Sweetie Belle was about as happy of a fifteen year old girl as she could be. She did solid in school, she had a loving family, good friends, as well as good looks and a decent fashion sense. She also went to Canterlot High, which was developing a reputation for being a hotspot for invading magical, otherworldly creatures, so there was nary a dull moment. In fact, her older sister was close friends with both a trio of brain-washing, negativity-feeding singing sirens and a former unicorn, former psycho she-demon, current lead guitarist in their band by the name of Sunset Shimmer. Sweetie Belle learned to like Sunny enough, especially after the older girl bestowed a sage piece of advice.
It was a Friday afternoon, with the last few minutes of lunch winding down. Sweetie Belle was sitting alone at the table she normally shared with her two friends. Today, Scootaloo and Applebloom were nowhere to be found, leaving Sweetie Belle to stare out blankly as she silently ate her lunch. She didn’t think she was looking at anything in particular, but her gaze did occasionally shift and linger on a group of boys a few tables away. Sunset Shimmer noticed the slightly dejected and lonely look on Sweetie Belle’s face and decided to help her out.
“Sup, Sweetie?” asked Sunset, sliding into a seat next to her. “You’re looking kinda down. Where are the girls?”
“They’re… They’re sick,” lied Sweetie Belle. Sunset laughed. Sweetie Belle was far too smart, kind, and studious to be able to lie very well.
“Skipping, gotcha. Well, that would explain where Rainbow ran off to,” chuckled Sunset. “So, can’t help but notice that you’re staring over there. See a boy you like or something?” Instantly, Sweetie’s face bloomed red in the most innocent, adorable blush Sunset had ever seen, which was saying something, considering she hailed from a land of colorful ponies (who were, arguably, the cutest creatures to ever be conceived).
“You know, I could hook you up,” teased Sunset. “Who is it?”
“It’s nobody, thank you,” lied Sweetie in spectacularly unconvincing fashion. “Nobody at all.”
“Is it Snips or Snails?”
“Ew!”
“Thank god. Well, if you ever need some advice… I know you’d probably go to your sister first, but…” said Sunset. She leaned in close and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Between you and me, Rares isn’t the best to talk to about relationships. After Blueblood, she sorta went a bit… Well, there’s a reason she doesn’t date anymore, kay?”
“Thank you. I’ll let you know if something comes up,” said Sweetie, sticking to her facade. Sunset smiled and nodded, then rose from her seat. Just as she was about to walk off, she heard Sweetie’s call. “Wait a second!”
“Yes?” asked Sunset, trying to hide her smirk.
“L-let’s say, just hypothetically, let’s say there was a boy I liked,” said Sweetie Belle, still blushing warmly. “And what if we’ve never spoken before?”
“Well, if that was the scenario, then I’d suggest that you just talk to him,” said Sunset. “Only way for you guys to start talking is if you start talking.”
“But I don’t understand the things that he’s into. We don’t have anything to talk about.”
“We still dealing with hypotheticals here?” asked Shimmer smugly.
“Just help me!”
Sunset Shimmer laughed, which only served to make Sweetie all the more embarrassed. Her face radiated a tangible heat, which Sunset found time to feel slightly bad about. Mostly, she found Sweetie to be hilarious and adorable, and she wanted to help her out desperately. It would seem that Princess Twilight’s lessons had mostly taken a hold of the former Bad Girl of CHS.
“Okay, if you have nothing in common, then make something in common,” said Sunset. “Find something he likes and give it a try. Best case scenario, you’re super good and you have something to share with him. Worst case, you’re awful, and you can ask him to teach you. Win-win, if you ask me.”
Just then, the bell rang, which had a mass effect of killing everyone’s excitement. School time lunch has a strange way of somehow deluding students into believing that they are someplace other than the school that they detest. Sunset was among that group, and she groaned loudly.
“Crap. Man, pre-cal sucks,” said Sunset grumpily. She thought on it, then she shrugged. “Meh. I’m still doing better than Aria. She failed her homework 2 weeks ago, and now she’s super pissed with the class. Anyway, good luck, Sweetie. Make sure you come tell me how it goes out with you and Button.”
Sweetie Belle gasped, her blush intensifying just as it began dying down. Sunset Shimmer cackled to herself, then, without explaining how she knew, she melded into the group of student evacuating from the cafeteria. Once Sweetie got over the shock and developed a game plan, she soon followed. Sweetie Belle was about to take herself way out of her element, and she could only pray that it worked out. Sweetie wasn’t quite sure when it was happening, but as soon as she decided what she would do, she confirmed that she was glad she talked to Sunset Shimmer.
After school, Sweetie hung around the front of the school, where Button Mash and his friends often met. While there, she caught a few words that she decided were of key importance; “Xbox”, a term she was vaguely familiar with, “eeso”, which was fairly mysterious, and, the strangest to her, “cod”, which she thought was a fish, and was confused as to why Button and his friends were talking about it.
Sweetie Belle found herself strolling down the street, trying to decide how she’d acquire all the things she needed. She reasoned she could play at Scootaloo’s house, but she wanted to have an option for when she was at home. She could always ask her parents for a console, but they’d probably reluctant. She was about a block from her house, when she decided she would have to save up her allowance until she had enough. Then, as if the world was listening in on her, a solution presented herself.
“Hey! You!”
Sweetie Belle froze nervously, because she recognized the voice. She knew there was no need to be afraid, that she was different now, but it was still hard to shake the feeling that the Siren was up to no good. Sweetie Belle nervously turned to see Adagio Dazzle walking in her direction. She had a very strange appearance, wearing khakis, an electric blue t-shirt and a similarly blue hat, both bearing the logo of “DJ SC-R4TCH”. The strangest thing about her was that none of her orange hair was visibly poking out of her hat.
“H-hey. What’s up?” asked Sweetie Belle nervously.
“Sweetie Belle, right? Rarity’s little sister?” asked Adagio. Sweetie nodded. “Wonderful. Alright, so a few weeks ago, Aria and Sonata were wrestling when Aria ‘accidentally’ elbow dropped my Xbox. Foolishly, I delegated the task of ordering a new one to Aria, who made Sonata do it. She brought two. Using my credit card.”
“Uh-huh,” said Sweetie, still not really comfortable with the situation.
“You can imagine my shock when two boxes showed up at my door, and when my bill was $250 more than it should’ve been,” said Adagio. “The site I ordered from has a strict no-refund policy, and I can’t be bothered to trade it in at GameStop. It’d be a shame for me to just throw it out, so I was wondering if you know someone who could want it.”
“You’re giving away an Xbox 360, brand new out the box, for free?” asked Sweetie skeptically. Adagio nodded. “I’d like it. What’s the catch?”
“The catch is you tell Sunny to hurry up and get Twilight here,” said Adagio. “She needs to hurry up with that hair potion.”
“Hair potion?”
“Look, do you want it or not? I’ll bring it your place in a few hours, okay?” said Adagio. She smiled smally. “I’ll write this up as my good deed of the day.”
“T-thank you! Thank you, so much!” squealed Sweetie. Adagio chuckled, gripped by a warm, fuzzy feeling that made her want to throw up, but in a strangely satisfying way. She pulled a pen and a piece of paper from her pocket, scribbled her cell number, and handed it to Sweetie. The two waved their goodbyes, and went on their separate ways. Sweetie Belle was excited to begin her new life as a gamer girl.
She had no idea what she was getting herself into.