"Good morning, Sunset Shimmer. Nice weather we're having, huh?"
"Hey, Sunset! Looking forward to the Rainbooms concert tonight!"
"Hello, Ms. Shimmer. How are you today?"
Sunset Shimmer beamed as she strolled down the crowded hallway of Canterlot High. The air was alive with the hum of pleasant cross-conversation and a string of cheerful greetings. Every time one of those greetings were directed towards Sunset herself, she felt a gentle warmth in her chest. She couldn't help but sigh in contentment.
Her bliss was interrupted by her ringtone. With a slight groan, she answered it. Sure enough, Discord appeared on her screen.
"Hey, so, I've been thinking about making us friendship necklaces," he said, showing her two golden pendants. One was half a heart depicting a human Sunset Shimmer; the other depicted her as a unicorn. "Which one do you like better?"
Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you jumping the gun a little?"
Discord tilted his head. "I thought it was common for friends to give each other gifts regardless of the occasion."
"That or you're trying to bribe me to trust you," said Sunset with a scowl.
"What? No! That's not it at all!" Discord growled indignantly. "How could you even think that, Sunny? I put a lot of work into these, y'know. I didn't have to do that."
"Translation: You snapped your fingers, and lo, they did appear," said Sunset, rolling her eyes.
Discord had no retort. "You win this round, Sunny," he grumbled, opening up a to-do list app. He then crossed off an entry marked "Friendship Necklaces."
"H-hey! You'd better not be messing around with my planner!" Sunset warned.
"Relax, this is purely my file," said Discord, looking down the list. "So, how do you feel about fresh-baked cookies?"
Sunset resisted the urge to palm her face. "Discord, you can't just buy someone's friendship with favors and gifts. It doesn't work like that."
Discord blinked and looked back at his list. "Huh. I wish you told me something before I made this useless thing," he mused. "Oh well. Back to the drawing board."
He then exited out of the app and tore it up as if it were made of paper. Sunset rolled her eyes.
"Look, I don't have time for this now," she said. "There are only ten minutes before first period, and I need to focus on preparing for school. So, if you don't mind..."
"Alright, alright. I'll ask you about this later," sighed Discord, shaking his head. "Sheesh, Twilight never told me about you being such a grouch."
With a snap of his fingers, the phone's screen went dark. Sunset let out a sigh of her own and went over to her locker.
"Don't let him get to you, Sunset," she told herself. "Just keep calm. Everything will— GAH!"
As soon as she opened her locker, the pungent odor of a stable assaulted her nostrils. A wave of hay spilled out onto the floor, along with sticky barbs and pointy thorns that stuck to her clothing. After recovering from the shock, Sunset deadpanned.
"Great. As if this day couldn't get any worse," she mumbled bitterly, staring at the mess on the floor. Just then, her phone's screen lit up, and Discord reappeared.
"I thought I heard a noise," Discord said. "Are you—? Sweet Celestia Luna and Twilight on a pogo stick! What happened?!"
Sunset glowered at Discord. "I think you—"
"We have to get you cleaned up, Sunny," Discord interrupted. "You cannot go to school like that. Fortunately, as a good friend, I have just the solution!"
He scrolled through the apps on Sunset's phone and came to one marked "Shower." Before Sunset could protest, he tapped the app. In the blink of an eye, Sunset found herself standing in a bathtub with a green shower curtain shielding her from prying eyes. She barely had time to get her bearings before the shower head above her started bombarding her with warm, soapy water. She gasped and sputtered.
"Don't worry, Sunny! I'm not peeking!" Discord called out, hiding his face behind a yellow umbrella. "And your phone is perfectly alright, too!"
A few seconds later, the shower disappeared. Sunset was soaked to the bone and shivering. She gave her phone a dirty look.
"Not done yet, Sunny," said Discord, scrolling over to another app. "I got this one from a friend back home."
He tapped an app marked "Rain-Blow Dry," and all of a sudden, a small whirlwind lapped at Sunset's feet. A split second later, the whirlwind turned into a raging tornado displaying a full spectrum of color. The warm winds did their job, whipping away every bit of moisture from Sunset's body. After a few dizzying seconds, the tornado vanished as quickly as it came.
"Et violà," said Discord cheerfully. "All clean, dry, and ready for school. How do you feel, Sun—?"
He stopped himself mid-sentence and covered his mouth with both hands. Sunset was indeed dry and clean, but her hair had become all tangled and bunched up thanks to the tornado. Tears formed in Discord's eyes as he snickered, trying desperately to hold his laughter in.
"O-oh my goodness," he wheezed. "I-I am s-so s-sorree hee hee hee hee~!"
Discord continued to snigger and chortle, wriggling about on Sunset's screen as she gave him a bemused look. Finally, Discord took a few deep breaths and calmed himself down.
"You done?" Sunset asked.
"Y-yeah, I'm good," said Discord, clearing his throat. "Again, I do apologize, Sunny. I-I know I shouldn't have laughed at you, but I-I just couldn't h-help myself."
"Uh, Sunset? Wh-what was that?"
Sunset looked up to see that Flash Sentry was standing right in front of her, his mouth agape. Sunset gulped.
"F-Flash, I-I can explain..." she said nervously.
"Fret not, Sunset. I've got this," said Discord.
With a snap of his fingers, he appeared before Flash's eyes. He was wearing a black suit and shades. Flash continued to stare at the bizarre spectacle that unfolded before him.
"Here, Sunny. You'll need these," said Discord. With another snap of his fingers, a pair of heavily-tinted sunglasses appeared on Sunset's face. Discord then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal stick.
"Sir, would you please stare at this for a moment?" he asked Flash.
Flash was completely dumbfounded. "S-Sunset, what's going on? Wh-who is this? I-Is there—?"
"I said stare at the metal stick, sir," Discord said gruffly.
"H-hey, don't tell me what to d—"
Discord interrupted Flash by pressing a button on the stick. A bright flash filled the room, and Flash was rendered stupefied.
"You saw nothing," said Discord coldly. "You will go about your normal day like nothing happened."
Flash nodded. "R-right, sure," he said in a dazed tone. He then turned around and went on his way. Once he was gone, Discord went back into Sunset's phone.
"Whew, that was a close one," he said, taking off his suit and shades. "So, where were we?"
Sunset took a moment to shake herself. "Discord, what are you up to?"
"I think I've made my motives abundantly clear several times now, Sunny," said Discord, folding his arms. "It's not my fault that you don't believe me."
"It's hard to believe you when you put garbage in my locker and brainwash the other students," Sunset snarled.
"Okay, first of all, I didn't brainwash that boy. I simply made him forget ever seeing me. Other than that, he's right as rain," said Discord. "Second, you really think that mess in your locker was my work? Please. This is clearly just some amateur prank. Now if there were peaches dancing the Watusi in your locker, that would be a different story."
"But that's the thing, Discord. The students at CHS don't play pranks on me like this," said Sunset. She then let out a sad sigh and cast her eyes downward. "Well, not anymore, at least."
Discord arched an eyebrow. "'Not anymore?'" he parroted. "What do you mean by that, Sunny?"
Sunset heaved another sigh. "After the Fall Formal, when it was revealed that I was a unicorn, a couple of punks named Hoops and Dumb-bell thought it would be hilarious to stuff hay in my locker."
Discord blinked. "Wait, so they didn't care that you used the Element of Magic to try and conquer Equestria? They were just picking on you for being different?"
"Oh, no. They were still incredibly sore about what I did," said Sunset. "They just wanted to rub salt into my wounds for good measure."
Discord frowned and crossed his arms. "Well, that's highly uncalled for. So, what do you plan on doing about it?"
Sunset did a double take. "Pardon?"
"Well, if those two hooligans are up to their old tricks, you should stand up for yourself, shouldn't you?" asked Discord.
Sunset bit her lip and shook her head. "No, see. That's what they want me to do."
Discord gave Sunset a blank stare. "You lost me, Sunny."
"If I tried to confront them, it would just confirm their suspicions."
"What suspicions?"
"That I'm still the same she-demon that does whatever it takes to get what she wants."
Discord furrowed his brow and tapped his chin. "So, you have trouble advocating for yourself because of your reputation," he mused. "I sure know what that feels like."
Sunset snorted. "Seriously, Discord. Stop comparing us like this. I'm not falling for it."
"Case in point," Discord sighed. "Listen, Sunny. If you're so worried about this silly misconception, then I have a suggestion for you."
Sunset deadpanned. "Do I want to know what that suggestion is?"
"I think you'll like it," said Discord with a shrug.
Sunset sighed. "Okay, fine. What's this suggestion of yours?"
"If you can't advocate for yourself, then I'll advocate for you."
Sunset blinked. "What?"
"Let me tell you a story, Sunny," said Discord, leaning back on his snake tail. "Back in the early days of my reformation, nopony believed that it was possible. Nopony, that is, except for Fluttershy. And no matter what, she would always defend me no matter how guilty I appeared to be. I can do something similar for you. I'll find those ruffians and show them the error of their ways."
Sunset raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like a recipe for disaster. And a good way to get me into trouble," she said skeptically.
"Not if I'm careful about it," Discord retorted. "I may be new to friendship, Sunny, but I'm not stupid. Besides, I'd be helping you get the justice you deserve. Wouldn't you love a friend who would do that for you?"
Sunset opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the bell ringing.
"Whoop! That's my cue to skidoo," said Discord. "We'll pick this up later, Sunny."
He then snapped his fingers, and the phone's screen went dark. Sunset sighed as she got her bags out of the messy locker.
"The custodian is not gonna be happy about this," she muttered under her breath. "'Get the justice I deserve,' he says. As if that madman knows what justice is."
The phone vibrated in Sunset's pocket. She picked it up to find an all-too-familiar text.
"'I heard that, Sunny,'" she growled, deleting the text. "That's not gonna get old anytime soon..."
***
Unbeknownst to Sunset, Adagio and Aria were watching the tail end of her phone conversation with Discord. Adagio grinned from ear to ear as she wrung her hands in delight. Aria, however, was less than impressed.
"That's your present to Discord?" she inquired. "You gotta be kidding me."
"Don't be so quick to knock it, Aria," said Adagio. "See how agitated Sunset Shimmer is? She's probably so angry, she's ready to punch someone's lights out. It should be no problem for Discord to corrupt her now."
"Uh-huh," said Aria, casting her gaze upward. "That totally justifies you hogging the bathroom all morning."
"Hey, this took a lot of work to put together, Aria," Adagio growled through gritted teeth.
"And I'm sure Discord appreciates it," Aria replied sardonically.
Adagio huffed. "Scoff if you must, Aria. But once Discord praises me for my efforts, we'll see who has the last laugh."
She then marched off to class. Aria sniggered and shook her head.
"I can't decide which is funnier," she chuckled. "Adagio being delusional, or Sonata being stupid. Well, I guess it doesn't matter either way. This should be highly entertaining no matter what happens next..."