It took nearly a year before Sunset felt confident enough to go into this society. Well, she’d gone out into the city often, usually to buy food or something she realized she needed. But she refused to just sit in her house all day. Some kids might like that, but Sunset liked activities, even if they were part of a school system.
So for the first year, she studied as she had been. She learned enough about humans, how they work, what their culture is, parts of their history. And she definitely spent time working on the dexterity of her new hands, even giving in and buying a tv and game system to practice finger control. She probably knew more about Humans than a normal Human her age would. And the biggest test was a school.
Getting in was tricky, but she used the same trick she had to get the house. Half-truths and money and the name ‘Sunset Shimmer Hestia’, since she had to come up with a last name that wouldn’t get attention, but still played to her own tastes for dramatic inside jokes. She didn’t like lying, but she was pretty sure telling the truth would have gotten her put away in some sort of asylum, or perhaps experimented on.
She really needed to stop watching some of those shows.
When signing up, she had looked to what grade she ‘should’ be in. Technically, by age, she should be in eighth grade. But she’d been out of any sort of school for nearly a year. Shrugging, she decided to opt for one grade younger, picking up where she technically left off.
Of course, some classes were easier. Math was simple, as she’d learned much of it before. ‘English’ was just reading and comprehension, along with grammar, so that was simple. Read the book, answer the question, follow the rules.
Science got trickier. It seemed to be similar to Equestria in so many ways, except for the lack of Magic. True, she had learned a lot about how this world functions without Magic, but she still sometimes found herself putting answers like ‘Rain comes because Pegasai schedule it’.
Social Studies was definitely her worst subject. While she’d looked up history and some legal processes, it was still very new to her. And there was an unreality to it, as if it was just a story. She’d absentmindedly mentioned that to a classmate once, and the girl had agreed, saying it was probably because the history was so long ago. Not the same, but at least she wasn’t completely nuts.
Gym was also a bad subject. She was still getting used to running on two legs, at least without being terrified of falling over. She’d found that she walked better in shoes with high heels, as the way she walked was a little similar to her Pony anatomy even if it was still on two legs, but most gym teachers made her put on more ‘sensible’ shoes. And there were times when she instinctively tried to stop a ball flying at her with a Levitation or Shield spell. That ended painfully.
Computer class was interesting, if a little confusing. Then there was her Art class. She’d picked it to help get a better grasp on hands, being steady. She’d never known Art had so many rules, but she liked drawing. Sometimes, she’d try to recreate scenes from Equestria. The teacher always complimented her on her ‘imagination’.
That was a bit existential. By the end of the year, Sunset began to wonder if maybe it had been her imagination. Maybe she was Sunset Shimmer Vesta, and she’d hit her head and forgot most of her life, replacing it with Unicorns.
Of course, it didn’t explain the jewels. Magical Gems and Crystals didn’t seem to exist in this world, but she’d found a few spells she could use through them. But that only meant Magic existed, but it said nothing of Equestria.
For that, there was her Journal. The Princess had made it for her, when she became her student. It was designed as a pair, a message written in one would appear in the other.
“So you can always reach me,” the Princess had said. “Even if I’m on the other side of the world, you can still talk to me.”
“What if you’re in some sort of Princess Meeting?” Sunset asked.
“Well,” she chuckled. “There is a reason I disguised it as a journal.”
As much as Sunset hated the journal and everything it stood for, she kept it. She read it over and over, to remind herself that it was real. To remind her of everything that had happened, of why she’d come here in the first place.
Middle school passed fairly easily. Some parts were harder than others, but still she managed to get good grades. She even managed to become decently liked. Sunset wouldn’t exactly say she had friends, as none of them cared about her or talked to her outside of school. Then again, it wasn't like she'd tried that hard.
She hadn’t been the ‘nicest’, she’d admit that, but she wasn’t going out of her way to be rude. Still, she’d been called ‘charming’ more than once before. It probably helped that she seemed to be fairly pretty, for this world’s ideas of beauty. No wonder they liked her, even if they didn’t fully care about her.
Putting that thought away for now, Sunset looked over her options. High School was quickly approaching, and she had to decide on which school to go to. Since she didn’t want to leave the city, there were two options: Crystal Prep, or Canterlot High.
Crystal Prep seemed like a much better school. Classes where she could push herself, access to better facilities, and they had the highest test scores. Their reputation would help her go anywhere. Not to mention the fact that, despite Captain Spitfire’s promises, Crystal Prep had won the Friendship games for the past few years.
Hell, her lack of documentation might not matter if a school like that had a record of her attending. yet that was the problem, wasn’t it? A school like Crystal Prep would probably look further than two years worth of Middle School records.
But there were other problems with Crystal Prep. Their standards. Sunset could meet the scores they like, so it wasn’t the staff she was afraid of. It was their students. Perhaps she was judging unfairly, but a place like Crystal Prep would have people like the Ponies in her past. The Nobles at CSFGU that would suck up to her while trying to ruin her behind her back. She never wanted to deal with them again.
Canterlot High, on the other hand, wasn’t as nice as Crystal Prep, and there was a chance that the Princess’s Counterpart could show up for a visit. But it was still better than Crystal Prep, and perhaps more relaxed on records. And most importantly, the Portal was there.
With little hesitation, she filled out the paperwork.