The alarm went off with a blaring noise that would not be ignored. Instead of hitting the button, Sunset stuffed her head under the pillow. The first day of school was always the worst. After the pain that Camp Everfree had been this summer, and the near constant issues with school, she was almost afraid to see what new crises happened this year.
Resigning herself to the day, Sunset threw off the blanket, and hit the button on the clock. Rubbing her eyes, she debated the option of coffee or a shower first. The need for caffeination won out.
Sunset slipped a robe on over her pajamas. It was unseasonably cold, and her house wasn’t too well insulated. The hard part of coming over from Equestria was that things cost more here. Thankfully when she crossed through the portal, the bits that she had with her had transformed into human currency. and a not insubstantial amount at that. With some shrewd buying, and keeping some part-time work, Sunset was able to live comfortably, if a little minimally in the modest house.
Padding into the kitchen, she pushed the button on the coffee maker. As the small appliance bubbled to life, she reflected on her life here in the human world. Her first three years were a disaster for sure. The bullying, the fighting, the whole… demon incident… Twilight, the Sirens, Crystal Prep, and of course the runaway magic at Camp Everfree. This place was even more of a mess than Equestria. Regardless of that, it was still a clean start.
Filling her cup with the black nectar, she hoped that this year would be blessedly uneventful. She was a senior now. Of course, coming through the portal as an adult already meant that she was considerably older than her peers, but perhaps that helped her to have just a little bit more wisdom than some of the other students. At 25, she was closer in age to Vice Principal Luna than she was to the rest of the students.
As she drained her first cup of coffee and refilled the mug, she sighed again. Time for a shower, and then to face the day. Her time at Canterlot High was coming to a close. Best to make the most of it.
Sunset cranked the hot water in the shower as high as it would go. While the water was heating she looked at herself in the mirror. Her flaming hair was a mess, her tanktop and pajama pants were both wrinkled and she looked overall like she had been in a fight all night rather than being asleep.
With a groan, Sunset peeled off her tank top and sleep pants. Stepping into the shower, she relaxed a little bit more, and debated for a moment just falling asleep right there under the hot water. Thinking better of it, Sunset finished up and got out.
Wrapping a towel around herself, she went back to the bedroom and got dressed to face the day. Rubbing the last of the sleep from her eyes, Sunset grabbed her leather jacket, and car keys, making her way to the garage.
One of the small indulgences that she allowed herself was to enjoy nice things - while she always shopped around for the best deals, often buying secondhand, her car was the exception. The irony of her owning a Mustang was not lost on Sunset. But the price was right, the features were there, and outside of the custom red, gold, and orange paint job, it was still a steal.
While the engine roared to life like a surprised manticore, Sunset smiled to herself and enjoyed the vibrations running through her core. There were some good things about this world.
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Mornings were evil. Celestia may have been a morning person, but Luna hated them with a burning passion. If the world were in a perpetual state of nighttime, she wouldn’t complain.
Sitting in her favorite chair, Luna sipped her third cup of coffee for the morning. Looking at her coffee mug that her sister had gotten her, Luna smiled. It had “Best Vice-Principal” printed on the side, Celestia had had some sense of humor at least.
The younger of the two sisters had been somewhat forced into the position of administering the school alongside her sister. If she had her way, she would have stayed as one of the English teachers for the rest of her career. But sometimes you had to think of the greater good in situations like these.
As she drained the last of the cup, Luna stood up and stretched. It was time to face the day and her responsibilities, much as she would rather have stayed in bed.
More than anything, there was one thing that she did not want to face this year. That was the new task that had been delegated to her. Celestia had tasked her with finding out more about magic, and the cause of the recent spate of disturbances, mostly centering around one student. Sunset Shimmer.
Walking to the garage, she looked at her car, a sedate little hybrid. Luna was conscious of the impacts on cars to the world, and she had always been somewhat more reserved than her older sister. Celestia always made fun of her for getting the cute little car, but Luna loved it.
The car whispered to life like an evening breeze as she pulled out of the garage in her apartment building, and turned toward the school. It was time to start the year, and Celestia’s pet project.