Sunset Shimmer vs. The Cutie Map

by Arkhivez

Can a bridge be burned before it's even built?

Author's Note:

I decided to add more chapters to this. Hope you all enjoy!

Princess Twilight had made sure that at least once a week, she took time out of her day to walk around Ponyville, visiting shops, saying “hello” to other ponies, and genuinely talking with them about their lives. It really perked up the town, and it gave her a much needed break away from her castle, her books, and her thoughts. She had learned that sometimes it's the small ways of helping that are important.

The purple royal alicorn began a cheerful trot back to her castle, an extra spring in her step. She was in such a good mood, she knew that opening the door, she'd feel inspired, feel encouraged, feel--

“Why hello there, Princess!”

--anything but that.

“Oh, hello Discord. What's up?”

Princess Twilight mentally calmed herself. “Take it easy, Twilight,” she commanded herself. “Discord is our friend, remember? Let's not assume the worst. We promised to put genuine effort into building a connection with him. Let's actually be friendly.”

“Twilight, I know that look, you think I'm up to no good.”

“Gee, can't imagine why, chuckles,” thought Twilight. She then thought, “Come ON Twilight, you're the Princess of Friendship, be his friend!”

Twilight took a breath.

“Discord, I'm not going to accuse you of anything, not until there's actually something to accuse you for. Things are different between us now. You're my friend, and I want to make an effort to act like it. So, how can I help you today?”

Discord wore a smile he'd been trying to contain.

“Oh Twilight, I don't know about you helping me, but I came here to say that it was my honor and privilege to help you!”

Twilight had the willpower to shift islands with her magic. It was taking that same amount of willpower to maintain a pleasant and non-accusatory demeanor.

“Help me?”

“That's right! I'm pleased to announce that my Security System of Friendship™ has caught an intruder!"

Twilight's expression turned to one of confusion. Then suspicion with a hint of anger.

“Discord...I never asked you to place a security system inside the castle.”

“But Twilight, we talked about it just the other day! I told you that having your castle infiltrated not once, but twice was troubling, that maybe there should be extra defenses in place, maybe something chaos-based, and you agreed with me!”

“Discord, I said 'Yes, I've been thinking about that, and perhaps there's a way chaos magic could prove useful when applied to the security of a castle if used properly, and I should research it.' Re. Search. You know, studying and experimenting something before actually applying it! Tests! Controls! Hypotheses!”

“Well, I just performed one of those experiments for you and it was a rousing success. Come and see for yourself, Twilight, please. This unicorn was a clever one, somehow getting into the castle from the inside! But she's not as clever as yours truly, and was therefore caught and apprehended!” He said this triumphantly as he was donning a security uniform, swishing around a nightstick. He made a pair of braces appear. “Ready to arrest them when give the word, Princess!”

“Discord, wait. Let's see who it is. I'm sure there's a good reason that this happened.”

“Eh, your castle, your rules.”

“If you really thought of it that way, you wouldn't have put in security measures without my permission!” Twilight thought to herself frustratingly. She breathed out a sigh and began the short journey to the throne room.

When they entered the throne room, Twilight saw the pony-sized cage and became concerned.

“Discord, did you hurt them?”

“No. Just a little sleeping gas to subdue them until I could have the threat properly neutralized. They'll be waking up in a couple moments. They'll feel a little groggy, but they'll be completely unhurt.”

“Well, thank you for that at least.” Said Twilight as she approached the cage. Indeed there was a unicorn in there. She was laying on her side, passed out. Her disheveled mane covered most of her face, but her cutie mark was visible at least. The mark and the corresponding mane and tail were all Twilight needed to put it together as Discord bragged about his work.

“And there you have it, Princess. Meet your new Head of Security--”

“GET HER OUT OF THAT CAGE NOW DISCORD!!”

Discord was so surprised at the sudden outburst of anger that his form spiraled away in a non-existent breeze, his limbs flailing for a bit before he stopped. He looked at the enraged Alicorn and became a little scared and confused.

“B-but that unicorn broke into your castl--”

“THAT UNICORN IS MY FRIEND, DISCORD! OUT! NOW!”

That last word echoed and reverberated around the room a great deal, making Discord pull back a little before he snapped his claws and the cage disappeared. Twilight quickly ran to the unicorn, lifting their head up and gently trying to get them to come to. “Wake up! Wake up, come on!”

“I don't understand--”

“Discord, there's a magic mirror portal in one of my studies that allows me to visit another world! This unicorn is my friend who lives there!”

“Another...whaaaa?!?” The Spirit of Chaos himself was mystified.

“I don't have time to go into the full details but the short version is that this unicorn and I are good friends, and I swear, if ANY HARM CAME TO HER FROM THIS--”

“Twi—I mean Princess, please! Like I said, it's just sleeping gas, that's all. She'll be fine...”

The golden-coated unicorn had begun to stir. “Princess...Twilight...? Please tell me...it's you this time...”

“Yes, yes! Are you okay?” Twilight inquired, extremely worried.

“Unnnnhhhh....” Sunset whimpered. “The room is spinning and I feel groggy...”

“That'll pass, I can assure you, Twilight's-friend-I-don't-know-about,” Discord spoke, appearing in her vision.

“AHHHH!!” Sunset jolted out of Twilight’s arms and backpedaled a bit. “Oh my Alicorns!! Y-You're real?!? YOU'RE HERE?!?” Sunset yelled, identifying from many past trips around the Canterlot Gardens, the creature that magically floated before her.

“Yes yes, I’m very real and lemme tell you something, missy. Even if you are Twilight's friend--”

Sunset had already taken a defensive stance and was channeling magic through her horn, ready to unleash a powerful assault spell.

“Twilight, go get your friends! I'll hold him--”

“Ho ho, you wanna go? How ador--”

“STOOOOOOP!” yelled Twilight, flying in between Sunset and Discord, throwing up her hooves. “Everypony...stop. We're all friends here. Sunset, I know I haven't written about it in a while, but Discord came to our side, remember??”

Sunset eased her angered expression, letting her magic die down.

“And Discord, I fully expect you to give an apology to this poor mare that you knocked out with sleeping gas!”

“Twilight, the only reason the gas even activated is because she attempted to breach the castle or something in it! Like one of the gates, or your little table map...”

“Wait...this table map?” Sunset pointed a hoof at the table.

“Yes, why?” Twilight asked.

“Oh. Well I did try to use it...”

“Ah-HA!! Looks like your 'friend' was--”

“I was trying to get a closer view of Canterlot, you maniacal dunderhead!” yelled Sunset. “That's when your creepy gas knocked me out! I came here because I needed to talk to Princess Twilight, and I would never try to steal from her!” Sunset stomped her hoof for emphasis before briefly shifting her eyes side-to-side, then back forward.

“...again.” Sunset said with maintained resolve.

“Ooohoohoo, 'again'!? You've tried to steal from her before?”

“It was a long time ago, Discord,” Twilight interjected, placing herself in between the two begrudged creatures. “Just like you and I were enemies at one point, Sunset and I were as well. She attempted to steal my crown, my element of harmony. I got it back and in the process showed her--”

“--error of her ways, blah blah friendship, rainbow lasers, hugs, moral, all that stuff, right?” Discord interrupted. Twilight glared at him, giving a soft growl.

“Actually, for once since I've gotten here, you're basically spot on,” Sunset said, smirking a bit. She then remembered just how angry she was. She couldn't allow herself to become acquaintances with somepony who acted so audaciously and didn't even seem to care about the ramifications of his actions towards her. The type of day Sunset was having, it was simply too much. She turned to leave the room, looking back at Discord with hostility.

“I can tell he's not going to apologize, Twilight, and he wouldn't mean it if he did,” Sunset said with contempt. “Just forget it, Princess, I’m sorry. I made a mistake coming here.”

“But you said you needed to talk--!”

“I'll write to you, like I should have done,” Sunset explained. “It had just been a while since I've seen you, and--” Sunset remembered that Discord was in the room, and didn't want to divulge anything emotional or personal with him present. “Look, I'll explain in the journal. It was good to see you though, Princess. I'll be in touch.”

Just as Sunset started to leave, she heard strange sounds behind her, and saw the walls glow. She turned and saw that the glow was coming from the map. She saw something floating above the map, that made her stop, jaw agape, eyes wide, completely dumbstruck.

It was her cutie mark.

“Wha--?”

Sunset couldn't even form a coherent sentence, as another symbol formed above the map. It looked like a face. It looked like...

“Is that my beautiful mug floating above your map, Twilight? The map shouldn't be able to call me! I'm not even a Pony!” Discord stated, a little flabbergasted himself.

“It called Spike just last month, Discord.” Twilight stated plainly.

“Yes, but Spike has spent so much time under your tutelage and around your friends, he's more or less one of the group, depending on the day or time,” Discord reasoned. “I am a flamboyant guest star at best.”

“That is the most humble thing I've ever heard him say,” Twilight thought privately to herself.

“I should be the main star of course...”

“And, there we go,” Twilight thought.

All three watched as Discord's face and Sunset's cutie mark swirled around above the map in wondrous fashion. Then, they began to descend as they spun around each other, the two small projections almost seemingly avoiding each other but being pulled together, nonetheless. They floated downward, slowing their movement as they cycled around one area on the map. A familiar area with a small town and a gem-constructed castle...

“Ponyville,” Twilight confirmed. “The map...”

Sunset felt something and looked at her own cutie mark with a shocked expression. Her cutie mark was flashing on and off, as if receiving a signal. Discord looked with concern at his own horns, since they were flashing as well.

This did not go unnoticed by Twilight, who turned her attention back to the map. “The map...is calling you both right here to Ponyville to solve a friendship problem!”

“I have many objections to this!” Discord said, holding his claws close to his horns but not touching them, as if wanting to make the flashing stop but being afraid of it as well.

“I have my own...concerns as well, Twilight,” Sunset said. “It's calling me here, now? I just happen to show up and then suddenly it needs me to solve a friendship problem when I've been in the other world dealing with all kinds of weirdness?!”

Twilight approached the spot on the map, eyeing it curiously, almost suspiciously.

“That is rather...odd,” Twilight agreed with Sunset. She looked inquisitively at the map, then seemed to get a thought of realization. Sunset could have sworn she saw a smirk pass across the royal pony’s face for a moment. It must have been her imagination, however, as the Princess was closing her eyes and clearing her throat.

“Hm. Well, it seems you two have a friendship mission right here in town.” Twilight said. “The map has never been wrong, and I cannot deny it this time either.”

“You can deny it...one time.” Discord objected, holding up one claw in a protesting fashion.

“Unh—unh—unh,” Twilight shook her hoof disapprovingly at Discord. “You know enough about the map to know that this is going to happen, whether you like it or not. Trust me when I say, it's better to handle whatever this is right now, than to wait and let whatever the...problem, is, get worse. The two of you are going to have to put aside your anger and work together. The map called you for a reason.”

“What reason!?” Sunset said, still dumbfounded. “I know nothing about this town!”

“Then perhaps that would be a good start.” Twilight answered without skipping a beat, taking a on a mysteriously cheery attitude. “Go with Discord. Have a look around. Perhaps you'll find your mission before you even know it; or to be more accurate based on past experiences, your mission will find you.”

“Twilight...” Discord whined. “I've already been to Ponyville, I've gone shopping there, gone on tea dates, thrown it into chaos...”

“Well Discord, you're going there again today,” Twilight stated. “With this unicorn you knocked unconscious. The two of you are going to spend time together, learn about one another, and solve a friendship problem. End—of—discussion.” She emphasized those last three words, as if they were absolute law.

The two frienemies stood there dumbstruck and speechless, not knowing what to say.

“I recommend Sugar Cube Corner as your first stop. You--” Twilight pointed at Sunset, “--need a pick-me-up after what just happened, and you--” Twilight pointed at Discord, “--are going to treat her to a cupcake after what you did. Understand?”

They both looked at each other with disgust, and then at the Princess of Friendship. Neither of them were able to argue with her logic and reasoning. They collectively sighed and said:

“Fine.”

“Excellent!” Twilight went back to her friendly and cheerful attitude. “Well, Discord, you have a cupcake to get for somepony, and get one for yourself as well.”

“I did tell Pinkie I'd try one of her delightful confections without any sort of funny business,” Discord admitted. “I mean, I was lying at the time, but I guess I could actually do it.”

He turned toward the golden unicorn with a fiery mane. “Oh, either I never got your name, or I’ve already forgotten.”

Sunset at first flinched at Discord's acknowledgment, but she heard an “ahem” come from the Princess of Friendship, who with a peaceful grin tilted her head towards the chaos spirit, silently indicating that Sunset should give him a chance.

Sunset relaxed her expression, and approached Discord with calm reluctance, extending a hoof to him.

“My name is Sunset Shimmer,” she stated peacefully.

In response, the draconequus strangely just stared at her. Both Twilight and Sunset became confused, Sunset being the first to speak up after the awkward silence.

“Um...” Sunset said. “Are you--”

“Pffft!!!” Discord covered his snout as he snorted, his eyes showing unmanaged amusement.

A moment later, Spike walked into the throne room, to see a sight he did not expect to see. Discord, the Master of Chaos, was on the ground laughing hysterically, while Twilight had put up a shield to protect him from an onslaught of energy spells from a furious unicorn who was yelling enraged words in between each angered burst of magic she fired.

“I'LL—TURN—HIM—BACK—TO—STONE—MYSELF!!!!!!”

Comments

[FanficReader920]

See? Discord gets it. Discord gets the connection!

[FieryUnicorn42]

Is a really good story, but i don't get, why Discord is laughing? Is the resemblance between Twilight and Sunset Shimmer names? I think so.

[astromormy]

Yeah, I'm not too sure why Discord is laughing. If I had to guess, I'd have to say it's because he called it when he guessed her name last chapter, though, that wouldn't explain Sunset trying to essentially kill him.

[TheClassyLeviathan]

“Discord...I never asked you to place a security system inside the castle.”

Ah, that makes more sense.

[OmniFox]

With a name that sexy......

[Silver_Spark]

8819917
8819535
He's laughing because Sunset and Twilight have basically the same name. She's assaulting him because he's basically mocking her.

[Rosie Quill]

Can a bridge be burnt before it's even built?

If said bridge is Discord, yes.

[RedRanger3142]

“Yes, but Spike has spent so much time under your tutelage and around your friends, he's more or less one of the group, depending on the day or time,” Discord reasoned. “I am a flamboyant guest star at best.”

I see what you did there.