• Published 24th Feb 2018
  • 4,844 Views, 418 Comments

Sunset Shimmer vs Schadenfreude - Daemon McRae



In preparing for the Fall Formal as Chairman of its planning committee, Sunset Shimmer meets her greatest opponent yet: Schadenfreude. Her co-chairman.

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A Change in Roster

Sunset Shimmer really didn’t hold much issue with the Dazzlings. After their defeat, they seemed to have settled into the everyday life of high school like social chameleons, each finding their own niche rather quickly and going about their business. This didn’t mean that they didn’t have their quirks, however. Adagio was a high-and-mighty ‘It Girl’ who had found herself a little group of followers; Aria was a rough-and-tumble type who had a bad habit of getting into fights on and off campus; and Sonata was… well.

Sonata Dusk was what Sunset suspected Pinkie Pie would be if no one bothered to keep her in check. Not that Pinkie needed it, but there were certainly things she didn’t do because she thought it might make her friends uncomfortable. Sonata had no such reservations. In fact, one might suspect Sonata couldn’t even spell reservations. Now, she had no objections to playing matchmaker between her and the admittedly sweetheart Bulk Biceps, however mismatched they might be, but there was one distinct problem.

Schadenfreude. In fact, she had developed the habit of saying his name in her head in a sentence all its own, lest she invite disaster by combining it with other words like ‘responsibility’, ‘open mic’, or ‘silly string’. She absolutely, under no circumstances, wanted to combine the words ‘Schadenfreude and ‘Sonata Dusk’ in any sentence that could imply anything other than how horrible putting the two in the same room would be.

So the fact that Schaden had somehow wormed his way into planning a game of matchmaker that involved the youngest siren sister screamed ‘natural disaster’ to her. She’d shared as much with Rarity, who she had a late-day period with, and was currently sitting next to, gossiping under the guise of a group project. “And I don’t even know how the hell to keep… that guy screwing everything up from the roof to the floor for those two.”

Rarity rested a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Sunset, I admire you, I really do. You have a wonderful talent for bringing people together and spreading friendship, and a brilliant mind for people, numbers, and science.”

“But...” Sunset said cautiously, hearing the other shoe fall past her head.

“But sometimes you are absolutely dense. Really, dear, you overthink things almost as much as our dear Twilight does, sometimes! The answer is relatively simple,” Rarity observed.

Sunset was cautiously optimistic. “How so?”

Rarity straightened her dress and turned to face Sunset properly. “Look, you make it sound like you have a whole bunch of problems on your plate when really it’s just one. Keeping Schaden out of Bulk’s social life, getting him to play nice with the other committee members, planning the formal. No, I think you should really only focus on one thing.”

Sunset knew Rarity wanted her to ask, so she did. “Which is?”

“Keeping Schadenfreude busy!. Really, the best thing you could do for everyone involved is to get Schaden as far away from someone else’s romantic life as possible. Which, as it just so happens, is exactly what would happen if he was too busy focusing on the Fall Formal! Your only job here, regardless of how difficult it might seem, is to keep Schaden on task! Which, as it just so happens, means all you have to do is get him focused!”

“The Formal,” Shimmer nodded. “Right. If I just keep him on task and make sure he doesn’t have the time to screw around, we’ll be done in no time and the Sonata/Bulk thing can solve itself on the side.”

“Exactly!” Rarity exclaimed, only to be hushed by their teacher. They returned their attention to the assignment, and Sunset felt rather more confident about her situation.

----------------------

It was later in the afternoon, and the Planning Committee had all gathered at the Pier to start mapping the floor space, planning the menu specifics, and making some necessary orders. Pixel had brought with her Vinyl Scratch, and the two were currently giving the location’s sound system a thorough inspection. No doubt the DJ would find no end of things lacking in the stock equipment and insist on bringing her own setup.

Lyra and Bon-Bon were mapping the floor plan and drawing up a sketch of how they were going to set up the buffet line, where they seats would go, and the like. They also made notes as to where and what they wanted decorated.

Pinkie Pie was chatting on the phone with no end of catering companies, ones she knew personally and ones she’d only met professionally, running down the best options for their budget and finding out exactly how many key lime pies she could reasonably order with less than two weeks notice.

Sunset and Schadenfreude, however, were off in their own corner having an… animated discussion.

“Look, Schaden, I really need you to be on point here! We have people making decorations and stuff, sure, but the Fall Formal really is a big deal! I know you’re not one for… formal functions, but please try and be serious about this,” Sunset pleaded.

Schaden looked slightly affronted and highly amused. “Sunset, I have to admit, I’m torn. As much as it would absolutely overjoy me to annoy the schnitzel out of you and sit on my haunches, I signed up to be Co-Commissioner for a reason.”

“To make me go gray early?” Sunset groaned.

“HA. No. Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t actually want to make people miserable. No, stop laughing, I’m serious. There’s a fine line between distinctly annoyed teenagers and a pitchfork mob. As you know, I have a reputation for being an absolute dillhole. One that carefully tows this side of the line from ‘public menace’ by doing the occasional nice thing for people.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “So… you’re doing this to earn enough brownie points that when you act like a total douche again people don’t outright stab you?”

“Precisely!”

Sunset felt something in the back of her brain twitch. “Is that why you’re trying to help set up Bulk and Sonata?”

“Pffffffft, no!” Schaden scoffed. He flipped his unfairly silky brown hair. “I’m doing that to annoy Adagio. She had the gal to suggest that I know nothing about romance! I mean, I’m the one with a girlfriend, and she just has a bunch of starry-eyed teen boys following her around. Hell, pretty much any girl in this room could to that with a short enough skirt and high heels.”

“Well, you’re not wrong. But that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I understand having a life outside of school, but I can’t afford you getting distracted so close to the Formal! It’s crucial that we get this thing sorted properly, so if you could do me this one favor and not… be you for just two more weeks, I’d really appreciate it.”

Which of course was the exact moment that the other girls joined the conversation, each with their own problems.

First Pixel. “Sunset! This sound system sucks total ass and they’re not letting us bring in our own equipment!”

Then Pinkie. “SUNSHIM! THE PLACE I CALLED THAT DOES FISH DOESN’T WANT TO WORK WITH SUGARCUBE CORNER! I MEAN WHO DOESN’T LIKE CAKES

“… the food or the people?”

YES!

Then finally, Lyra and Bon-Bon. “Shimmer! The Pier owners said we’re not allowed to bring our own decorations! They said we could use theirs, but they all suck and they don’t even have Canterlot High banners!”

Sunset looked at the group of girls in front of her, venting their frustrations at all these last-minute problems. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught the expression on Schaden’s face.

She’d seem a look like that before. Back in Canterlot. When she spent her time with nobility and followed the Princess around. It was the look of someone who knew exactly how to solve a problem, in what might or might not be morally questionable ways, who just needed someone to give the say so. It was the expression a loaded gun would give you right before you fired it. The look of a dare on the tip of your tongue. The kind of side-eye your cat gives you as it paws at the glass on the edge of the table.

“Schaden, forget everything I just said,” she grunted.

Schaden smiled wider than she’d seen most people do in a while. Except of course for Pinkie Pie. “You want I should let them have it, boss?”

Sunset nodded. “Both barrels.”

Schaden just grinned maliciously and strolled away, pulling out his phone.

Pixel watched Schaden leave with a sense of well-placed apprehension. “What… Just happened?”

“I just solved all your problems.”