//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Wondercolts Forever // by Epsilon-Delta //------------------------------// A human. Sunset recognized her new form from mythology, knew her form would likely change once she went through the mirror, but it was still a shock to learn they were real. Were there more of them around? She appeared to be in a courtyard with a large building nearby, but she didn’t see anyone else. Probably for the best. She sat there a moment flexing her new ‘hands’. “Hello! I’ve never seen you before.” Sunset pulled back in surprise from a familiar voice. She looked up to confirm her fear. It was Celestia! It looked just like you’d expect a human version of Celestia to look with the same waving hair and the same enormous size. Sunset tried standing up on her hind legs, but this other human was so much taller than her that Sunset was about eye level with her chest. She reminded herself that this couldn’t possibly be the same Celestia she just ran away from. There were multiple versions of everyone somewhere else in the multiverse, Sunset had just gotten unreasonably unlucky and ran into the person she’d least wanted to see. “Are you nervous?” Celestia put her hand on Sunset’s head. Sunset knocked it away and stepped back, only to get a chuckle from this new Celestia. “May I ask what brings you to my school?” Sunset looked at the building behind Celestia. This did look like a school… Sunset’s cover was going to be blown immediately if she couldn’t think of an excuse! “I just transferred here,” Sunset said the first thing that came to mind. “I got lost since it was my first day. Sorry.” Celestia tilted her head with an almost playful smile. Sunset had no idea if what she just claimed was completely absurd. She could be a senior human for all she knew! “Well, if you say you’re a transfer student I won’t challenge it. I can tell you have a lot of potential,” Celestia said softly. “Though you must have been very lost to have ended up here.” Sunset held back her anger. Already she wanted to punch this bitch just for looking like Princess Celestia. “Hehe! Yeah! I’m really bad at this, huh?” “Well, the cafeteria is right there.” Celestia pointed to a door. “If I’m not mistaken it is lunchtime. You’re more than welcome to go. If you have any questions, my office is always open to my students and I’d be more than happy to help.” Celestia waved and walked off, much to Sunset’s relief. Did she know? Something about that seemed off… Still, this might be good. A school. And the principal thought she was a student here so maybe everyone else would too. At least, it’d be a while before they caught on. Sunset would have to learn about this world and Equestrian schools gave free lunches so maybe this place did too. She didn’t exactly have a game plan for this new world just yet. Free food on day one was a huge perk. Sunset walked towards the cafeteria. The place had electric lights, so she wasn’t in the stone age, at least. Though maybe it would have been better it was, easier to take advantage of that is. Inside she saw several students, all of them about her size, and a few adults a bit bigger but not as big as Principal Celestia. Clearly, Sunset was a teenage human now. Strange. That wasn’t supposed to be how interdimensional transformations worked. You were supposed to be the same age when this sort of thing happened. Sunset was in her mid-20’s, a young adult, so she should be a young adult human, right? Though then again that was what Celestia taught her and Celestia was a lying, manipulative bitch so… It did let Sunset get in line for food without anyone saying anything, so being a teenager seemed good to her. Maybe half the students were already sitting down while the other half were waiting in line. Get her bearings straight first, then she could think of how to exploit this place. “Oh hey!” Someone, female, based on the voice, grabbed Sunset’s shoulder. “Are you a transfer student? You look new!” “Huh?” Sunset turned to see another teenage girl with rainbow hair talking to her. “My name is Rainbow Dash!” The girl was way too excited for Sunset’s liking. “You are a transfer student, right? I love helping transfers out! You guys are always so crazy, you know? Come sit at my table. I’ll introduce you to my friends.” Way too friendly. Sunset kind of wanted to just hang back, be a bit of a loner. “Sure. But I’m a bit of a recluse just so you know.” Sunset looked away. “That’s cool! Everyone’s kind of like that at first,” said Dash. “But once you see how incredibly awesome this place is, I’m sure you’ll open up!” Were there seriously teenagers with this much school spirit? Dash must play sports or something. Sunset hated sports ponies. Sunset got to the head of the line and was amazed at the selection! There was a massive wall behind the lunch lady filled with every food imaginable. She saw pasta, salads, sandwiches, pies, pizza, nearly everything she could think of was right here! Though a lot of it was human foods Sunset didn’t recognize. But between her and the food was a plump human; the lunch lady, no doubt. Something about her seemed off, gave Sunset the creeps. There was something of a blank stare just above her wide smile. “Is there anything I can get you, dear?” The lunch lady asked. “Um.” Sunset scanned the endless options. She didn’t even know what a lot of this was. “A burger?” The lunch lady robotically reached under the table and pulled out a tray with burgers and fries on it to hand to Sunset. Thankfully, not asking for money. It smelled delicious! But the way that lunch lady went right back to her blank smile… “Are you okay?” Sunset asked her. “Okay?” The lunch lady asked. “Is that some kind of hip slang?” “What?” “You don’t talk to adults.” Dash pushed Sunset ahead to get her own lunch. “You know, aside from teachers and Celestia.” “You don’t? Why?” Sunset asked. “Cause they’re lame!” Dash assured her. “It’s true, I am lame,” the lunch lady agreed. “I don’t understand you youngsters and your hip ways at all.” So the lunch lady was… mentally challenged or something. Good to know. Maybe not talking to adults was a cultural thing? No, that wouldn’t make any sense! You can’t have a culture where you don’t talk to adults! Could you? Sunset was baffled by this little exchange, but it wasn’t like she could just ask Dash questions that exposed her alien origins outright. She had to pretend whatever the heck was happening was normal. Sunset just smiled and took her tray off to the cafeteria, looking for a place to sit. Rainbow Dash was quick to point out the table she intended to sit at. Sunset sighed, resigning to give her what she wanted. “Yeah. You just stick with me, newbie.” Dash bit into her own burger after sitting down. “I know all the ropes of this place now! I’ve been going here for ten years, so-“ “Wait, hold up.” Sunset raised her hands to stop her. “You’ve been going to high school for ten years?” “Yeah?” Dash glanced around, looking for the point. “Why?” “How old are you, exactly?” Sunset asked. “Sixteen, same as you! Duh!” “So you’ve been going to high school since you were six?” Maybe humans aged differently. “Six what?” “Six years old!” “I don’t think you can be six years old.” “What?!” Humans couldn’t possibly age that differently. “If you can’t be six years old then how did you get to be sixteen?” “I just am sixteen?” Dash was cringing a little at the oddness of the question. “Do you not know how age works or-?” “Maybe we’re talking past each other. Okay. Like you’ve been alive for sixteen years, right? So you’re sixteen. And in another year, you’ll be seventeen.” Dash laughed. “You think I’m just going to magically turn into a seventeen-year-old next year?” Dash laughed even louder. “This is why I love transfer students so much! You all have such nutty ideas!” Sunset stared in disbelief, unable to process what was happening. What possible explanation could there be for this? Another student, this one with purple hair and a much more complex looking dish pasta, sat next to the two of them. “Oh! I see we have a guest at our table today,” the newcomer said. Sunset opened her mouth but was too stunned to speak at the moment. Thankfully, she had Dash here to do the talking for her. “Ah! The new transfer student is messing with me.” Dash pointed her thumb at Sunset. “Sunset Shimmer here is a riot!” “Well, my name is Rarity, miss Sunset.” Rarity gave her a nod. “But you do need to be careful around transfer students, Rainbow Dash. I wouldn’t normally invite one to sit with me until they’ve been here a few years. They can be a bit rough around the edges.” “That’s what makes them fun,” said Dash. Meanwhile, Sunset’s brain was still stuck on the age problem. “So uh, how long have you been sixteen for, Rarity?” Sunset asked her. “Why I’ve always been sixteen of course. What an odd question.” Always? Were they vampires or something? “I meant how long have you been going to this school for,” Sunset corrected herself. “Oh, well I was actually one of the first students here at Canterlot high.” Rarity took out a cloth napkin and put it over her lap. “I’ve been going here for hundreds of years.” “Hundreds…” “Of years yes.” Rarity began daintily eating her pasta. They really were vampires… or something. But why would a vampire go to high school for hundreds of years?! What even was the possibility here? They claimed to have never been younger than sixteen. But they came from somewhere else? “And uh…” Sunset looked back and forth between the two, hardly able to think what to ask next that wouldn’t give her away. “What were you doing before you came to Canterlot High? Did you go to another school?” The smiles vanished. “How rude!” Rarity turned her nose up. “This is exactly what I was talking about! Transfer students simply cross the line sometimes.” “Yeah! You can’t just ask stuff like that, new kid!” Dash stood up at this insult. “We didn’t ask you where you came from!” “Wait. Why can’t I ask that?” “Because it’s rude! Being new doesn’t give you the right to be a bully!” Dash was leaning forward like she really was defending her friend against a bully. Rarity nodded in agreement. That’s when Sunset realized something. Sunset needed to leave. She didn’t know what yet, but there was something horribly wrong with this place. “I have to go to the bathroom.” Sunset stood up and left. She left the building, and she ran. She tried to get as far away from this school as possible.