Sunset Rekindled

by EldritchNexus

Welcome to Saddle Arabia, Part 2

Sunset Shimmer and the others were lead across the streets of the port-town, which was inhabited by earth ponies from both Mustangia and Saddle Arabia. The citizens were mostly seafarers and merchants with some scholars here and there, though it also boasted a large, well-armed security force that could rival the Canterlot Royal Guard in terms of strength and tactics. Although they were nowhere near as numerous as their Equestria counterparts, and they seemed to be confined to the colony's legal boundaries.

They came to the town's government center, a handsome marble building with copper statues of various ponies of different breeds and sizes. When they went inside, they were led into a large hall with tribal masks of ancient tribes lining the walls, and a long table with many chairs in the middle. At the end of the table sat a greenish-yellow earth pony stallion with an orange mane and brown eyes.

"Hello, my fine fillies and gentlecolts!" said the sitting stallion, who spoke like a Southern gentlemen. "Welcome to my town! I'm Minister Hotrod Sterling, and this here colony is both the last you'll see of Equestria, and the first y'all will see of Saddle Arabia--or the other way around if you're already from this side of the sea! Anywho, come on over and have a bite to eat! Try some of the local grub, or maybe some old favorites from back home!"

Sunset and the others all sat down and ate different types of food, both familiar and unfamiliar to them. To Radiant's delight, there were helpings of krembo for dessert.

"So what brings y'all to these here parts anyhow?" asked Hotrod Sterling. "Gettin' sick of Equestria and want a li'l excitement in your life?"

"Actually, we're here on a very important mission." said Sunset.

"Lemme guess....one of those secret--I say!--secret missions, huh?" Sterling tilted his head.

"Not really." said Sunset. "A powerful tyrant has invaded Saddle Arabia and is wreaking havoc all over the place with powerful dark magic. So we're here to stop him."

"Well, I'd wish ya--I say!--I wish you the, uh, best of luck." said Minister Sterling. "We at New Mustangia don't exactly have a liking for being ruled by magic-usin' tyrants ourselves! But what happens in the other parts of Saddle Arabia don't matter to us, unless this tyrant comes our way! And he must be--I say!--he must be a smart fella too, not comin' our way! He knows he's gonna regret scrappin' with my boys! He'd be dead before he could even think of usin' that there hocus-pocus of his on us!"

he guffawed noisily, though Sunset and the others weren't amused.

"Oh, I can tell y'all are serious about this." said Sterling. "Just wanted to lighten the mood a spell. Anywho, I gotta ask y'all a very important question: did the princesses put'cha up to this mission or what?"

The Minister's armored bodyguards, which stood on either side of him mechanically turned their heads to look at the group of newcomers, as if to scan them.

"Actually--" Radiant Dawn began, but Sunset interrupted when she noticed the guards' strange movements.

"We came here on our own decision." she said. "In fact, the princesses didn't want us to go at all, but we did so anyway."

"Ah....interestin' story there, miss..." Minister Sterling said.

"Sunset Shimmer." said Sunset. "And these are friends and family of mine. We're adventurers that are out to see the world, and we help fight monsters and criminals once in a while."

"How nice to meet y'all then!" said Sterling, who turned his head and whispered to his bodyguards: "Settle down now, boys, settle down."

The bodyguards stopped moving and maintained their stationary poses.

"So, is there anything y'all need?" asked Sterling.

"Yes, actually." said Sunset. "We'd like some help repairing our zeppelin, since it took some damage on the way here."

"Don't ya worry, little miss." said Sterling. "My boys at the docks can fix any kinda transport, even if it don't belong in the water!"

"We'd also like a map of Saddle Arabia, along with directions to Mareusalem." said Sunset.

"I could give y'all each a map of your own, along with some routes to get from place to place." said Sterling. "Boys, give 'em some maps!"

The bodyguards left the room and returned with several maps rolled up on a tray. There was one for Sunset and each of her companions.

"The nearest city from here's Bahaggara." said Sterling, as his guards passed out maps. "Just twenty-somethin' miles northeast of here. If there's any news on this tyrant of yours, you'll probably find it there."

"Thanks, Minister." said Sunset, grinning.

"Now is there anything else you'll be wantin'?" asked Minister Sterling.

"We'll need to someplace where we can stay until we're ready to head over to Bahaggara." said Sunset. "And somepony to get our things off of our airship while it's being repaired."

"Done, and done." said Sterling. "Y'all can spend the day n' night here in the guest rooms!"

"You have guest rooms?" asked Lightning Dust.

"That's right, missy!" said Sterling. "I get lotsa important V.I.P.s from all over, so havin' lotsa room to put 'em all's very important for us colonists. And as my guests of honor, you're all welcome to use 'em as long as ya like!"

"That's very generous of you, Minister." said Sunset.

"Well, what kinda host would I be if I didn't provide lodgings for the likes of you fellas?" asked Sterling. "If any of ya need anything else, just ask! I got more helpers than I could care to talk to 'round here."

---

Sunset and the others took the time to explore the port-town and the surrounding territory of the colony. There, they learned about that the settlement was established in less than a year, and that it was originally a fishing village that was used as a waystation and outpost for the Saddle Arabians until they were forced to abandon it on account of a recent power struggle in Bahaggara. However, Hotrod Sterling crossed the sea from Equestria, along with a group of hired mercenaries, and came upon the forsaken fishing village and paid the rulers of Bahaggara to give it and the land around it to them so that they could make a thriving town of their own from it.

As months went by, word reached Equestria of this colony, and several ponyfolk, mostly earth ponies from Mustangia that were friends and family of Sterling, crossed over to live in the colony that would be known as New Mustangia. They used stone brought over from Mustangia and used them to restore and reinforce the battered shacks and yurts that originally comprised the village and made them each a suitable place for an entire family to live. From there, even more stone buildings were constructed with assistance from the locals into a town that was the ideal blend of Equestrian and Saddle Arabian architecture. Indeed, the only freshly-constructed building in New Mustangia with a design that was influenced exclusively by Equestria's architecture was the government center.

What was even more impressive was that the colonization process of New Mustangia had very little, if any, involvement from the princesses in Equestria. Instead, they were financed by a third party that also originated from Equestria. It is believed by the colonists that this third party was the same group that Sterling hired his mercenaries from.

Meanwhile, Sunset Shimmer and her family went around asking the Saddle Arabian citizens of the colony about what life was like in the rest of the nation. Although the intentions were to simply know the lay of the land, Radiant Dawn genuinely wanted to learn about his ancestral roots. He stopped a young Saddle Arabian filly on the road to ask questions.

"Um...hello?" asked Radiant. "Uh...this might seem like an awkward thing to ask a kid, but...you see, I'm Saddle Arabian just like you--well, one-eighth, anyway--and want to learn more about my ancestors. Do you know anywhere I can learn about it?"

"You could try going to the library in Bahaggara." the filly grinned.

"Thanks, I'll check it out when I get there." said Radiant, smiling back. "Thanks, kid."

"I'm much glad to help you, sir." said the filly, who hesitated. "Sorry, I'm not very used to speaking your language."

"No, it's okay. It's okay." said Radiant.

He opened up his saddle-bag, and levitated an ornamental decoration from the degrading outfit he wore as a prisoner in Fort Echidna.

"Here." he said. "You can probably give your parents a good meal if you sell it."

"Thank you." said the filly. "Farewell, stranger."

The filly went down the street, with Radiant looking after her. He couldn't help but think of Sunset Shimmer when she was a filly. Suddenly, two of the armored guards stopped the filly as she ran and grabbed her by the scruff of her silk vest.

"Where did you get this, little filly?" Radiant heard one of the guards say to the filly. "Did you steal it?"

"No, I didn't!" panicked the filly.

"Likely story." said the first guard. "It's a little odd that a child would be running around with this kind of ornament."

"It was given to me!" said the filly. "The big red stallion let me have it."

The two guards turned to look at Radiant, who quickly turned to look away, then looked at the filly.

"Thank you, little girl." said the first guard, politely patting the filly on the back. "You can keep it for now. Now go back and play with your friends."

Without another word, the filly continued down the road, while the two guards slowly approached Radiant.

"Excuse me, sir." said the first guard. "But we were curious as to how that ornament you gave to that little filly first came into your possession."

"I...found it somewhere." Radiant said, hesitantly.

"I think you better come with us to the guardhouse." said the first guard. "Something about you doesn't seem--"

"Hold on." said the second guard, recognizing Radiant. "I know who this stallion is."

"You do?" asked Radiant.

"You're one of the Minister's guests from back West. Aren't you?"

"That's right." Radiant nodded carefully.

"Okay, then." said the second guard. "You're checked out, then."

"What was that all about, though?" asked Radiant.

"Oh, I'm sorry if we spooked you a little." said the first guard.

"Actually, I was talking about the filly." said Radiant.

"Oh, there's been talk about somepony using the colony to smuggle...items of important value...to the other Saddle Arabian cities. We just don't wanna risk letting any suspicious ponies escape our sight without checking on them first."

"Well, that's not how they handle things in Eq--"

"Of course not." said the second guard. "But we don't answer to the princesses anyway, so their laws don't mean squat around here. Hope you don't have a problem with that."

"Nope. Not at all." Radiant nodded awkwardly, before turning away.

"Then enjoy the rest of your time in our colony." said the first guard. "Though I think I'd get back indoors if I were you, esteemed guest."

"Why?" asked Radiant.

"Because it gets dangerous to walk these streets after dark." said the guard. "We get all kinds of strange creatures creeping in from the desert...and from out of the water."

"The water?" asked Radiant. "What the heck could come out of the water and cause trouble here?"

"Sea turtles." said the guard. "Big ones."

The guards left to continue their patrol. Sunset met up with Radiant.

"How's it going, Red?" she asked as she approached him. "Get any info on the land?"

"A little of this, a little of that." Radiant answered hesitantly, thinking about what the guards told him. "How's our plans for setting off to Bahaggara?"

"All set." said Sunset. "We'll leave at midnight, since the Summerstar still needs repairs, and it's supposed to be very, very hot out there tomorrow morning. Nose Nip and Frosty--and their girlfriends, I guess--will stay to help fix the airship while the rest of us head over to the city. They said they'll meet us there by tomorrow night."

"That sounds good." said Radiant. "Though I think we might need to bring some weapons with us if we're traveling at night. In the mean-time, I think ought to turn in early, to keep our energy up."

Comments

[Shadowmane PX-41]

Good to see that things are heating up...

But seriously, when are we gonna see Nelpyhn's true power? Let alone how he looks on artwork?

Also, I should probably request for my OV; Fortissimo Blast to go up against King Nelphyn. I bet it'd be an interesting fight... Adagio Dazzle's Brother V.S the tyrannical Saddle Arabian with the Alicorn Amulet...

[Lord Nopony]

Good chapter.

[00RaiserGundam]

Was Hotrod Sterling by any chance a small reference to Foghorn Leghorn?

[JimmyHook19]

5447125 indeed