//------------------------------// // XXI - One Small Favour // Story: The Misadventures of Sunset Shimmers // by Yukito //------------------------------// Mrs. Cake wasn't sure when it had happened, but at some point in her busy life of motherhood, everything just sort of clicked. She had gotten the hang of dealing with her chaotic twins, even when they were awake. Before, she would struggle to keep Pound from climbing to high places, and to keep Pumpkin from tasting everything in sight. But now? Now, she had them behaving like perfect little angels. She had picked up on how to tell when the tykes were scheming, and how to prevent a disaster from happening as a result. Now, Mrs. Cake cherished her moments with her babies. Watching them play with their little blocks, giggling as they watched the purple dinosaur dance on the television, and crawl over to her whenever they wanted some attention was just the most precious, most peaceful thing in the world to her. And then the bell rang. Mrs. Cake sighed. Even with the burden of motherhood weighing on her shoulders, she still had to make time to run the bakery with her husband. "Mummy will be right back," Mrs. Cake said as she leaned down to her children, who simply stared at her blankly before returning to their blocks. She picked up the walkie-talkie to her side and turned it on, allowing her to hear everything that went on in the parlour as she made her way to the shop floor. Once there, she found Sunset Shimmer at the counter. "Oh, good morning dear. I thought you wanted to have the day off today." "I do," Sunset responded. "That's not why I'm here. I was wondering if you could bake something for, uh, a friend of mine." "Well, that all depends on what it is your friend is after. Oh! Would you like to say 'hello' to the twins while you're hear? I think they've been missing you!" "I'm kind of in a hurry-" "Oh, nonsense! You should slow down and enjoy life before it passes you by!" Sunset sighed and nodded her head. "Fine, but about my friend-" "Oh! Pound did the cutest thing the other day! He saw our wedding video and tried to replicate it with Pumpkin," Mrs. Cake giggled. "Cute," Sunset deadpanned. "I've got the photos if you want to see them." "Not rea-" "Here they are!" Mrs. Cake grabbed an album from a nearby shelf and opened it, shoving the contents into Sunset's face. "They are so adorable! I wish you had been here to see it!" "Mrs. Cake, about my request." "Oh yes, yes! You said that your friend wanted us to bake something up for them?" "Yes. He was hoping that you could bake him something called an 'MMMM'." Mrs. Cake deflated at the news and cast her eyes to the side. "Oh. Well, um, that was a cake that my husband and I made together for a contest a while ago. I can't make it on my own." Sunset Shimmer raised an eyebrow and then looked around. "Well, where's your husband?" "He's out getting our car serviced. He should have been back by now. I'm getting worried, but I can't just leave the children here all alone, and I don't want to take them to that sketchy part of downtown…" 'Don't you dare ask me to sit for them!' Sunset cleared her throat and gave the best smile that she could muster. "Well, maybe I could go and look for him?" Mrs. Cake gasped. "I couldn't possibly ask you to do that!" "Then don't. I'll still do it." Mrs. Cake's expression softened, and she smiled at the young girl. "Sunset Shimmer, you truly are one of the nicest teenagers I've ever met. I wish that more of them could act more like you." Sunset Shimmer closed the album and placed it onto the counter to her side. "Well then, I guess I'll go and-" "Wait! You haven't said 'hi' to the children yet!" Sunset's eye twitched. "So I haven't." "Come, come! They'll be ever-so-happy to see you!" Suddenly, the sounds of crying came through the walkie-talkie. "Oh dear! What happened now?!" Mrs. Cake and Sunset Shimmer ran together towards the parlour, where they found Pound Cake crying whilst Pumpkin Cake chewed on a stuffed giraffe. "What's his problem?" Sunset asked. "That giraffe is his favourite toy," Mrs. Cake explained. "Pumpkin does this every time I take my eyes off of her for even a second." Sunset nodded and approached the twins, leaning down next to Pumpkin Cake and grabbing the giraffes leg. "Pumpkin, this toy isn't yours to chew. It's also not very sanitary." Pumpkin cringed her face and pulled back on the giraffe. "Uh!" "Now I don't want to be a spoilsport, but I also don't want to have to give you a timeout, either. So hand over the giraffe and we'll forget this whole thing ever happened!" Sunset circled her gloved index finger, sending a trail of magical energy into Pumpkin's mouth and gently prying the bottom of her jaw open slightly. The giraffe slipped out, and Pumpkin reached out for it with tears in her eyes. Pound stopped crying and cheered with joy as his favourite toy was reunited with him at last. He hugged it firmly, despite it being covered in drool, to ensure that he would never lose it again. Unfortunately, it was now Pumpkin's turn to cry. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" "Aaaaaand now comes the tricky part of raising twins," Mrs. Cake said as she picked up her daughter and rocked her gently. "It's impossible to please them both!" "We just need to give her something else to chew on," Sunset stated. "Has she got any pacifiers?" "Yes, but she keeps spitting them out." "Maybe you could try flavouring it with her favourite food?" Sunset suggested. "I… suppose that might work." Mrs. Cake ran over towards a bag on a nearby table and reached inside, pulling out a pacifier from within. Sunset Shimmer took the pacifier and smeared it with some of the baby food she had gotten used to giving the kids, along with a dose of sleeping spell for good measure. The pacifier went into Pumpkin's mouth, and she calmed down, sucking happily for a few seconds… before yawning and falling asleep comfortably into her mother's arms. "Goodness! She must have been tired. No wonder she was so cranky." "Well, seemed the pacifier trick worked," Sunset pointed out. "Now that things have quieted down, I suppose I'll go out and look for your husband." "Right! Let me write you down some directions before you go." Following the directions given to her by Mrs. Cake, Sunset Shimmer found her way to the Gop Tear Garage, located roughly two bus rides from the bakery. Exhausted after the long trip, Sunset Shimmer wasted no time approaching the lanky little man with his head buried inside the hood of his car. "Mr. Cake?" The man jumped, banging his head on the car's hood. Sunset cringed as he turned to face her. "Sunset Shimmer? Well what a surprise! You hear to get serviced too?" "I don't have a car," Sunset said, folding her arms. "Your wife asked me if I could come by and see what's taking you so long. She's starting to worry." Mr. Cake blushed and smiled like a child winning a gold medal. "Aww, that's so like my little Cup Cake…" ''Little'?' Sunset scoffed internally. "But y'see, there's a bit of a problem… The guy who runs this place hasn't come into work yet, and his apprentice can only do so much on his own." "Then… bring the car in tomorrow." "I can't," Mr. Cake sighed. "Truth is, with all that's been going on lately with the twins, I didn't notice that I'm already past the due date for servicing! If I put it off any longer, I could get into serious trouble." "Then call the guy up and ask if he can come in." "We tried, but he must have left his phone here. I'd go and visit him at his house, but I didn't bring any change for the bus." Sunset Shimmer groaned, and looked down at her watch. "Alright. If you tell me where he lives, I could go and bring him here. Sound good?" "Well if you could, that'd help an awful lot," Mr. Cake laughed. "Truth is, I offered to help out as best I can, but I really just don't know anything about cars." "So, where does this guy live?" "Of course he lives just around the corner to the bakery," Sunset said in a sarcastic tone, entering the elevator of the apartment complex and hitting one of the buttons inside. "Thankfully, I carry plenty of change…" The elevator reached its destination, and Sunset Shimmer stepped outside, following the hallway down to the door labelled '53'. Raising her hand, Sunset Shimmer knocked on the door and waited. She heard the sounds of footsteps inside, soon followed by the sounds of clicking, before the door opened and a large, white-skinned boy gazed down at her. "S-Snowflake?" Sunset asked, taking a step back as a pungent, sweaty smell assaulted her nostrils. She pinched her nose and asked, "I-Is you father home? The mechanic over at Gop Tear Garage?" "… DAAAAAAD!" Snowflake yelled, before stepping back inside. He was replaced moments later by another, even larger person, his muscles bulging through his tank top and his head barely touching the ceiling inside the room. "YEEEEEEEAH?!" he asked as he looked down at the tiny girl standing before him. "M-Mr. Rage?" "YEEEEEEAH!" "I-I'm here on request from M-Mr. Cake." "Oh. Right. He wanted his car serviced today, didn't he?" "Yeah… So, any chance you could-" "Look, kid," Mr. Rage started, "I'd love to help, but my son's got an important test tomorrow and I promised to help him study for it." "I'M GONNA PASS IT!" "YEEEEEEEAH!" "YEEEEEEEAH!" "YEEEEEEEEEEEAH!" "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!" Sunset Shimmer cleared her throat and waited for the two to calm down. "Well, I'm pretty smart. Maybe I could help?" "You know Spanish?" Sunset bit her lip, cursing herself for never taking the time to learn one of this world's many other languages. "Ah. Spanish. Well… maybe there's another teacher that could help?" "Find me another teacher and I'll help your friend. Until then…" Mr. Rage slammed the door on Sunset's face. Sunset clenched her fist and stomped away. "Darn it. I need somebody who can speak Spanish. But who?" "Oh, I'd be delighted to help the poor lad," Rarity said as she guided her needle through the dress on her mannequin. "As a young lady, I took up many classes in foreign languages, knowing that one day my boutiques would open all over the world!" "Great!" Sunset said with a smile. "So you can get him ready for his test tomorrow?" "Wait, the test is tomorrow?! Oh, no no no no! I can't! I have so much to do!" Sunset deflated. "Rarity, come on! Surely you can put your work on hold for just one day! I thought you were the most generous person in school!" "Flattery will only get you so far, dear, but thank you all the same." Rarity put down her thread and her needle and hummed in thought. "Welllll… I suppose I could put my work on hold, if you do a little something for me." Sunset slammed her hand into her face. "Oh, great… What is it?" "You see, there is this jewel in Ruby's Emerald Emporium that I have had my eyes on for quite some time now, but I have not been able to haggle it down to a reasonable price. If you could convince Ruby to reduce the price for me…" "And just how am I supposed to do that?" "I'm sure you'll find a way, what with your… charming personality…" "One thousand dollars." Sunset Shimmer leaned onto the displayed and gave the shopkeeper a friendly smile. "I'm sure you make enough money that you could afford to lower the price just a tad." "… One thousand dollars," Ruby repeated as she continued to file her nails. Sunset slumped and screamed internally, but was just about able to contain her voice. "Look, Rarity's a popular customer here, right? Surely you could give some kind of discount?" "Rarity?" "Yes! Like I said, she's the one that wants it!" "Well, Rarity does come by here a lot, but I can't just go giving out discounts when it's not even the holidays…" Sunset Shimmer took a step back and took a deep breath. "Okay, how abooooout… I don't know! How about a trade?!" "… Apples." Sunset looked up in surprise. "Huh?" "I want apples." "… Why do you-" Ruby stopped filing and said, "I don't need to explain my reasons to you. Five crates should do it." "Five crates?! Where the buck am I supposed to get…" "Ya want how many apples?!" Applejack shouted, taken aback by friend's request. "Five!" Sunset Shimmer replied, holding up her open hand for emphasis. "Don't ask why, but it's important! I'm pulling the 'friend card' here!" "Look, Sunset," Applejack sighed, lowering her head, "I'd love ta help ya, but we barely make enough ta keep the farm. Givin' away five crates just isn't somethin' ah can do. Sorry." As Applejack left, Sunset Shimmer sighed and hung her head. Usually, she would not be one to admit defeat so easily, but she was exhausted, and short on change. 'Where else could I get five crates of apples in this town?' "Psst." Sunset's head shot up, and she looked around. "PSSSSST!" Sunset turned towards the barn, where she found Granny Smith waving for her to come closer. "Ah hear ye're lookin' for apples. Ah can help ya." Sunset Shimmer raised an eyebrow and approached the old lady. "I thought Applejack said-" "Oh, don't mind what that Applejack said. Ah'm sure the farm can afford t' spare a fewc rates… if'n ya do us a lil' favour first, of course." "Of course," Sunset sighed. "What will it be?" "For years now, the Richs have been outdoin' us in the apple market. Ah wanna know what their secret is, so ah can get ahead of 'em this time!" "You want me to spy on them, then?" Sunset asked. "Well, don't think of it as that, more like-" "Oh no need to sugar-coat it. I'm all for spying on the competition. I just didn't expect it from you, is all." "Well, ah've been around a while now, an' ah know that sometimes, it's necessary t' play a lil' dirty…" Granny Smith said with a grin and a light chuckle. "Now, Filthy Rich won't be easy t' break, but his daughter, Diamond Tiara, might be willin' t' part with the information if ya can persuade her…" "Diamond Tiara? Ugh. Great… Well, guess I've got no choice. I'll see what I can do." "You want me to sell out my father?" Diamond Tiara asked, her hands on her hips. "And… why would I do that?" "Name your price," Sunset Shimmer said as she folded her arms. 'Everyone else has…' Diamond Tiara scoffed. "Yeah, sure." She took out a piece of paper and waved it teasingly before Sunset Shimmer. "Gee, maybe if you could get my teacher to bump up my grade from my last exam, I just might be willing to part with this list of my father's contacts." "Why do you even have that?" "Because Daddy thinks it's safer on me than in a safe, but this might be just the day to prove him wrong." Sunset Shimmer put a hand to her chin. "And… which teacher is it that I'll be dealing with?" "Oh, I'm so glad that you took the time to visit me on your day off!" As Discord poured chocolate milk into an empty glass, Sunset Shimmer looked around at the mess all around her. Artwork that was lopsided, photographs inside of cabinets whilst dishes and plates sat outside of them, a television that was upside-down, a bed shaped like a car, and a bathtub in the middle of the living room. "You don't get much company, do you?" "I don't know what it is, but nobody ever seems to come and visit me. Not even my parents! Though it doesn't help that I never knew my parents, but they should still make the effort! Don't you think?" "I don't care. Let me cut to the chase: raise Diamond Tiara's grade." Discord sighed and shook his head. "Now, now, Sunset Shimmer. You know that I can't just go around raising somebody's grade like that! … Well I can, but it's not as much fun as seeing a student squirm when they see a big fat 'F' on their paper!" "Look, Diamond Tiara's promised to try really hard in the future. She just needs this grade so that her father can focus on his work without worrying about her." "… Sunset Shimmer, come on now. What do you take me for? Diamond Tiara has something that you want and the only way for you to get it is if I bump up her grade, isn't that right?" Sunset Shimmer was speechless for a few seconds, before she finally said, "You could give Pinkie Pie a run for her money." "Well, I like you, so maybe I could make an exception this one time, but…" Sunset Shimmer groaned. "Let me guess! I need to go all the way to the other end of the town to get something you need, that send me on yet another quest to get something else for that person, right?!" "… I was only going to ask you if I could have Celestia's phone number, so that I could prank her. She changed it the last time and I've been getting bored lately." "… Now that I can do." Sunset pulled out her phone and gave Discord Celestia's number. In return, he altered the grade on Diamond's paper to something more presentable. "Great! Then I'll be seeing you! Oh, and don't tell Celestia that I gave you that." "Oh, don't worry, dearie! I wouldn't dream of selling you out." The chuckle that Discord gave unsettled Sunset Shimmer, but she couldn't worry about that. She had a lot of busses to catch." "You… really got him to change my grade?" Diamond Tiara asked. "Yes! Now, keep up your end of the bargain." Diamond Tiara scoffed. "I was joking! I didn't expect you to actually do it!" "But I did! Now give me that information!" Diamond Tiara stashed the paper into her pocket and shrugged her shoulders. "And sell out my father? Hah! Yeah right! But thank you anyways, Sunset Shimmer!" As Diamond Tiara waved, she turned around to leave. Sunset Shimmer gritted her teeth together, before formulating an idea. She used her magic to gently lift the paper from Diamond's pocket and levitate into her hand. "… No. Thank you," she said with a grin. "Ah-hah! So this is how that weasel always beats us!" Granny Smith declared, reading the paper closely. "Well, now that ah know his plan of attack, ah can prepare a counter!" "So, about those apples." Granny Smith nodded her head. "You jus' let me know where ya want 'em delivered an' ah'll have it sorted out for ya!" "I got you your apples!" Sunset Shimmer declared as she approached Ruby, a victorious look on her face. "Yeah, I just got them," Ruby said. "… Wow. That old lady works fast." "Well, here's the jewel." As Sunset Shimmer took the jewel and closed its case, she gave Ruby an odd look. "… You're really trading a jewel worth one thousand dollars for five crates of apples?" "If you'd like, we could cancel the deal." "No way! I'm just… You should meet my teacher, Discord. You'd get along well." "Whatever…" Sunset Shimmer pocketed the jewel and then left the store. "Alright, time to head back to Rarity's…" "You… You really got it! And it's not even counterfeit!" Rarity put down the jewel after she was finished with examining it, and then turned to Sunset Shimmer. "How did you pull this off?" "You don't wanna know. So, you can teach Snowflake Spanish?" "I thought his name was Bulk Biceps?" "Whatever his name is! You gonna teach him or not?" "Well, my word is as good as diamonds in the sky! Lead the way, my dear friend!" "Thank you kindly, Miss," Mr. Rage said as he shook Rarity's hand. Rarity whimpered as she covered her nose with her free hand and simply nodded her head. "Your son will surely pass with her as his teacher." "YEEEEEEEEAH!" Mr. Rage released Rarity's hand and turned to Sunset Shimmer. "Well then, let me give you a lift down to the garage!" "YEEEEEAH!" Sunset replied, following Mr. Rage down the hall. "Thanks, Rarity! Have fun now!" Rarity whimpered as she entered the apartment, immediately finding herself surrounded by dirty clothes scattered about, empty pizza boxes, and oily vehicle components. "Curse my generous nature…" "Thank you so much, Mr. Rage!" Carrot Cake said as he pulled a nice chunk of money out from his wallet, handing it to the mechanic. "You have no idea how glad I am that you came by when you did!" "You should thank her!" Mr. Rage said, motioning to Sunset Shimmer as he collected his money. "Your car's running just fine now! Just make sure you don't miss your service date next time!" "I won't, and thanks again!" Sunset and Carrot Cake both climbed into the car and left the garage. "Finally," Sunset groaned as she leaned against the window. "I can't even remember why I… Oh! Mr. Cake, I have a favour to ask you!" "Well shucks! After all you've done, I'd be happy to help you with whatever you need! So what is it?" "I was wondering if you and your wife could make an 'MMMM' for a friend of mine." Carrot Cake looked surprised. "An 'MMMM', huh? Gosh. We haven't made one since the contest, but… Well, heck, I suppose we could give it another go! So, who's this 'friend' of yours, anyway?" Sunset Shimmer grimaced. "Well, he's…" Featherweight raised an eyebrow, as a sweat-covered, panting Sunset Shimmer slumped over his desk, a wagon containing a rather large cake behind her. "I… got… it…" Featherweight examined the cake, and then Sunset Shimmer. "… I asked for that over five hours ago." "You have… no idea… what I've… been through…" "Well, actually, I kind of already picked a new article to focus on." Sunset's breathing stopped. Her head slowly rose, her eyes blank and her expression dead. "… What?" "You took so long, I ditched the idea to review the 'MMMM'. Sorry, but your phone was off, so I couldn't tell you." Sunset Shimmer stood up slowly, and then reached out her hand, grabbing the skinny little boy by his collar. "No." "W-What? Hey…" "No no no." "C-Calm down. I mean, maybe I could-" "I went through hell to get this cake for you! I don't care if you no longer want to write about it! I fulfilled my end of the bargain, no fulfil yours!" "O-Okay!" Featherweight shouted, gasping as Sunset released him. "I-I guess I did promise you. Here." Featherweight handed Sunset Shimmer a photograph and a memory card. "That card is the only digital copy of that picture, and that photograph is the only one that was ever printed." "… Thank you," Sunset said, before crushing the card in her hand. "Oh, and the next time you point your camera my way… this memory card will be you." Featherweight gulped, and slowly nodded his head. "U-Understood…" Sunset Shimmer turned around to leave. She opened the doors and stepped outside of Featherweight's hut, making sure to round a corner before she used her magic to burn the photograph and the card with her magic. As she dropped the photograph to the ground, she caught one final glimpse of the accursed object as it fell to pieces. She grinned. The image of herself picking her nose in an absentminded daze was forever destroyed, and would never be seen by anyone. Her image was safe once more. Later that night, Celestia was disturbed from her slumber by her phone lighting up and vibrating on her bedside table. Moaning and rubbing her eye, Celestia looked to the object and asked, "Who could be texting me this late?" Picking up the phone, Celestia froze as she recognised the sender's number. The text was nothing more than a mere image of Discord's smug, grinning face, captioned with the text 'U MAD?'. Clutching the phone in her hand, Celestia screamed and threw it against the wall, shattering it into two pieces, before falling back onto her head and trying to drift off back to sleep. 'That's another phone I'll have to buy, but it'll be worth it. I just wish he would stop somehow getting my numbers.'