//------------------------------// // What an Upset! // Story: Sunset Shimmer vs Schadenfreude // by Daemon McRae //------------------------------// Sunset reveled in the party, more than happy to take a couple of hours to spend some time with her friends at the end of a very hectic week. She and Twilight had of course taken time to get all the glitter off, which had involved a change of clothes and more than one shower. Each. She made a mental note to set something particularly petty aside for Schadenfreude later. Once they’d all had a chance to settle in and hang out, the girls found themselves trying to decide between playing a game or watching a movie of some kind. Of course they’d already piled their plates with whatever snack food they could reach, and were contentedly munching about lazily. “So, anything look good?” Sunset called across the room, where Rainbow Dash had taken it upon herself to raid Shimmer’s video library. “Hell yeah! There’s all kinds of great horror movies and stuff in here!” Dash replied, excitedly digging through a now haphazard pile of DVD and Blu-Ray cases. Fluttershy retreated into the couch a little. “Um… I’m not big on horror movies. Maybe a comedy or something?” AJ shrugged in the seat next to her. “IF we end up watchin’ a movie I’m ok for whatever. Really I jes’ wanted to relax.” “Absolutely,” Rarity agreed amicably. “This week has been an absolute drudge.” She’d set herself sideways in a lounge chair, her legs dangling over the side of the armrest. “If I weren’t here with you girls I’d be spending the entire night at the spa.” Twilight rubbed her head with her towel, her long hair taking longer to dry than she was used to. “Tell me about it. When Sunset wrote me about coming to visit I dropped almost everything to come over. You’d be amazed how much leeway you can get when you drop the words ‘Friendship Emergency’ in Equestria.” Sunset gave her a half-lidded grin. “So that’s how you got three weeks away with such short notice. But why three weeks?” Twilight groaned and stared at the ceiling in exasperation. “Because that’s how long the Equicratic convention lasts. And I would rather eat all my hooves with a teaspoon than deal with that shenanigans.” “You sneaky little filly,” Sunset chided, giving her a playful elbow to the ribs. “So, you think you’d be OK with crashing here for a few weeks? I imagine someone might relish the opportunity to take you clothes shopping...” she added coyly, with a knowing glance to Rarity. Who jumped at the idea. “Oh of COURSE!” she cried. “Darling, I could get you a whole new wardrobe for when you come to visit!” “You know you could always borrow some of my clothes,” the other Twilight said. “It’s not like I don’t have a bunch of Rarity-tailored stuff, anyways.” “Yeah, yeah, clothes are boring,” Rainbow interjected. She held up a particular DVD. “You know what’s NOT boring? Explosions!” “...Die Hard? Really?” Sunset said flatly. “You think maybe we could do something a little less violent?” “Um… actually, I like Die Hard,” Fluttershy said. The girls all looked at her. “Um… what?” AJ said. “Well, the people getting hurt are usually like, really bad terrorists and stuff. And, um, Bruce Willis is kind of...” she trailed off, blushing furiously. “Fetching?” Rarity finished for her. “I agree. I normally don’t enjoy… action movies,” she said with some distaste. “But I have a weak spot for that particular actor.” Rainbow Dash took that as an excuse, and put the movie in without waiting for input from anyone else. Not that anybody really objected to the idea. “What’s a terrorist?” Princess Twilight asked. Again, the room looked at her. “Um… do you… do you now have terrorism in Equestria?” Rarity asked. Sunset sighed. “We kind of do, actually. We just call them monsters and tyrants and power-hungry unicorns. Terrorist is just a fancy word for violent villain,” she explained to Twilight. The Princess nodded intensely. “Oh! So this is a movie about like, fighting crime and evil and stuff? Cool!” Sunset shrugged, and gestured for Rainbow to put the movie in. Just as the opening credits started to roll, however, her phone rang. [ Life’s gonna suck when you grow up, when you grow up, when you grow up~ ] She rolled her eyes as Schaden’s ringtone rang out, and her friends gave her weird looks. She waved them off and took the phone into another room. “What do you want, Schaden?” “Actually,” he started, “I was wondering what the hell you told Twilight about me. Literally less than a week ago she had almost no idea who I was and then like an hour ago she freaked out at the sight of me? I know I’m a dick, but come on, Sunset.” Shimmer felt a little guilty about the situation, when he explained it like that. “Ok, I’ll tell you, but you’re probably not going to believe me.” “Ooh, story time?” he asked happily. “...yes. Ok, so you know about all the weird magic stuff, right?” she asked, taking a seat on a stool. “...no. I’m completely oblivious to the magical girls that keep trying to destroy or enslave my hometown. What is the deal anyways?” She sighed. “Long story short? I’m not… from here. Earth, I mean. I’m from a different dimension, full of magic and monsters and stuff.” “This much I know. The whole ‘you used to be a pony’ thing, right?” he asked. “Yes. That. Well, as it turns out, there are a lot of parallels between my world and this one. The… the Twilight you met today is also from Equestria. The one at school is from this dimension,” she explained. “...wait a minute. There’s two Twilights?” “Yes.” “And the… second one, from your home world, freaked out when she saw me. I’m guessing because she’s… met me before?” he asked slowly. “...yes?” she didn’t like where this was going, instantly regretting the decision to explain any of this to him. “So.. there’s another version of me in that other world?” he asked. “Yes, Schaden, there is. He’s also a pony. And he’s had reason to work with Twilight before. She’s… not a fan,” she added with a small flinch. “I’d gathered. Well, at least that explains the freak-out. Also, I wanted to apologize to Twilight -the princess pony one- for the glitter bomb. I didn’t think there would be anyone in the passenger seat when I set it. Was kind of thinking it would just get all over the car. Not a person,” he said, and sounded genuinely remorseful. “Well… I think she’ll appreciate that. I’m still a bit miffed, too, you know,” she said pointedly. “Oh I know. By the way,” he added, obviously ignoring the apology she was hoping for, which she wasn’t actually expecting. “That big statue thingy, that’s the weird portal, right?” “...whyyyyy?” “No reason.” “Schaden.” “Yes?” “Please don’t go through the magic pony portal,” she begged. “I said no such thing,” he insisted. “You were thinking it,” she argued. “Well obviously.” “Schaden. Promise me.” “Promise what?” “The portal.” “What about it?” She sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I want you to promise me that you will not walk through the portal to the magical pony dimension.” “I will not walk through the portal to the magical pony dimension, I swear.” “Or fall through it.” “Agreed.” “Or jump.” “...agreed.” “You know what? I want your word that you will not make any attempt to go through the portal in any fashion, ever.” “I promise.” “SCHADEN.” “WHAT.” “Uncross your fingers.” “Done.” “ON BOTH HANDS.” “...done.” “AND YOUR TOES.” “...also done.” “...at the same time, Schaden.” “...fine.” “Fine. I’m hanging up now.” “Ok. Have a good night, Sunset.” “Good night, Schaden.” Sunset tapped her phone and hung up, making her way back to the party. She settled into her seat, and enjoyed the movie. For about ten minutes. “OH GOD DAMMIT,” she yelled, and scrambled to her feet, throwing her jacket back on. “What?!” the girls all asked. “Twilight, come on! We gotta go back to the school, hurry!” “...which-” “PONY!” “Coming!” Princess Twilight yelled, scrambling to stand up. ----------------------------- Twilight looked at Sunset with a panicked expression as she tore down the road back to the school. “What’s going on?!” she asked in a panic. “That was Schaden on the phone,” Sunset said quickly, and explained the conversation she had with him. Twilight looked at her in confusion as she recounted the details. “Ok, he said he promised, didn’t he? And what is that crossing fingers thing about?” “It’s… a childish way of getting out of a promise. He’s kind of infamous for it.” “So? You had him uncross all his fingers, right?” Twilight asked, still confused. “Yes, but I didn’t make him promise again after he did that!” “And he would… take that as an excuse? Who am I kidding, of course he would. So now we have to keep him from going through the portal and… what?” Twilight asked, slightly more wary. “Twilight, if someone told you there was a magical portal with another you on the other side, what would you do?” Sunset asked sharply, taking an equally sharp turn around a corner. “I would jump through and try to… find… them. DRIVE FASTER!” Sunset eagerly complied. ------------------------------ Sunset and Twilight had parked quickly, climbing out before the engine had even turned all the way off. They ran around the side of the building, booking it to the portal. Looking around in a panic, they saw that they were, in fact, the only ones there. “Ok… we beat him here,” Sunset panted, leaning forward with her hands on her knees. Twilight looked around. “Are you sure? Maybe he went through already?” Sunset pulled out her phone and called Schaden back. “One way to find out.” She let it ring a few times, and then it picked up. “Schaden?!” she yelled. “OW! What the fuck, Sunset?” he whined. “Where are you?” she demanded. “I’m… I’m at my house. Where else would I be?” “You’re not… at school?” she asked sheepishly, giving Twilight a sideways glance. The princess seemed to be catching on, and gave her a stern glare. “What? Why would I be… oh. You thought I was going straight for the portal or something? Jesus, Sunset, give me some credit. You did make me promise. And by the way? Crossing your fingers only works in person, you know that. Jesus, did you just drive straight to the school to try and cut me off or something?” He was laughing as he spoke. Sunset blushed slightly, embarrassed. “Um… no.” “Sunset.” “Schaden.” “You know I’m good at math, right?” “...yes.” “And it’s about three miles from your house to the school.” “Yeah-huh.” “And the average speed limit is twenty through there, with no straight roads from point A to point B.” “That is a truth-fact.” “...we talked five minutes ago. How the hell fast were you going?” “...we will never speak of this again.” “Now THAT promise I will NOT make." "...you had no intention of going through he portal, did you?" "Sunset, I hate horses. And magic. Good night!" The phone went dead. “...god dammit.” “Sunset...” Twilight said slowly. Shimmer turned around to see Twilight glaring daggers at her, still out of breath. “So… um…. Funny story.”