The Element of Chaos

“Are you sure it’s Sunset Shimmer’s birthday today?” Pinkie questioned as she and Discord walked up the front steps of Cloudsdale Public High School. It was Monday and usually the two would be at the bakery, but the Cakes had immediately let them off of work once Pinkie told them she needed to throw a surprise birthday party for a friend. With Pinkie Pie working for them so long, they were used to last minute party emergencies. “She never even told me!” Pinkie continued.

“Of course I’m sure!” Discord affirmed. “I saw it on Friendbook!”

“Really? I didn’t even know she had an account! I didn’t even know you had an account!” Pinkie pulled out her phone. “I have to add both of you!” Drat, he thought. He’d never even been on that silly website.

“Later Pinkie! We have work to do, remember?” Discord said, distracting her.

“Oh right!” Pinkie replied, putting her phone away in an unseen pocket. She put a fake mustache on and slunk into the shadows of the building. “Sneaky-eaky surprise birthday spy mission is a go!” Discord smirked and snapped his fingers. Suddenly both he and Pinkie were wearing black catsuits. “OOH! Me likey!” Pinkie said, looking at her suit.

“Do you remember the mission, agent?” Discord crept into the shadows next to Pinkie.

She saluted. “Absolutely positutely, sir! While you distract Sunset, the other agents and I will decorate the gym!” Pinkie tilted her head for a moment. “Wait. Do we even have permission to have a party in the gym?”

Discord shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“Of course it matters!” she cried. “We could get in a lot of trouble!”

“Then yes we have permission,” he lied.

Pinkie gave him a shrewd look, but then smiled. “Okey dokey lokey!” Just then, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash came into view. They waved at Pinkie who, despite her dark catsuit, they could clearly see because of her poufy pink hair which Discord had not even tried to cover. He knew it would be a losing battle. Besides, she looked cuter this way with her large pink curls cascading down her voluptuous – eh, maybe it was best if he left that thought unfinished.

“So are we gonna throw a party or what?” asked Rainbow Dash once they reached Pinkie and Discord’s hiding place.

Applejack eyed their matching catsuits. “What in tarnation are you two wearin’?”

“The suits are darling, but, Pinkie, must you wear the musta-?” Pinkie clamped a hand over Rarity’s mouth before she could finish.

“Shhhh!” she whispered. “Do you want our cover blown? We can’t let Sunset Shimmer see us!”

“Pinkie, didn’t you say Sunset Shimmer usually studies in the library after school?” Rainbow Dash asked. “She’s not gonna see us.”

“She’s usually in the library, but that doesn’t mean that she’ll one hundred percent, for sure be in the library today!” Pinkie looked around suspiciously. “We have to be sneaky.”

Applejack shook her head. “Let’s just go decorate the gym.” As they all walked towards the gym, Applejack noticed Discord slinking off in another direction. “Where’s he goin’?” she asked. Pinkie glanced over at Discord as he made his way to the library.

“Oh he’s just going to distract Sunset Shimmer for us. He’s supposed to bring her to the gym once we’re done,” Pinkie answered.

“Is he now?” Applejack said doubtfully. “You guys go on ahead. I’ll catch up. I’ve got some business to take care of.”

“What kind of bus – oh wait. That kind of business.” Pinkie winked. “Gotcha! Well, don’t be long. We’ve got lots of work to do!”

“You know AJ,” Rainbow Dash said as she walked past. “You can just say bathroom. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Everybody does it.”

Applejack blushed. “What? But I didn’t mean –“ Rainbow Dash, however, was already past her and down the hall, following the rest of the girls as they headed to the gym. “Aw, whatever,” she said. “They can believe that if they want.” She readjusted her hat. “Time to find out what Discord’s schemin’.”

Since turning into a crazed demon last year, things had been difficult for Sunset Shimmer. Although everyone had forgiven her, no one was exactly comfortable with her. Understandable considering she had not only terrorized them for two years, but also turned all of her classmates into zombies once she got the Element of Magic. Princess Twilight Sparkle had told the other elements to befriend her, and they had, but Sunset couldn’t help but feel as if they were doing it only because Twilight had asked them to, not because they sincerely wanted to be friends with her. She didn’t blame them. She had personally broken their friendship apart. Twilight had thought it was to ensure that the elements couldn’t be used against her, but she was wrong. Sunset had done it purely out of spite.

Like Twilight, Sunset had once been one of Princess Celestia’s personal students. Her story had not ended as happily, however. She had been headstrong and full of pride. Although, Princess Celestia had tried to convince her of the importance of friendship, she had ignored her advice. She was smarter and more powerful than everypony. Why should she befriend those that were beneath her?

As she grew, so did her pride. She began to grow resentful of Celestia for holding things back from her. The knowledge she most coveted was how to become an alicorn princess. She knew it was possible, and she felt that, as the most powerful unicorn in Equestria, it was her right - no, her destiny to ascend.  Celestia was only afraid that Sunset would be a more powerful and better ruler than she was, so she had kept her destiny away from her. At least, that was what Sunset had believed at the time. When Princess Celestia kicked her out of the castle, Sunset had escaped to this dimension through the Crystal Mirror, swearing to herself that she would one day return and take her rightful place as Queen of Equestria.

When the portal had opened again, Sunset had snuck back into the castle to see what news she could glean, when, to her surprise, she discovered that Celestia had taken on another student. A Miss Twilight Sparkle had not only discovered the Elements of Harmony, arguably the most powerful weapon in Equestria, but had discovered them by making friends. Friends!  They had even used them to defeat Nightmare Moon and the chaos god, Discord. Twilight and her five friends were loved throughout Equestria. They were legends! Twilight was even rumored to be the most powerful unicorn in the last century. This did not sit well with Sunset. She was supposed to be the most powerful unicorn in Equestria. Not some backwards bookworm! The only reason Twilight had so much power was because of her stupid friends! If it wasn’t for them, Twilight never would have even found the elements.

Full of anger, Sunset went back through the mirror. She had been outdone by the magic of friendship. It was pathetic! When she saw Twilight’s friends’ counterparts at Canterlot High, Sunset couldn’t help herself. She had to tear them apart. She enrolled as a sophomore student and destroyed any trace of harmony the school had ever had. She became a bully and a terror, and ruled the entire school on fear and hatred. It was exhilarating, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted revenge, to take back the destiny that she felt had been cruelly torn away from her. So, when the portal opened again, she decided to steal Twilight’s Element. When she found that Twilight had become an alicorn princess, it had only fueled her anger even more.  For a moment, when she had put on the crown, and became a demon with a legion of mindless zombies at her command, she felt as if she had won. Finally, she would get what she deserved. If only she had known how true those words would turn out to be!

Twilight had followed her through the mirror, repaired the relationship between her friends, and turned the entire school against her. In the end, Sunset had been defeated by friendship. When the elements had united and encased her in a cocoon of rainbow light, she had felt something she had been missing for her entire life. She felt the happiness that came from being generous and kind to those she loved, the trust and understanding that came from being honest and loyal to those around her, and laughter – she felt what it was like to laugh real laughter, full of mirth, (something she had not done in a long, long time) and to spread that laughter to others. She felt all of this and more, and then suddenly, it was gone. Stripped of all her power, she lay in the crater the elements had created feeling empty and completely alone.

In the beginning, she and Twilight weren’t so different. Both of them were reclusive, studious, and extremely powerful. Twilight, however, had opened her mind to the idea of friendship, while Sunset had let her arrogance and pride take control. After her defeat, she had tried to make amends and reintegrate herself into the student body, but seeing the faces of those she had tortured everyday had been too much for her to deal with. So she left. New school. New people. Fresh start. At least, that’s what she told herself. She still had trouble making friends, and maybe she spent a little too much time in the library, but things were better than they had been.

She looked around the empty library. She was the only one who came here after school to study. Everyone else had practices for extracurricular activities or were hanging out with friends. All Sunset had were her books. Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash still talked and hung out with her occasionally, but they lived a whole town away and had lives of their own, so they didn’t have much time to spend with her. It was alright though. Being around them usually just made her sad, anyway. Too many bad memories.

She took a book from a stack next to her on the table. Schrödinger's Cat and other Mysteries of the Multiverse Explained, the cover read. She opened it, and began taking notes.

“Hello, Miss Shimmer! At last we finally meet!” Sunset looked up from her book to see a thin, grey-haired teenage boy in a black catsuit smiling kindly down at her.

She raised an eyebrow. “What’s with the suit?”

“Suit?” the boy gazed down and frowned. “Oh yes, that. I forgot. Ah well.” He snapped his fingers and the suit was replaced by a brown twin tailed waistcoat with yellow sleeves and green pants. “Better?”

Sunset narrowed her eyes, suspiciously. “Who are you?”

“Who I am is of no consequence,” Discord replied. “I have come here to discuss a mutual friend of ours.” He sat in the chair across from her.

“And what friend might that be?” She crossed her arms and cocked her head defiantly. This guy had magic. He could only possibly want to know about one person, and there was no way she was going to tell a sleazeball like him about Twi –

“Why, Pinkie Pie, of course.” Discord grinned.

Sunset opened and closed her mouth a few times in stunned silence. “Come again?”

“Pinkamena Diane Pie,” said Discord. “Why are you so surprised? Where you expecting someone else?”

“No!” Sunset blurted. “I mean, yes…maybe.” She wagged a finger at him. “I’ll have you know that I have a lot of friends.”

Discord glanced around the empty library. “I’m sure.”

“I mean just a ton of friends! How was I supposed to know who you were referring to?” Sunset continued. “But, seriously, though. Why Pinkie? Did she steal your Halloween candy or something? Did she throw you a party you didn’t ask for? Did you – “ Sunset gasped, eyes wide. “You didn’t break a Pinkie Promise, did you? Magic user or not, she will kill you.”

“What? No! It’s not anything like that!” Discord sighed. “Look, I know her and her little friends are the elements of harmony. I want you to tell me more about them.”

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about,” Sunset denied, haughtily flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“Do you really think that little stunt you pulled last year went unnoticed? My dear, I can assure you, by now the entire underground knows that something very powerful has taken up residence at Canterlot High.” He leaned in closer. “Can you imagine what kind of chaos would ensue if every nearby demon, witch, and changeling found out that a bunch of teenage girls held the most powerful weapon the world has ever known?”

“I don’t believe in demons and witches,” Sunset said.

“Well that’s a shame,” Discord frowned. “Considering you were one.” Sunset lowered her eyes to the table, ashamed. He continued, “I wasn’t lying when I said Pinkie was my friend. She is the first real friend I have ever had. I’d do anything to protect her. I feel as if you know what that is like, to have someone befriend you when you didn’t think anyone possibly could.”

Sunset gave him a calculating look. “So you want to know about the elements so you can protect them? Not because you want to use them yourself?”

“I wouldn’t dream of using the elements,” Discord replied. “I have enough power of my own to suit my needs. Any more would only be a bother. My only wish is to protect Pinkie, and the rest of girls too of course, from the monsters that you have brought down upon them. They have done so much for you. Isn’t it about time you return the favor? I can help you do that, if only you tell me what I need to know.”

She squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, unsure what to do. “I want you to promise, no, Pinkie Promise that you will not hurt those girls! If you really are a friend of Pinkie’s then you will know what that means.”

Discord’s smile grew a little fixed. “Indeed, I do Miss Shimmer. Alright, if you insist. I Pinkie Promise I will not harm Pinkie – “

“Or the rest of the elements,” Sunset insisted.

Discord sighed. “Or the rest of the elements. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” He stuck a cupcake in his eye and then screamed, clutching his eye. “WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE HOT SAUCE?!” Sunset merely watched him in mild amusement. Yep. Definitely a friend of Pinkie’s, she thought.

After a moment, he put his hands on the table and took a deep breath. His left eye was watery and bright red. “So,” Sunset began. “What do you need to know?”

“Everything, Miss Shimmer,” Discord said. “I need to know everything.” He conjured up a black eye patch and put it on his injured eye. A trio of multicolored balloons was bedazzled on the cover.

Sunset smiled, recognizing the symbol. “Call me Sunset.”