Sunset Eclipsed

by EldritchNexus

Between Dawn and Twilight

It was the middle of the afternoon, and Ponyville was bustling with activity as always. Red Dawn found himself in the town square, anxiously searching for the library, where Twilight Sparkle apparently lived. He did, at least, take the time to look at the area around him.

"Now, where should I start asking around?" Red Dawn asked, when he felt something bump into his leg.

"Golly!" he heard a small voice say. "Sorry, mister."

Red looked down, and saw a filly with a yellow coat and a red mane looking up at him. She was positively cute, especially with the big, red bow tie on her head.

"It's really my fault, little filly." Red Dawn admitted. "I shouldn't have stopped like that. By the way, I'm Red Dawn."

"Well, gee. I never saw you 'round here, Red." the young filly said. "I'm Apple Bloom, if you're wonderin'."

"Oh, that's the most adorable name I've ever heard in, like...forever!" the orange-red unicorn bent down to smile at her.

"Umm...thanks, Red." Apple Bloom said. "So, did you need help findin' someplace in particular?"

Red Dawn was able to regain his composure, and gave a simple friendly nod.

"Just tell me the place, and I'll try and show you 'round." the young earth pony said.

"Okay, then." Red Dawn nodded again. "I'm trying to look around for the library. I was told Twilight Sparkle would be there."

"Oh, that'll be the Golden Oaks Library." Apple Bloom said. "It's the one built inside a tree."

"A tree?" Red asked. "That's kinda odd, don't you think?"

"Nah, not really." said Apple Bloom. "You get all kinds of strange stuff happenin' 'round here. C'mon, I'll walk you there."

"I'd be delighted to have you do that, Apple Bloom." Red Dawn smiled.

The young earth pony and the twenty-something unicorn trotted side-by-side. As they went on, Red was talking with Apple Bloom.

"You know, Apple Bloom." he told her. "You remind me a lot of my sister when she was a filly. She was so cute and innocent, just like you."

"Well, thankee." Apple Bloom grinned back to the tall, lean unicorn. "And come to think of it, you remind me a lot of my brother, Big Macintosh. You're a lot more talkative, though. Not that there's nothin' wrong with that, of course."

"No offense taken, Lil Apple." Red smiled back. "So what's the rest of your family like?"

"Well, we own Sweet Apple Acres." the filly answered. "We grow lots and lots o' apples for the whole town."

"Mmmm...that sounds tasty." Red Dawn said, licking his lips. "Who else is in your family?"

"Well, there's my big sister Applejack." Apple Bloom said. "Then there's Big Mac, like I said, and sweet ol' Granny Smith. And we've got relatives all over Equestria."

"Really? All over Equestria?" Red Dawn said. "I can say that you guys are lucky."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well..." Red Dawn said, hesitantly. "My family's pretty small, to be honest: Just me and my sister. I have no idea what happened to our parents."

"Awww, that's too bad." Apple Bloom frowned, showing sympathy towards him. "Hey! Maybe you and your sister could visit us, sometime? We have plenty o' room back at Sweet Apple Acres."

"That's very nice of you. But I don't know if my sister likes apple cider that much. And I'm trying to drink less of it."

"Are you sure, Red?" Apple Bloom said. "We have some of the best apple cider in Equestria."

"I said I'd drink less of it, not that I wouldn't drink any at all!" Red assured her. "I don't think it'd hurt to drink some."

"All right." Apple Bloom said, smiling again. "Well, here's the library. I hope you get whatever you're lookin' for."

"Me, too." Red Dawn nodded, as they came up to the tree. "See ya later, Apple Bloom."

When the filly was gone, the unicorn knocked his hoof on the door. After a few seconds, the door was answered when a baby dragon opened it.

"Hello, sir." the dragon said to him. "Are you looking for Twilight?"

"Yes, I am." Red Dawn said bluntly. "I have some...personal matters...to settle with her."

"Well, I think that she's deep in reading a book that she just got, but I don't think she'd say 'no' to a visitor."

"Come in, please!" the voice of Twilight Sparkle called from inside.

Red Dawn bowed himself in, and found himself face-to-face with a purple alicorn whose mane had a red stripe on one side.

"Hi!" She said to him, positively beaming. "Welcome to Ponyville! I hope the town's treated you well, so far?"

"They have." the orange-red unicorn nodded. "The name's Red Dawn. I came here from Canterlot, though I don't live there. I'd like to stay and chat with you about...something."

"Sure, Red." Twilight said. "What would you like to talk about?"

Right on cue, Red Dawn's awkward smile twisted into a snarl. He swiftly leaned his head over the purple alicorn, and started to speak.

"It's about my sister." Red was grinning maliciously. "You know her as...Sunset Shimmer!"

Twilight Sparkle gasped, remembering her. She had no idea that she would have a brother in Equestria, let alone one older and bigger than her. One that seemed like the protective type. Not unlike her own brother, Shining Armor.

"Oh, dear." Twilight Sparkle said, nervously. "I guess you found out that she was left behind in the human world..."

"By you!" Red growled. "What were you thinking, leaving her like that?! Thirty moons, Twi! Thirty! That's how long she could've stayed!"

"Could've?" repeated Princess Twilight Sparkle. "Then she..."

"She was able to come back by sheer luck!" Red Dawn snapped. "Not only for her, but for you."

Red Dawn bent his head down, with a furious expression on his face. Twilight Sparkle seemed surprised and delighted that Sunset Shimmer had found a way to come back to Equestria, but she couldn't help but quiver in the presence of the large unicorn in front of her.

"If she wasn't able to return as early as she did," he said. "I would've gone out of my way to unleash a world of pain all over you, even if you are a princess! But what I want to know is...why did you leave her behind like that?"

"Listen, let me explain everything." Twilight told him.

For some time, Twilight and Red Dawn sat in the middle of the library, facing each other. Twilight told her guest everything she could about the human world, and what Sunset Shimmer did there.

"And then when me and the human counterparts of my friends defeated her demonic form with the power of the Elements," Twilight said. "She was restored back to her normal state. I told her that she could choose to make friends, or forever be alone."

"And then you just abandoned her in a place where everybody was probably going to be hating her guts?" spoke Red, who was upset but not furious at the notion. "You didn't even suggest that she go back to Equestria with you?"

"Well, I did have my human friends promise they'd look out for her." Twilight said. "And when I left her, she seemed alright. She was helping to fix a door that was destroyed in the conflict."

"But did you even consider reminding her of her possibilities after that? Did the thought ever occur to you that you should say 'Hey, would you like to come back with me to Equestria and start your life over again, or stay and get turned into a pincushion by everyone that you've bullied for the past two years'?"

"She..." Twilight began.

"I don't wanna hear it, Twilight!" Red Dawn snapped. "What you did was stupid and heartless. Even if she wanted to stay behind, you should've verified that with her, instead of partying your remaining time away, and leaving her to fix some stupid door that she didn't even mean to break!"

"Okay, I'll admit..." Twilight Sparkle said, sheepishly. "I did get carried away with the dancing."

"So carried away, that you could've had Sunset Shimmer apologize to all those students right then and there, and then brought her back to Equestria." Red growled. "And you still messed that up. You're the worst princess ever!"

"Now listen here, you--" the baby dragon said, but backed off when Twilight looked at him with a stern look on her face.

"Listen, Red. I understand how deeply you missed your sister." Twilight said, turning back to Red Dawn. "I understand what it's like to be unable to be with your favorite sibling for such a lengthy period of time. I have a brother of my own, you see. He's always busy, what with being the Captain of the Royal Guard, and living far away from Ponyville."

Red just nodded slowly.

"And you must understand," Twilight said, her voice shaky. "If I knew you existed when I first went to the human world, I would've done my best to bring Sunset back here, so that you two could be together again...as a family. I understand that you're angry with me. And truthfully, I don't blame you at all. You have the right to be angry at me, just like you have the right to care so deeply about your sister."

she visibly braced herself for his retribution. But to her surprise, Red slowly cracked a smile, and blinked absent-mindedly. He could feel his copper eyes becoming watery, but he didn't cry. In fact, he wasn't as tensed up as he was before. There was a moment of silence, as he mentally formulated what he would say to the small alicorn.

"You know, Princess." he finally said. "I shouldn't stay angry with you. Especially since this whole thing's already been resolved: We've now settled our differences, and Sunset Shimmer's back in Equestria, safe and sound. I think now would be a good time for us to be better acquainted."

"Same here, Red." Princess Twilight Sparkle smiled.

They performed a hoof-bump, and exchanged friendly grins.

"Thanks, Princess." Red told her. "And I'm sorry I snapped at you like that. I forgot that you're new to this kind of thing. You're obviously trying to find out the right and wrong things to do with your royal duties. You're not stuck-up at all. You understand those around you...and I admire that, very much."

"And I admire how much you care for your sister." responded Twilight Sparkle. "You kind of remind me of my brother, Shining Armor."

"So, that's who your brother is!" the orange-red colt exclaimed, as if he just remembered something from a long time ago. "Yeah, I know who he is! In fact, we used to be bunkmates when we were training to be in the Canterlot Royal Guard."

"You were a guard?" asked Twilight.

"Nah, I never got that far into the academy." Red answered, shaking his head. "I was still a cadet when I jumped ship. I wanted to be close to my sister, so I decided to just be one of Celestia's magic students. Right now, I kinda regret passing up that opportunity."

"Why?" asked Twilight Sparkle asked. "What happened?"

Red then told her all about the infamous "flight spell incident", and the immediate aftermath. Twilight just looked at him, half-horrified and half-astonished. It took a few minutes for all of the information to sink itself into her subconscious.

"Wow, that's just..." Twilight attempted to comment, but words failed her. "I don't know what to say. But I definitely bad feel for you and Sunset Shimmer now. I'd probably have been acting the same way as Sunset if I found out that Shining Armor was sent away from me like that."

"I don't think so, Twilight." Red Dawn prompted her. "You would've still had your parents, right? Sunset and I lost ours when we were both very young."

"What happened to them, anyhow?"

"I have no freaking idea." Red Dawn admitted, straining himself. "It was so long ago. I think I was eight when they turned up missing. And I had no other relatives that I would've known about, and didn't know anyone that would take us in, so I had to raise my own five-year-old sister all by myself!"

Twilight Sparkle's jaw dropped.

"That's horrible!" cringed Twilight. "And I couldn't even begin to imagine how badly the stress from that experience must have been!"

"Well, it wasn't too bad." Red Dawn said. "My father was quite the scholar. He had all kinds of books, documents, and stuff that Sunset and I were able to use to learn about all kinds of different things. Of course, Li'l Sunny had to hog them all the time."

He started laughing, and even got a small chuckle out of Twilight.

"And we had a nice remote house to live in on the far side of Equestria, away from obnoxious country-ponies or thieves." said Red. "In fact, I still live there, since Princess Celestia sent me away from her academy. But I tell you, you wouldn't believe how excited I was when I got that letter from Princess Luna telling me that Sunset had come back to Canterlot, and that I was allowed to return there!"

"Princess Luna sent you the message?" asked Twilight.

"Yeah." nodded Red Dawn. "And apparently, Sunset Shimmer is now her student."

"She is?" Twilight asked. "I didn't think that Princess Luna was the type to take ponies under her wing, let alone former students of her own sister."

"And that reminds me of something." said Red. "I'd like you to put in a good word to Shining Armor. I'd like to join the Canterlot Royal Guard...this time, for realsies."

"Why would you want to do that?" Twilight asked.

"Why not?" Red Dawn said. "I don't wanna just trot aimlessly around my house, waiting for my sister to come visit me!"

"But becoming a royal guard is a great responsibility!" Twilight Sparkle pointed out. "I mean, you'll have to go through all kinds of difficult training, long hours of work..."

"Hey, Princess Twilight?" interjected Red. "Can you have your brother tell me that stuff?"

"As you wish, Red Dawn." sighed Twilight Sparkle, before turning to the baby dragon. "Spike, it looks like we have another letter to write!"

"Really?" said Spike, who had just woken up from a nap. "We haven't sent one of those in a while."

Suddenly, there was a repeated pounding on the door. Pinkie Pie burst in, and starting bouncing around Red Dawn.

"It's the new guy, it's the new guy!" She was shouting happily. "I'm just so nervic--"

"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight shouted to the pink earth pony.

She suddenly stopped.

"Oh, sorry, Twilight." she nodded. "I just heard that there was a new pony in Ponyville, and I found out that he was visiting you."

"Yeah, and I was actually planning on leaving in a few minutes." Red Dawn said.

"Without having a Pinkie Party?!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "Please, you have to come to Sugarcube Corner with me! I've already thrown a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party for you!"

"You what?" Red felt his jaw drop in surprise. "Wow, I don't know what to say!"

"C'mon, c'mon!" she jumped about again. "We've got all kinds of fun games and yummy snacks there! You'll love it!"

"Well, I guess I could spare a few minutes..." Red Dawn muttered. "Okay, then. Lead the way."

And then Pinkie Pie and Red Dawn sped outside quickly. Twilight Sparkle and Spike stayed behind, sighing in relief.

"Well, that was..." Twilight panted. "Rather uncomfortable."

"Tell me about it." agreed Spike. "That guy seemed like a real jerk."

"He's a very troubled soul." Twilight reminded him. "I mean, when you consider what he went through in his life..."

"Oh...sorry." Spike said.

"No, it's alright, Spike. I do agree that our conversations could've went smoother. Anyway, how about we get started on the letter for Shining Armor?"

"Right, boss." saluted Spike.

Comments

[LosZetas]

I like the story I don't see nothing wrong other then that romance tag on it there really isint any romance in there unless Craw changes his mind about ponies? Lol

[EldritchNexus]

3278882

Trust me, I'll be getting to the "romance" part in the next few chapters.

In the mean-time, I'll change it to "Tragedy".

Anyways, thanks for commenting! I really appreciate it!

[Pinklestia]

Well, I am amazed he did keep his temper in check.

[fluffinthepuff]

Li'l Sunny? Really/ SO, MUCH, DAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWs! . this is adventurous, touching, and creative! Say, you mind if I use this as inspiration for a new story?

[Emperor]

"Yes, I am." Red Dawn said bluntly. "I have some...personal matters...to settle with her."

Like that doesn't sound threatening.

Good to see Twilight get a little bit of a call-out, even if it comes from a stallion who's being a bit of an obnoxious jerk at the moment.

[Pr1deM0rn1ngstar]

I'd say that actually went a little bit smoother than I expected have a expected something to go horribly wrong and go boom