Christmas had passed painfully slow for Sunset, but thankfully Christmas break was over and she was finally starting at Crystal Prep. The school uniform would take some time getting used to, but other than that she was happy to be free from the hellhole of her previous school. Here she was a complete stranger. Nobody would judge her from anything she had done. That was her hope at least, which turned out to be true.
When she came to the school's lobby nobody knew her and every face was new. It was a breath of fresh air to finally enter the school lobby without getting angrily eyed by every single soul present.
Walking down one of the hallways she found her assigned locker and opened it without a ton of hate-letters falling out. She breathed a low sigh of relief as she hung up her jacket inside and closed the locker. Pulling out the school schedule she set course for the History class that was starting soon.
After a few minutes she found the right classroom and entered. It wasn't the most impressive classroom, but it wasn't bad either. It matched the look of the building with the crystal decorations, but other than that it was just a normal classroom.
"Ah, Miss Shimmer. Please, take a seat." a lady's voice came from the direction of the blackboard.
Sunset looked in the direction of the voice and saw the teacher looking at her with a smile. Not saying a word, Sunset walked over to the only open desk and sat down.
"Class, as you can see, we have a new student with us today. Her name is Sunset Shimmer and she transferred here from Canterlot High." the teacher said as she gestured to where Sunset sat.
Sunset got a little uncomfortable with all the attention she got from the other students turning to look at her, but managed to give a small smile and a wave in order to make a good impression.
"Sunset, my name is Chrysalis and I'm going to be your History and English teacher." The now named teacher introduced herself before turning back to the blackboard. "Now, since this is just the first day after holidays, I've decided we'll do something fun. We're having a group project."
There were mixed reactions to this, but most seemed okay with it. Sunset didn't really mind, but just hoped it wasn't a subject she found hard.
"You'll get to choose a group and subject yourself as long as it falls under one of the chapters we've been through so far." Chrysalis said as she wrote down the criteria on the blackboard before turning back to the class. "Without further discussion, go ahead."
Reaction was immediate as some students stood up and walked to the ones they wanted to be in a group with. When everyone had taken a seat again, the only ones still sitting in their original place was Sunset and a girl sitting to her left. Who had her face almost planted in a book.
"Sunset, why don't you go together with Twilight there." Chrysalis said as she pointed to the girl beside her.
Sunset looked to her left and froze.
'That hair, those eyes. Can it be?' Sunset thought before she shook her head and moved her chair over to the very familiar girl's desk.
Twilight was still reading her book when Sunset sat down by her and she didn't really acknowledge her presence. Instead she just kept reading.
'Okay, calm down Sunset. She's most likely this world's version of Twilight. No need to get worried.' Sunset thought as she lifted her hand and placed it on the top of the book before lowering it.
"Twilight, I assume." Sunset said as she looked at the girl who now took notice of her.
"Huh? Uh.. Yeah?" the girl fumbled slightly with her words. It was pretty obvious that she wasn't the most social person there.
Once Twilight got a good look at the fiery haired girl in front of her it was her turn to freeze for a moment.
"Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" Twilight asked curiously as she thought back to that day before Christmas break when she bumped into an absolute wreck of a girl.
"I don't know. You do look familiar." Sunset said with slightly narrowed eyes. "Anyways, care to fill me in on what you've gone through in history so far?"
"Okay, hold on." Twilight said as she put a bookmark on the page she was on before closing the book and putting it into her bag. Afterwards she pulled out a schoolbook. "Let me see here." she skimmed through the pages quickly.
"We have gone through the French revolution, the American Civil War, WW1, and Prohibition." Twilight said when she looked up from the notebook.
"Hmm, many things to choose from there." Sunset said in thought. "Any suggestions?" she asked the bookish girl in front of her, who was also deep in thought.
"I'm not sure. Do you think World War 1 would be too easy or too obvious?" Twilight questioned looking up from her notes about said topic.
"It largely depends on what you choose to talk about. The Battle of the Somme, Verdun and Passchendaele would most likely be too obvious, but things like the Attack of the Dead Men, T. E. Lawrence, and the RMS Lusitania would probably be better options." Sunset explained as she scratched her head in thought.
"I guess that makes sense." Twilight said before she reached out her hand. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself. My name is Twilight Sparkle."
Sunset almost bit her tongue in order to prevent herself from saying 'I know' as she shook Twilight's hand.
"Sunset Shimmer."
Twilight cracked a small smile as she turned back to her notes to find a subject they could talk about.
"What about the Gallipoli campaign?" Twilight offered.
"Hmm, hold on a second." Sunset said as she got her bag and fished out a coin. "Heads: Attack of the Dead Men. Tails: Gallipoli Campaign."
Sunset flicked the coin into the air before catching it and placing it on the top of her hand.
"Tails."
Lunch soon came and as usual Twilight was sitting by herself at a lone table. She had gotten used to it by now as she wasn't that interested in making friends. She didn't really expect anything more than being alone about the entire day, but then the unexpected happened. Looking to her right she saw Sunset sitting down beside her with her own lunch. This didn't go unnoticed by everyone else in the cafeteria as they looked at the two girls sitting by themselves.
Twilight felt extremely uncomfortable with all the eyes looking at her and she sank slightly into her seat, but then she felt Sunset's warm hand on her shoulder. Looking up she saw the fiery haired looking at her with a warm smile. Twilight couldn't find a way to respond as she just sat there looking at Sunset.
"Don't mind them. They just don't know how to adapt to change." Sunset said reassuringly before she turned back to her lunch.
Twilight didn't move for a few seconds, but soon she looked back to her own lunch and began eating, feeling slightly more confident in herself. She shot a small glance at Sunset, but looked away again when she saw the girl looking back at her. Twilight could feel her cheeks grow slightly hot as an embarrassed blush grew on her face.