//------------------------------//
// Book Two, Prologue: First Part of the Journey 
// Story: Cheer Princess 
// by MythrilMoth 
//------------------------------//

The final weeks of summer dragged on in a hot, miserable slog.

A heat wave settled in, exacerbated by stinking, sticking humidity that meandered in from the southeast and stayed through August. All of Canterlot was feeling it; fewer people were out and about during the day, choosing to either stay at home or find some refuge from the heat and stay there until late evening.

"Why couldn't this be a dry heat?" Fluttershy complained pitifully. She'd taken to hanging out at Sunset's house most of the day since shortly after school enrollment, largely to get away from her brother, who had evidently made a scene at the public pool and so thoroughly embarrassed Fluttershy she refused to even be in the same house as him. Fluttershy wore a bright, breezy tropical print skirt, sandals with a butterfly ornament on the straps, and a light pink tank top which was presently pulled up and pinned back to bare the undersides of her breasts, which were red and blistery and to which she was applying medicated lotion from a bottle.

Sunset, who was wearing a somewhat loose-fitting dark grey sports bra and purple shorts, tilted her head. "You know, if you wore a bra, you wouldn't get all rashy like that," she said.

"I know," Fluttershy said, grimacing as she daubed lotion on and rubbed it in. "But every bra I've ever tried pinched or irritated my skin and I just can't get comfortable in one. Plus, Zephyr Breeze has this irritating little habit of stealing my bras..." She capped the lotion, tossed the swab sponge in the garbage, unpinned her top and pulled it down, and wiped her hands on a tissue. "Sorry about, umm, doing that right in front of you," she said.

"It's cool," Sunset said. "I mean, you helped me put medicine on mine too." She frowned. "He steals your bras? Really?"

Ten days after meeting Fluttershy, Sunset Shimmer had met Zephyr Breeze. Within two minutes of meeting him, she'd felt the urge to kick him in the face, ass, and balls, not necessarily in that order. For her part, Fluttershy actively discouraged Zephyr Breeze from being around whenever she was with friends, but it seemed he was a bit slow to take the hint at times. For a time, Rarity's apartment above the boutique had been a refuge from him, as he seemed indecisive about entering "hostile territory", but when the heat wave settled in, neither she nor Fluttershy really felt like making the trip when relaxing at Sunset's house was closer and easier. It was also less distracting, and Sunset still had some last-minute cramming to do.

"Well, he used to, when I was wearing training bras," Fluttershy said, her face scarlet. "Then I had this, umm...growth spurt..." She gestured to her chest. "Since then I haven't been able to find a bra that's comfortable for me, and when I do bring some home, they disappear from my dresser in a day or two."

"Ugh. And your mom and dad don't do anything about it?"

Fluttershy sighed. "I love my parents, I really do, but they need to learn how to be firm with that twerp," she said. "They're both so afraid of confrontation, and they've seen that I don't mind putting him in his place, so..." She shrugged. "They've more or less left disciplining him to me, I think. At least, I'm the only one who ever punishes him for anything he does."

"Yikes." Sunset frowned. "Like, how?"

Fluttershy grinned a very sly, devious grin. "Well, the last time any of my underwear mysteriously disappeared? I found the box of condoms he keeps in his sock drawer and put it in the bathroom where Mom would see it while she was cleaning." She giggled suddenly. "It was the first time I've ever actually seen Mom get annoyed with him. We were in the living room, and she walked in with this box of condoms and gave Zephyr this look, and just raised her eyebrow..." Her giggles evolved into chilling laughter. "The look on his face!" She pulled out her phone and swiped through her photos, then handed it to Sunset. She looked at the picture and let out a snort of laughter.

"That's downright evil," she said.

"Oh, the funniest part," Fluttershy said, still giggling, "is that they were those, umm..." She blushed. "Well, the ones guys with big...you know...need. And..." She played with her hair, a smug, very un-Fluttershy look on her face. "M-Mom looked at him and s-said..." She smothered a quick giggle fit. "S-said she'd help him pick the...the right size...that he needed the extra small!" With that, she lost it completely, doubling over in helpless laughter, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes.

Sunset also lost it, cackling madly. "Oh. My. GOD!"

"What's got you girls laughing?" Sunset Satin asked as she passed by, peeking into the room.

"Oh, um, I was just telling Sunset about this one time I got back at my brother for being a pest," Fluttershy said sheepishly, poking her fingertips together. "I, umm...w-well, it ended with Mom embarrassing him."

"The condom incident?" Satin asked curiously. "I heard about that. So that was you, huh?"

"Meep! How do you know about that?" Fluttershy asked, mortified.

Satin rolled her eyes. "Who do you think Cherry goes to when she needs to unload?" she said.

"O-oh," Fluttershy said in a small voice.

Satin laughed. "It's fine, dear," she said.

Fluttershy's phone, which Sunset still had, chose that moment to sound a text alert. "Hey, you got a text," Sunset said. "From...Rainbow Dash." She wrinkled her nose. "I've heard you mention that name?"

"Oh, right!" Fluttershy said. "We've been friends since we were little. She's been at soccer camp all summer."

"Well she's back now and she wants to hang," Sunset said, still looking at Fluttershy's phone.

Fluttershy bit her lip. "Umm...text her your address, ask her to come here? If that's OK?" She looked from Sunset to Satin.

"It's fine by me," Satin said. "I haven't seen Rainbow Dash in forever."

Sunset shrugged, typed a text response with the address, and tossed Fluttershy's phone back to her. "Maybe we should invite Rarity over too, make a party of it."

Fluttershy winced. "Rainbow Dash and Rarity aren't really...compatible," she said. "Besides, Rarity's doing something with that new girl, oh what was her name..." She scrolled through her texts, pursing her lips. "Tia, that was it."

"Oh, yeah, her," Sunset said. Seeing Satin had wandered off into the house to do Mom Stuff, she let out a deflating, derisive raspberry and sunk back against the headboard of her bed.

Fluttershy frowned. "You don't like Tia? I didn't know you'd even met her. Um, not that I've met her yet either..."

Sunset had already prepared a cover for this. Furrowing her brow, she said, "We ran into each other when I went in to register. She's Principal Celestia's cousin. Apparently, she knew the old me, and, well..." She shrugged. "Was not a fan."

"Oh," Fluttershy said softly. "Umm...how bad was it...?"

"Awkward," Sunset decided. "I...don't really see the two of us getting along, going by her reaction." She grimaced. "I hope Rarity doesn't plan anything that involves me and Tia, it's not gonna end well."

"Oh, I think we can make sure that doesn't happen," Fluttershy said. "Rarity's very careful about not making any plans with me that include Rainbow Dash unless she can help it. It's not that she and Rainbow hate each other or anything, it's just...they don't have anything in common, you know?"

"Yeah, I can see that."


* * * * *


"I can't believe we're soaking in a hot tub on a day like this," Tia said. She and Rarity sat in the large, luxurious mineral tub at the local day spa; both girls wore one-piece bathing suits, and piles of thick, fluffy towels and baskets of sponges sat around the edges.

"But it does feel lovely, doesn't it darling?" Rarity asked. "It removes so much stress and relaxes your pores!" She sighed happily. "I simply must have a spa day with Fluttershy and Sunset Shimmer before school starts. That poor dear could certainly use a full treatment." She looked across the tub and frowned. "You're making that face." At Tia's inquisitive head tilt, Rarity clarified, "Whenever I mention Sunset Shimmer, you tense up and purse your lips, and there's a bit of...well I'd say apprehension. Do you know her?"

Tia was silent for a long moment, then sighed. "I did, a long time ago," she said. "Or I thought I did."

"Hmm," Rarity said. "You must've known her before she ran away from home." She shook her head. "Such a tragic and dramatic story. You'd know all about it, of course."

Tia shook her head. "Not really," she said. "We had...drifted apart by that point."

"Ah." Rarity nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I've only known her a few weeks, of course, but from what I gather, the person she was before she ran away from home simply doesn't exist anymore. The Sunset Shimmer I've gotten to know isn't anything like the nasty little delinquent she's told me and Fluttershy all about."

"She's told you about...her past?"

"What she's been able to piece together of it," Rarity said. "All she really has to go on are vague things her parents have said and a few old MyStable posts and pictures on her old laptop. Evidently, well..." Rarity worried at her lip. "Evidently, her parents are so overjoyed with the miracle daughter they have now that they're hesitant to say or do anything that might bring the old Sunset Shimmer back. I can't say I blame them, she's quite splendid the way she is."

"How did she manage to reunite with her parents if she doesn't remember anything about her past?" Tia wondered.

Rarity grimaced. "A rather cruel and ironic twist of fate," she said. "Her father hit her with his car. It took several weeks for her to make a full recovery."

*So that's how she ended up with...* "That must've been very difficult for her."

"Mmm," Rarity said. "I saw the bruises the first day she was out and about after the accident. It was horrible, and that was after she'd been healing for a while!"

"I see," Tia said. "I didn't know." Inwardly, she flinched. *Sunset Shimmer...such a terrible thing happened to you, it must have happened that very night we arrived...! Had I known, I would have flown to your side and never left you...*

"Of course, it's a miracle she's alive and well at all," Rarity said airily. "I mean, she ran away from home at thirteen, with an absolute cad of a boyfriend and suspecting she might be pregnant! I can't even begin to imagine how harsh things must have been for her all this time." She clucked her tongue. "I'm just grateful that the girl I met isn't the same as that awful runaway, because I would not want anything to do with someone like that."

"I'm pruning up," Tia announced, standing and rising from the water. "I'm going to go dry off and see if there isn't a massage table open."

"But of course, darling," Rarity said. "I believe I shall be a few more minutes."

Tia grabbed a towel and headed to the change area, shedding her suit and wrapping the towel around her body. As she did so, she thought over everything she'd just heard and sorted it into her mental file on both her own Sunset Shimmer and this world's Sunset.

She, Celestia, and Luna had pieced it together some time ago: the runaway Sunset Shimmer was very likely dead and would never be seen again. While her student's abrupt and frankly vicious appearance at Canterlot High during registration had left a very bitter impression on the two principals and had left Tia herself feeling shame, remorse, and despair, one thing Sunset had said couldn't be denied.

Having their daughter back—even if what they'd gotten back was a pretender using them for her own personal gain—had undeniably affected Sunset Shimmer's parents deeply. Which, for the time being, was a good thing—but who was to say what it meant in the long run? Would Sunset Shimmer reveal her true colors and break their hearts all over again? Would she change, come to understand the value of friendship, become a kinder person?

Of course, when the portal to Equestria opened again, they would both have to return. And then those poor parents' hearts would be broken all over again. Tia bit back a sob on their behalf. "My foolish student," she whispered into the empty change room. "So many innocents will be hurt by your actions..." She frowned. "But who am I to judge?" she asked herself, sitting down heavily and scrubbing her hair. "I ran off after you without a second thought, and in so doing, I may have doomed Equestria..."

She got dressed and pulled out her phone to call for a ride. As she passed through the spa, she made her apologies to Rarity, who was just getting out of the tub. "I don't feel well suddenly," she said gamely. "I believe I'm going to go home and have a rest."

"Yes, of course," Rarity said understandingly. "Perhaps the tub was a bit much with this heat. I'm feeling a bit light headed myself. Perhaps in a day or two, we can do something different? Perhaps involving ice cream?"

Tia smiled. "I'd like that," she said.


* * * * *


With Rainbow Dash arriving, Sunset and Fluttershy migrated to the living room. Fluttershy answered the door to greet her friend, then led her into the house. Sunset studied the girl as she crossed the threshold, taking her measure.

Rainbow Dash was of average height and average, if fit, build. She had bright blue skin, deep red eyes, and a wild mane of hair in several colors of the rainbow. *Is that natural or dyed?* She was dressed in bike shorts, a blue tank top, and sneakers. Sunset was still learning to read human body language, but she got the impression that Rainbow Dash was a girl who always wanted to be in motion, who didn't like sitting still.

"So you're Sunset Shimmer, huh?" Rainbow said as she walked over, giving Sunset the once-over. "Yeah, Shy mentioned she made a new friend. 'Sup?"

"Hey, nice to meet you," Sunset said. "Make yourself at home." As Rainbow dropped onto the couch and spread herself out (Sunset knew immediately why Fluttershy said this girl and Rarity were a bad match), Fluttershy went to the kitchen and returned with cold drinks for all three girls.

"Thanks, Shy, I'd have gotten up and—"

"I needed to move around a bit," Fluttershy demurred as she sat down.

"Thanks, Shy," Rainbow said, uncapping her drink and taking a long gulp. "Man, is it hot out there!"

"Yeah, this heat's a real pain," Sunset said. "So, soccer camp, huh?"

"Yeah, just got back," Rainbow said, grinning cheekily. "Can't wait for tryouts! I'm gonna be the first freshman to make varsity at CHS, watch!" She glanced at Sunset. "How about you? Joining any teams?"

"Probably not," Sunset said with a shrug. "Did Fluttershy tell you about my, umm...situation?"

"All she's told me is she's got a new friend," Rainbow said.

Sunset nodded, and launched into a brief summary of her "situation". When she was finished, Rainbow was leaning forward over the edge of her seat, eyes wide, irises shrunk to pinpricks.

"Wow!" Rainbow cried. "Holy crap, that's like some kinda crazy TV show you're livin'!" She shook her head in disbelief. "And that's all for real? No bullshit?"

"No bullshit," Sunset said, gesturing expansively then letting her hands fall in her lap. "Anyway, I'm not much of an athlete to begin with, but even if I was, I've got so much to deal with just putting my life back together I don't think I'd have time to join a team."

"Yeah, probably," Rainbow said. "Still, make sure you get some exercise. You look like the kind of girl who's proud of her body, you don't wanna let yourself get love handles and chub."

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy hissed, mortified.

"Nah, she's right," Sunset said. "I'll probably want to start walking or jogging more." She smiled hopefully. "I could use some company."

"I'd be happy to go jogging with you when I can," Fluttershy said.

"Dunno when I'd be around for it, I mean, I live too far away, but maybe on the weekends if I'm not doin' other stuff," Rainbow said. "Or maybe we can all hit the gym together some weekends!"

"That sounds good," Sunset said. *That sounds exhausting, actually, but it's what humans do, so...*

The three girls spent the rest of the afternoon chatting and watching television, with Sunset and Rainbow getting to know each other and all three of them talking about the new school year. When Rainbow and Fluttershy finally went home an hour before dinner, Satin walked in and smiled. "So! You made another new friend!"

"Yeah, I guess I did," Sunset said with a smile. *Rainbow Dash...I don't know how useful she's going to be to me. I'll have to be careful around her. She strikes me as being way too straightforward and assertive. If I rub her the wrong way, it'll lead to a confrontation, and that might not be one I can win.* She stretched her arms across the back of the couch. "Hey, Mom?"

"Yes?"

"I might need to get some better workout clothes. I have a feeling Rainbow Dash is gonna be dragging me and Fluttershy to the gym a lot..."


* * * * *


The last weekend of August, wave after wave of thunderstorms rolled through Canterlot, darkening the sky and lashing the city with sheets of rain. September arrived, still hot and steamy from the rainfall evaporating, but not quite as hot as it had been most of August. Sunset Shimmer and Fluttershy got out of Desert Sunrise's SUV on the first day of school and walked up the damp, sparkling walkway leading to Canterlot High. By the steps, Sunset could see Tia visiting with Rarity and two other girls. Dozens of other students milled around, some arriving by bike, others by skateboard, and still others being dropped off by parents or the bus.

Sunset frowned as she approached the doors. "Where are we supposed to go?" she wondered.

"I'm not sure," Fluttershy admitted. At that moment, Vice-Principal Luna stepped out of the building, holding a megaphone. She let loose a squeal of feedback, then called out:

"All freshmen, please report to the auditorium for orientation. Just follow the arrows. All other students, please proceed to your homerooms. Welcome to CHS!"