Sunset Eclipsed

by EldritchNexus

Enter the Syndicate

It was the early morning on the human side of the portal. Sgt. Craw and Cpl. Ghost equipped their combat gear and armor, and set out from Sunset Shimmer's apartment. They had received word from Supreme Commander Chrysalis that Captain Umbriel had given up on reasoning with Principal Celestia. Now, it was time for the Chrysalis Syndicate to make their move on the town.

The city hall was very quiet. The mayor, a middle-aged woman with short gray hair and blue eyes, was writing a letter to the governor about the rising number of terrorist attacks occurring in her town, and that she needed the Army to come in and chase the offenders out. The speaker on her desk buzzed loudly.

"Madam Mayor, the police captain has just arrived." said the voice of her secretary.

"Of course." the mayor said. "Send the young lad in."

Captain Shining Armor walked in through the door, and sat down in front of the mayor's desk.

"Captain, how's your search for the people that attacked your men?" asked the mayor.

"We still haven't found 'em." Shining Armor said. "Ma'am, has the governor agreed to send soldiers to help us out? I don't think our police officers will be able to handle men with the kind of weapons and technology we've heard they use."

"I'm in the middle of writing the letter now." said the mayor. "What kind of technology did you say they used again?"

Suddenly, they both heard a distorted voice in the direction of the door.

"You can see for yourself." said the voice.

The mayor was flabbergasted as two men suddenly materialized on the other side of the desk, one on either side of Shining Armor. They were wearing skeletal black armor with ridged helmets, and were pointing guns at the police captain, who had his own handgun out.

"Let's not be hasty here." said one of the men.

"What is going on here?!" exclaimed the mayor.

"Tell the police captain to lower his gun, and we'll gladly tell you." said the other man.

"Not until you tell me who you are...and put your guns down."

"As you wish." said the second man.

The two men lowered their guns, and the mayor beckoned Captain Armor to do the same.

"We're members of the Chrysalis Syndicate." explain the second man. "We're an independent military force contracted to hunt down a potentially dangerous fugitive."

"Dangerous fugitive?" asked the mayor. "You mean the gang members that have been roaming town lately?"

"Actually, what we're after is something much more dangerous than anything your police can handle. Send a message to the state governor. You have to tell him that there is a terrorist in your town's midst, and that they are currently planning to launch an attack on Canterlot High School."

"Oh, my!"

"Hold it!" Shining Armor stated. "If there's trouble going on in this town, then my police can handle it."

"You mean like how they handled what happened last month?" said the second soldier. "Or what happened just a few days ago? If your police didn't interfere in our operations when they did, we would've taken that fugitive away from your town long ago."

"You were the ones behind the shootout?!"

"No, your idiotic police officers were the ones responsible. They disrupted our work, and now a criminal is on the loose thanks to them."

"What criminal?" Shining Armor scoffed. "Who the heck are you talking about?"

"We can't say for certain." said the second soldier. "But we believe that Sunset Shimmer, a student at Canterlot High School, is connected."

---

Two hours later, Fluttershy was standing at the front door to Canterlot High. Since the statue had been barricaded by the police, this was the most reasonable place for her to hand out fliers for the animal shelter. Rarity and Applejack had walked up to her, to speak with their friend.

"Hey, Fluttershy, have ya seen Sunset Shimmer anywhere?" Applejack asked.

"No, I haven't." Fluttershy said, quietly. "Have you two seen her?"

"We haven't found her, either." Rarity said. "I'm really concerned for her, right now. I haven't seen her since three days ago! It's not like her to just skip school."

"Maybe they might know something about it?" Fluttershy asked, pointing down the front lawn of Canterlot High.

Rarity and Applejack looked to see what Fluttershy was pointing at, and were both awestruck at the sight: There were several men charging up to the school from an armored vehicle parked nearby. They were each wearing a full set of shiny black military armor and carrying rifles and shotguns. None of their faces could be seen, as they were obscured by metallic full-faced helmets that resembled the heads of insects, minus the mandibles and antennae. Fluttershy cringed when they came up close to the three girls.

The leader, who was somewhat larger than the other soldiers, wore a unique set of armor that had a helmet with a curved horn-like spike that protruded from above the speaker at its bottom and green lenses with a reddish tint in their centers, sported broad spiked pauldrons on his shoulders, and a ribbed green torso plate. Even though his skin was completely armored, Applejack's friends could already deduce that even without it, he must have had the physique of a very devoted bodybuilder.

"What in tarnation is goin' on here?!" Applejack demanded, stomping up to who she accurately presumed was the leader of the group. "There's no guns allowed in the school! And aren't y'all a little early for Ha--"

But Applejack cut her sentence to the leader short, when the latter threateningly cocked his firearm, which was a fully-loaded M249 Squad Automatic Weapon.

"Out of our way, civvy." the leader said, speaking with a deep, distorted voice. "We have been authorized to do this."

"Do what?" Applejack asked.

Fluttershy and Rarity stared wide-eyed with their hands clasped to each other's mouths, both afraid of what Applejack's answer might be. Suddenly, the leader lowered his machine gun, took his right hand off of the front grip, grabbed the blonde girl by the scruff of her shirt, and yanked her aside, sending her smacking against the wall by the shoulder. As awestruck as Rarity and Fluttershy were by this sudden action, they both felt at least a little relieved that it wasn't anything more severe.

"Don't get in our way again, cowgirl." he said, waving a metal-plated finger at her. "Or you won't want to know what else we're capable of doing."

"Excuse me, mister." Fluttershy whimpered. "Um, that's my friend you just pushed."

"Then maybe you could teach her not to interfere with us again." the leader said.

"What in the world in going on here?!" shouted the voice of Principal Celestia, who had been walking down the hallway. "Who let you maniacs into my school?"

Applejack got back up, and stood silently, as she saw Principal Celestia yelling at the man at the front of the group of soldiers. She admired how this unarmed woman was capable of standing up to a group of heavily-armed and armored men without any negative repercussions.

"Relax, Ms. Celestia." said the leader. "We don't mean any harm to the school, or those within."

"Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it." grumbled Applejack, who was fortunately either unheard or ignored by the mysterious armored soldiers.

"Again, who allowed you in here?" the principal demanded.

"Mayor Eve has given our organization a permit to garrison troops in this town. And the building we've chosen to base our operations within...is this one."

"What for? Why are you guys so interested in this place, anyway?"

"We have our reasons, principal. Now, I would like to formally introduce myself to you. I am Captain Umbriel of the Chrysalis Syndicate. We are here to catch a dangerous fugitive, and I trust you know who she is."

"I just can't believe this is happening." Principal Celestia groaned, scratching her head angrily.

---

The sun was setting in Equestria, and Sunset Shimmer, Trixie, and Lightning Dust were talking with each other on the outskirts of Fillydelphia, away from the prying eyes of the angry townsponies.

"So, why are you two here, again?" Lightning asked.

"Well, I'm here on a mission from Princess Luna." answered Sunset.

"And I'm here because I don't really have anything else to do." Trixie said.

"A mission, huh?" Lightning said, with a small smile. "So, were you two here to help get rid of those creatures?"

"Not really." Sunset Shimmer shook her head. "But it does look like something you could really use our help with."

"Me? Need help?" the pegasus chuckled. "I don't need help. I was able to hold my own against that Ursa Major."

"You're underestimating what has been recognized as one of the most dangerous creatures in all of Equestria." Sunset said. "You took it by surprise. You were lucky!"

"Yeah, if that beast knew you were coming, it would've eaten you alive." Trixie added. "Trust me, I once encountered an Ursa Minor, and my magic had no effect on it. What makes you think that somepony like you would stand a chance against the adult without any help?"

"In case you didn't, notice..." Lightning Dust reminded them. "I can fly. And I'm very good at it, too."

"But you don't think about the best way to utilize those skills." Sunset told her. "Trixie and I saw how you handled that Ursa Major, and we didn't see any signs of you putting much thought into what you were doing. You were just ramming into it, flying circles around it, and doing other reckless things that could've gotten you and those around you killed!"

"Okay, okay!" shrugged the blonde pegasus. "So my methods aren't the cleanest. They just get the job done as quickly as possible."

"But if those methods wind up demolishing half a city, then what's the point in using them at all?" Trixie questioned. "I may have boasted about my talents in the past, but I never did anything as insane as what you've been doing! At least, not willingly."

"Okay, do you have any better ideas? I'd just love to hear them!" snarked Lightning Dust.

"Girls, cool it!" Sunset said to both of them. "We're not going to be able to do anything to help this city if we keep arguing like this."

"Sorry, your highness." Lightning said, mockingly. "So, are you guys going to be able to help me with this, or are you two just going to criticize me all night? I already have enough ponies back in town to do that."

"Trust me, we're going to be helping this town." answered Sunset Shimmer. "All three of us are going to do it."

"Wait, all three of us?" said Trixie, surprised. "No, no, no. I don't want anything to do with this crazy pegasus."

"Trixie, please." requested the reddish-blonde unicorn. "I don't think I could do it without your help."

"Are you sure? You seem like a brilliant unicorn on your own."

"I'm sure."

"Fine." Trixie said, rolling her eyes. "I'll do it for you, Sunset. But only because you helped me with that creature on the road. I wouldn't want to cross paths with it again."

"Thanks." grinned Sunset Shimmer, before turning to Lightning Dust. "So, do you know anywhere in town that we could stay for the night?"

the cyan pegasus nodded.

"There's a tavern nearby." she said. "But I think that it'll be overfilled with ponies by now. If it is, you could hang with me at my house."

"That depends..." Trixie said. "What kind of house do you live in? Because if it's up in the sky, I don't know any spells for walking on clouds."

"Nah, don't worry your pretty little head." Lightning Dust assured her. "My house is on an abandoned pasture on the edge of the forest. The farmers left when they couldn't plant anything, so I decided to turn it into my own personal airfield."

"What did they try planting there?" asked Sunset Shimmer.

"I think the farmers tried growing apple orchards." Lightning answered. "I think they even made apple cider there for a while."

"There better not be any of it still there." Sunset grumbled.

"Why not?"

"Because I hate apple cider."

Lightning Dust and Trixie started giggling.

"Wow, Sunset. are you serious?" Trixie asked. "You're probably the first pony I've ever met in my life that didn't like it!"

"And I thought I was the only one!" said Lightning. "I'll tell you what. Why don't you two come with me to my house. There's plenty of room for the two of you there."

Sunset Shimmer yawned.

"Go ahead. We'll follow you." she told Lightning Dust.

Comments

[Pinklestia]

She hates apple cinder because of her brother.

[Lord Nopony]

Looks like things are taking a turn for the worst at Canteot High!

[Sean Mulligan]

How can the Chrysalsis Syndicate have its own army and weapons? I thought it was just a criminal gang or a terrorist organization. It can't have authority to arrest fugitives and even if they did, manipulating and tormenting people isn't a crime and a non governmental organization can't declare martial law, only the governor or the president can do that. Also, chemical and nuclear weapons? Their is no way they can have those or if they did, that the U.S. government would tolerate them using them.

[EldritchNexus]

3659437

Okay, you're clearly not paying attention to this stuff.

* It is a terrorist organization, and a powerful one at that. It's basically a Neutral Evil version of COBRA from G.I. Joe. It doesn't want to take over the world, just make itself as powerful as possible. That includes having an entire army of power-armored troops with military-grade weaponry at their disposal. Yeah, going back to what you were asking on chapter one, Ghost had been wearing that extremely durable armor that can resist small arms (9mm, 10mm, and the like), and he was carrying a powerful rifle of his own. Those cops might as well have been shooting at the Terminator.

* Manipulation and tormenting can be interpreted as crimes. Craw didn't specify how minor/extreme they were. He also listed several other offenses that are seen as crimes.

* Of course they can't declare martial law. They also stated the government wouldn't have to if the Syndicate was left to their mission.

* The Chrysalis Syndicate is independent from the government, they are very secretive, and have friends in high places. They can possess and utilize anything that is obtainable to their organization.

[Lord Predacord]

Those syndicate people are complete $^%*#

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

3659610 But you have to admit that their actions have likely caught the attention of several government agencies. Heck public upraor will be a factor. The town isn't like the others. also note recheck some of your previous chapters. Twilight has a pink stripe not a purple and Lightthing dust doesn't have green hair.

[EldritchNexus]

4960513 I was referring to her coat color, not her mane color. If it said anywhere that she had a green mane, it's a typo.

[Emperor]

Man, the syndicate taking over is a pretty big suspension of disbelief moment here, though. Like, if this is in the U.S. as conventional wisdom is, there's no way they could just take over and lockdown an entire city, 'proper paperwork' or no.

Of course Sunset hates apple cider, her brother's addiction to it no doubt turned her off from it.

[Jirodyne]

6726647 Indeed... The more and more I read this story, the more and more I hate it for not making sense. No criminal Organization, no matter HOW powerful it is, can take over a city and NOT be spotted by the Goverment, the news people, and soon after targeted by EVERY nation in the entire world. For they are invading into the U.S. and declaring War, which is getting everyone else to prime their nukes and their own invasion forces to invade.

Sorry, but no suspension of disbelief is going to work here. ESPECIALLY when they have ARMED TERRORISTS holding inside of a Public SCHOOL. That is World Wide News, and probably breaking a few world wide laws. This would NEVER be possible, no matter suspension of disbelief.

[DarkPurveyorOfJustice]

6867430 Meh, I figure I can just roll with it.
At this point it's not the suspension of disbelief that matters, but what the characters are doing. It's a set up for the power of the "bad guys" which gives our hero something to fight against.
Basic story stuff. Anyway the good stuff here is Sunset Shimmer and her .... friends/herd/acquaintances