siblings. It quickly sped to knock aside Radiant Dawn, and seized Sunset Shimmer by the neck.

"You are coming with me now, my little pony." said Captain Umbriel.

Sunset quickly saw the Alicorn Amulet lying on the floor, and by pure luck managed to grab it just as Umbriel dragged her back through the portal. Radiant Dawn got up as fast as he could, but was struck down by a tranquilizer dart that Captain Umbriel shot at him from a device attached to his hoof.

---

Sunset Shimmer and Captain Umbriel emerged from the based of the statue, where dozens of Chrysalis Syndicate soldiers stood around them, with Supreme Commander Chrysalis in the middle.

"Well done, brother." said Chrysalis. "I knew I should've sent you in first."

"And now that we have Sunset Shimmer, we can finally leave this pathetic town." said Captain Umbriel, clamping the corner of Sunset's mouth with two of his armored fingers. "You led us quite the chase, you know that, little pony-girl? We've spent a whole month looking for you. A month! But not anymore! Proxy Squad!"

"Yes, sir?" said Major Canopy.

The six soldiers that Sunset had defeated just a few seconds ago all approached Captain Umbriel and Sunset Shimmer.

"Present arms!" said Umbriel.

They brandished their firearms, cocked, and loaded them. Captain Umbriel threw Sunset to the ground coldly. The pony-girl closed her eyes, and prepared for what might happen next. Then she heard another voice.

"Hang on. Captain, I'd like to be the one that does it."

It was Corporal Ghost, wearing his white skeletal ballistic armor, which to Sunset made him look very much like his Equestria counterpart.

"Then by all means, corporal." said Umbriel. "Do it."

---

Sergeant Craw saw what was going on, and looked on in shock as Sunset Shimmer was laying on all fours, like a sick dog about to be put down. He rushed towards Supreme Commander Chrysalis, earnestly.

"Commander, We have to talk." Craw said, his helmet off.

"What's the matter now, sergeant?" asked Chrysalis.

"You have to stop this!" said Craw. "We have no reason to kill Sunset now. Not here, anyway. Too many things could go wrong..."

"Craw, I know that you like her." Chrysalis said to him, flatly. "But we are people of business. Sunset wronged us, and we are dealing with her in the appropriate fashion. Don't feel bad for her, though. Soon, we'll leave this place, and we can go back to how things were before. Unless you're saying you'd rather defect right now, and try to stop this."

"Of course not." Craw said, quickly. "You know I'd never turn on the Syndicate."

---

The armored albino soldier approach Sunset Shimmer, cocking a shotgun in his hands. Sunset felt the gun's barrel being pressed against her head, but she said nothing.

"You have no idea, do you? How happy I am to finally be able to do what I should've done a month ago." Ghost whispered sinisterly under his breath.

Still, Sunset Shimmer said nothing. Instead, she fumbled with a small black object she held in her right hand.

"I could easily say the same about you, Ghost." she thought angrily.

Ghost loaded his shotgun with half a dozen armor-piercing shells, and cocked it audibly.

"No last words, huh?" asked Ghost, fastening his finger to the trigger. "Good. I had enough of your mouth last month, anyway. Well, time to get this Sunset eclipsed."

But even as he spoke these words, the Alicorn Amulet began to glow in Sunset's hand.

Comments

[00RaiserGundam]

Oh, crap. I can't wait to see how this goes down!

[Lord Predacord]

Thank you for responding. I am pleased to hear it is almost complete and I am exited to hear there will be more stories. Keep up the excellent work.

[Lord Nopony]

4752562 I'm with ya on that partner!

[Lord Predacord]

4752562 I'm with ya there!

[Shadowmane PX-41]

Well, time to get this Sunset eclipsed.

He said it!!!

He said it!!!