The trials of highschool continued. Sunset could make it through the hallway without so much issue now, but much of the social glue still escaped her. Wasn’t exactly easy, when your only way into the herd was an elder authority figure you had very mixed feelings about. Teacher’s pets weren’t the most popular and principal’s weren’t much better. Good excuse for her to get this Celestia to give her some distance, but being completely alone didn’t exactly improve the situation.
Neither did the number of remedial classes she had to take to catch up with the basic education of the locals. Annoyingly, even enrolling as a freshman, she couldn’t see a way to cover all the basics and graduate with the rest of the class. Celestia assured her taking five years was - acceptable. That plenty did. Sunset wasn’t sure she bought it. It was like being back in magic kindergarten, but even more humiliating because most of the school wasn’t. Graduation year wouldn’t be a big deal if she went back to Equestria again when the portal opened, but –
She was stuck here. Should learn what she could about the place.
Luckily, it did seem to be an interesting year to have jumped in on, so far as the options for ‘interesting’ went in this place. Principal Celestia gathered the school together to make an announcement - some manner of joint event with another school called the “Friendship Games”.
The other students weren’t especially enthused by it - apparently Canterlot High struggled when it came to competing with this Crystal Prep Academy. Why they struggled, though, sounded rather interesting.
Crystal Prep students were known to be extremely smart, athletic, and motivated. All qualities Sunset quite approved of. And it was a networking event - with high quality peers, better suited to her own inclinations, and who hadn’t watched her most humiliating struggles over the past few days and formed their mistaken opinions accordingly.
It was a chance to learn, to network, and ideally even to gain a more intelligent perspective on this new world. Not without apprehension, Sunset resolved to attend and make the best of it.
She found herself lingering on the outskirts of the opening celebration, keeping a safe distance and observing, wary of attempting to mingle too early. The ease, camaraderie and friendly rivalry with which the other students interacted with their school’s teams and each other made her wince: sorely wishing to join, but wary of mistakes she can’t afford. Embarrassment and ridicule from Canterlot High is bad enough, but frankly, they’re all idiots themselves - they’d forget and forgive soon enough. Making the same questionable first impression on the actually ambitious residents of this world would be more difficult to recover from.
Sunset considered taking her leave, coming back when she felt more confident in approaching the humans - but before she could, her choice was made for her, an oddly familiar woman with pink hair moving towards her to strike up a conversation.
“Well hello there. Noticed you seemed a bit alone back here.”
She couldn’t place her at first, but the voice hits her before the older girl gives her name - a bit more sultry in its warmth, but the connection is inescapable.
That damned alicorn. That damned alicorn. Who got her horn without even wanting it, adopted into the family Sunset had worked so hard to prove herself to and failed -
Princess Cadance.
Princess Cadance had always been nice to her. She’d generally been … disinclined to return the favor.
This Cadance was being nice to her. It raised her hackles on reflex -
But no human was an alicorn. Hardly fair to blame this one for that. She needed allies. And she didn’t have too many options here.
“New in town,” Sunset answered by explanation once the shock had worn off. “Not as familiar as everyone else with all this. What’s even going on with these games?”
Cadence grinned, a pearly flash of teeth.
“Oh, good. Something I’m an expert on. I was hoping I’d get to show off a bit tonight.” She extends a hand in offering. “Team Captain Mi Amore Cadenza. A pleasure to meet you, …?”
“Sunset Shimmer,” Sunset answers, gripping Cadance - Cadenza’s - hand to shake. Princess Cadance had always insisted on the nickname, uncomfortable with … Sunset wasn’t entirely sure what she was uncomfortable with. Regardless, the small difference set her more at ease. This wasn’t the pony she knew.
Cadenza guides her through an understanding of some of the games and activities, which Sunset appreciates, though it’s not the part of their conversation that most piques her attention.
“If you pay attention, more than your own team’s useful to you. This is a networking event as much as anything - Canterlot High won’t win, but its best and brightest will impress someone.” Cadenza comments, causing Sunset to smirk at her brazen confidence.
“That’s what I am to you, huh? Useful?” she teases, eliciting a chuckle.
“Mm… I don’t know, are you?” Cadenza teases back, then nods in the direction of the school officials and other captains. “Them I’m sure about. You … well, worth taking a look, no?”
Sunset smiles. Cadenza’s perspective makes much more sense than anything she’s ever heard from Princess Cadance. The girl actually has ambition, talent, insight - so many qualities that overglorified provincial pegasus had proved lacking in. She thought much more like Sunset. Maybe she’d have actually deserved to have the honors that luck had thrown at her undeserving counterpart on a silver platter.
“Hah. I’m brilliant. Smartest student here,” Sunset challenges playfully, comfortable with a - possible - exaggeration over affecting false modesty. She decides that Cadenza’s worth confiding in, to limit misinterpretations of her challenges at the very least. “But it’s rough getting started. You see, I’m really new here …”
So that's how high fives work.
Sometimes, you just hit it off with somepony. Cadenza had a confidence to her Sunset had never seen in Cadence, and the kind of charming, sly smile that gave you the sense she was taking you into her confidence. They had found a quiet spot to just sit and chat, and Sunset found she was enjoying myself more than she had in a long time.
“You might have guessed by my name that I’m rather new here also,” Cadenza admits amusedly.
“A word name in an entirely different language? Never would have guessed,” Sunset teased. “Takes one to know one, huh? What’s it even mean?” She knew, of course, but perhaps she could needle -
“My love Cadence,” Cadenza translates with a damnably straight face, interrupting Sunset’s plans and causing her to choke with laughter.
“And you want me to call you that huh? I barely even know you!” She looked for signs that her teasing a name of all things might be received poorly - but Mi Amore Cadenza was smug and amused, if anything.
“Ah, but you might soon, no? And we’ll want to have gotten off on the right foot. The foot of you regarding me with utter adoration.” Cadenza teased back. Sunset felt a slight heat in her cheeks at the reversal, but nothing so unpleasant as embarrassment. She was still up and fighting in this pleasant verbal spar.
“You introduce yourself that way to everyone,” Sunset challenged, watching Cadenza to see if any denial was forthcoming; but Cadenza merely tipped her a gracious nod.
“Of course. The more loyal minions the better, as I see it,” Cadenza assessed casually and to Sunset’s sympathetic laugh.
“Touché.”
“Anyway, I know something about what it is like to try and catch up with the local culture and curriculum.” Cadenza’s voice softened sympathetically, touching back on the subject she’d first brought up. “I do have a few tricks for it, but it’s been a challenge in particular trying to balance the academics with volunteering as team captain. Couldn’t not take the chance when it came up, though - being so prominently involved in the Friendship Games was an amazing opportunity.”
“I’ve always been a great student,” Sunset observes. “Just don’t know the rules here that well yet. Those tricks could come in handy if you want to share them, and maybe I could help you with the academics once I’m caught up.” She offers it impulsively to the older student; Cadenza looks amused at her certainty.
“Quite confident in yourself to offer to tutor an upperclassman on subjects you do not even know yet,” she comments dryly, to Sunset’s shrug. “But I suspect you are not wrong. And that makes you interesting. You have a phone?”
“Not great with it yet,” Sunset admits, “but I needed to get it working for my job.”
“Give me it and your hand then. If it has fingerprint recognition. I will connect us.”