Cloudy sighed heavily as she paced in tight circles outside the classroom door. Thankfully its opaque glass window prevented its occupants from seeing her. The hall itself was completely deserted, another thing she was thankful for. No matter how many times she did this she just couldn't get used to it, she was always nervous about meeting her new classmates. Moving between four schools in three years made her feel like she was destined to permanently hold the title of “New Girl” for the rest of her school life.
The sound of a door opening caused her to stop in her tracks and look up from her feet. A rather agitated looking woman held the door open, the sweeping motion she made with her arm indicating that Cloudy could now enter the room.
“Ok everybody, one last thing before homeroom ends. This if our latest transfer student, Cloudy Day. I expect you to treat her with the same respect and kindness as you do each other. Now Miss Day, would you like to say a few things about yourself?” the woman forced a smile. Cloudy had seen her in the library the day her father brought her here to meet the Principles. A trio of younger girls were causing a huge ruckus by playing music far too loud. Although the song was catchy it was clearly something that drove this faculty member to her wits end. At least she seemed more relaxed in the classroom.
“Oh, um. S-sure, Miss Cheerilee,” Cloudy stammered before turning to face her new classmates, “My name is Cloud Day. I moved here from Maretropolis and used to attend Mayhem's A-academy for Young Women-”
“You used to be a Mane-iac?” one of the girls in class interrupted.
“Yes, I used to be a Mane-iac,” Cloudy replied with a sigh before continuing, “Anyway, I enjoy cooking and my hobbies include metalworking and engineering. My dad is a metal sculptor and former Military Engineer. If you're into that sort of thing you might have heard of him, his name is Rusty Adonis. Aside from that, I guess I like music and video games. I don't really know what else to say.”
Cloudy glanced up at Miss Cheerilee. The teacher didn't seem to be paying all to much attention, having busied herself with looking over some paperwork. Cloudy cleared her throat to get the woman's attention, jerking the teacher out of her focus.
“Oh yes, very good Miss Day. Now take any seat you like. I believe there are a few open at the back of the room,” Cheerilee dismissed the new student, waving her hand lazily as she turned back to her paperwork. Cloudy smiled nervously as she scanned the classroom, trying to spot the aforementioned seats. Luckily there were two seats right down the back in the last two rows that remained unoccupied. One was against the inner wall in the second last row, and the other was in the centre of the final row. Not one to risk blocking the view of another the girl opted for the seat in the final row. As she walked across the room she avoided looking at the other students, instead focusing on the backpack she hugged tight to her chest. Luckily it took only a few seconds to reach her desk and be seated at it. Hesitantly she looked to either side of her to see who her neighbours were.
The girl on the right was bobbing her head and gently tapping her desk to an unheard beat. A pair of thin white cords lead from her ears, which were hidden beneath her two toned blue hair, down to a digital music player strapped to her belt. Clearly this girl wasn't paying attention to anything around her. Especially with those violet coloured shades she was wearing. Cloudy wasn't certain if the girl could actually see anything with those things on while inside.
To her right however was a more attentive student. Long yellow and red hair and brilliant cyan coloured eyes. It took a few moments before Cloudy realised this girl was staring back at her.
“Hi, my name's Sunset Shimmer. It's nice to meet you Cloudy Day,” she smiled. Cloudy hesitantly smiled back and gave a small wave, unsure of what to say. Luckily Sunset seemed to be fine with that response, turning away to dig through her backpack. Cloudy likewise opened her backpack to rummage through the contents. A few notebooks, a small pencil case, and other miscellaneous odds and ends, made up the majority of what she had brought to school. Stealthily she pulled out a small locket, roughly a quarter of the size of her palm, and opened it up while keeping it out of sight within her bag. The face of a beautiful, bright-eyed woman beamed back up at her. Her father had always said Cloudy was the spitting image of her mother, from her sky blue eyes down to her brown hair and creamy skin. The tiniest hint of a smile tugged at the edges of Cloudy's lips as she stared down at the photograph of her mother. She wondered what her mother would think about this new school.
“It seems to have been getting a good reputation recently. Friendly atmosphere, good facilities, good staff. I'm sure you'll love it!” her father had done his best to promote the school to her. He sounded like a salesman of schools almost. The thought amused Cloudy. Now if only her father was as enthusiastic about selling his sculptures as he was about trying to convince her that the next school would be the place she would finally settle down at.
“Hey, Cloudy,” Sunset's voice caught Cloudy's attention the moment it left her mouth. With years of practised precision and speed she snapped shut her locket, slipped it into the secret pocket it lived in, and pulled out a small book she had been reading recently before turning to the girl beside her.
“Yes?” she asked hesitantly, raising an eyebrow slightly as she looked at the device Sunset held in her hand. It took a few seconds for it to click in Cloudy's mind that it was a mobile phone.
“Want to trade numbers? From experience I can promise you that you'll make new friends in no time here, but someone has to make the first move right? I can show you around and introduce you to my own friends too if you would like. They are great girls, and I just know they would be pleased to meet you.”
“Oh, uh, thanks I guess. Yeah I guess we can share numbers,” Cloudy said as she produced a much older model phone from her pocket. She hadn't really had much use for a fancy mobile over the years since she only used it to contact her father and for emergencies. She was pretty sure this would be the first time she would have someone on her contacts list who wasn't a family member, doctor, or teacher.
Beep, Boop.
Despite it's age it seemed her phone still had a few functions shared by newer models. A notification popped up on her screen as she pointed her phone at Sunset's.
'Sunset Shimmer Wishes to Trade Details'
“Oh, um ok,” Cloudy nervously pressed the accept button on her phone, unsure if she was doing the right thing. Thankfully a quick loading bar blipped across the screen followed by a rather victorious sounding chirping sound, catching Cloudy off guard. She looked around in worry, expecting the rest of the class, or at least the teacher, to be staring daggers at them for interrupting something but to her surprise not a single person was paying them any mind.
“Relax, we're still in homeroom. We're not going to get into trouble for a small amount of noise. If we were in class then sure, but we're not,” Sunset giggled as she snapped her phone shut and slipped it into her pocket. Cloudy stared at her phone for a moment, taking in her first friend contact, before doing the same. She smiled up at her new friend. Honestly she hadn't expected to make any friends, especially on her first day.
“I think I will take you up on your offer, Sunset. I don't really know my way around so it would be much appreciated if you could show me. So far I just know where Principle Celestia's office is. Oh and this room, I guess,” Cloudy said sheepishly.
“Great! I'll show you around at lunch then,” Sunset grinned.
The bell rang loud and clear, signifying the end of class. After several boring classes Cloudy was finally free to silence the growling beast that was her stomach. A meek smile graced her face as it made itself heard while she waited for Sunset to finish packing up her class supplies. For a girl who wore a leather jacket she was surprisingly studious.
“I guess there's more to people here than what you can see huh,” she muttered to herself as she leaned against the wall. She was waiting patiently in the hall just outside to the classroom. Glancing up and down the hall she got a good guess that this school was filled to the brim with students, as the walls were lined with lockers and many unknown faces quickly passed by. Most were heading in the same direction. They were most likely heading to the cafeteria she guessed, judging by her past school experiences.
“Hey, sorry for the wait. Ready to go? Anywhere you'd like to head off to first?” Sunset closed the classroom door behind her as she spoke, though keeping eye contact with Cloudy the entire time. Cloudy nodded with a smile before the moment was interrupted by her stomach.
“I guess the first place would be the cafeteria, if that's okay with you,” she grinned sheepishly, placing a hand on her belly. Sunset stifled a laugh before nodding in agreement.
Unbeknown to the duo another girl keep her eyes on them as they merged with the crowd. She curled her blue and purple hair around the right index finger as she took another bite out of her taco. She hadn't seen many students transfer to the school before. There was that one girl who came over from Crystal Prep Academy after the recent Friendship games but aside from her, the only transfers she had heard about that year were herself and her sisters. If you discounted that otherworldly princess that is.
“Sonata, what are you doing? You know we're not suppose to eat in the halls,” a very annoyed sounding voice drew Sonata's attention away from the crowd, having already lost track of the girls she was watching. Beside her a girl with large twin tails rolled her eyes while another with a huge fluffy ponytail slapped a palm against her forehead.
“Come on, we have work to do. That scrap-head isn't going to do anything if we don't help him out remember. Now let's get going, we don't have a lot of time to waste,” Adagio sighed, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. Sonata blinked a few times as her sisters stared at her.
“But there's a new girl. Don't you want to make friends?” she asked innocently.
“Sonata, you've been watching her right? She's already made friends with Sunset Shimmer. There's no way we could muscle in on her right now,” Aria said matter of factly. She glared angrily at Sonata, clearly not up for debating the point. Sonata sighed.
“Fine,” she replied, not wanting to have to deal with Aria's complaints. Though she threw another look over her shoulder towards the flowing crowd before following her sisters in the opposite direction. She had a strange feeling about the new girl, something she couldn't put her finger on. Perhaps she would try and find out once she got a moment away from her fellow Sirens.
The glass windowed double doors pushed open with ease as Sunset and Cloudy entered the cafeteria. They were instantly greeted with a wave of noises and smells. From the lunch menu to the gathered social cliques, it was like seeing an entirely different side of the student body compared to how everyone mixed in class. Immediately Cloudy could pick out the various social groups she had grown accustom to at other schools. The eco-kids, the music junkies, the band geeks, the fashionistas, and the divas. It was a whole series of ecosystems within an ecosystem.
A hand on her shoulder brought her out of her reverie.
“Oh right, food,” Cloudy cut off Sunset before her new friend could say anything at all. Together the duo walked over to the short line that passed by the front of the serving area. It didn't take the girls long to get through the line, Sunset picking up a healthy looking lunch compared to Cloudy's triple taco line-up. She couldn't help herself, it had been months since she had last had a good taco.
As they moved away from the serving line, Sunset made a beeline for an empty table towards the opposite side of the room. Judging from the two empty tables they walked past Cloudy guessed this was probably Sunset's usual spot. The warm sunlight flitted in through the large windows that ran around almost half the cafeteria, settling nicely on the tables on their side of the room. From where they were sitting they could see out onto the parking lot that was behind the school. It wasn't the most stunning view, but it was still a view. There was one thing that Cloudy noticed as she placed her lunch tray onto the table.
“Um, Sunset. Who, who's that?” Cloudy asked, doing her best to subtly point at the person she was asking about. Sunset looked up from her lunch and followed Cloudy's directions. Out in the otherwise barren parking lot was a single brown pick-up truck, and sitting atop it was a boy. From where they were Cloudy couldn't make out a lot of details but he appeared to have pale hair, and be wearing denim overalls with a grey shirt. The most striking thing though was the fact that he was all on his own. Cloudy hadn't been at the school for longer than half a day but even after such a short time the idea of someone being on their own in this school seemed quite strange.
“Oh, him? That's Sun Chaser,” Sunset responded, the chipperness in her voice suddenly absent, “I didn't think he was due back to school until next week.”
Cloudy raised an eyebrow at Sunset in response to the girls statement, waiting for an elaboration she clearly wasn't going to get. On top of that Sunset had started to fidget with her hair and throw sideways glances out the window but otherwise avoided looking up from her meal. Cloudy shrugged to herself, not wanting to push for information. It was probably not in her best interest to demand answers to what might be very personal questions. Perhaps this Sun Chaser guy was just a social misfit? There were plenty of loners and outcasts at her old schools so it wouldn't really be that strange to see one here too, right?
Sitting down Cloudy took a bite out of her first taco and looked back out the window. She figured it was probably harder to see into the cafeteria than it was to see out of it, at least at this time of day when the sun was directly over the rear of the school. It was actually quite a nice day out too. It was sunny and warm, with the occasional cool breeze. Maybe that's why he was outside on his own? He was just enjoying the weather.
“Hm?” Cloudy hummed as she noticed a few people, girls to be precise, she didn't recognise approach the boy on the pick-up truck. They seemed very strange, their appearances were a lot more striking than most of the students she had seen that day.
“Hey, Sunset, who are THEY?” Cloud asked after swallowing the mouthful of half-chewed taco and before taking another sizeable bite out of her lunch. Sunset looked up in confusion and looked out the window, once again following Cloudy's directions courtesy of her now well practised pointing finger. Sunset's eyes narrowed as she spotted the girls that had entered the parking lot, a slight grimace crossing her face.
“Those girls? They're the Dazzlings, and they have no business talking to Chaser,” Sunset practically snarled the words. Without any warning she stood straight up, slamming her hands onto the table as she glared at the girls she referred to as the Dazzlings. Cloudy flinched at the sudden actions and glanced nervously between her new friend and the girls outside.
“Sunset, are you -”
“I'll be right back,” Sunset interrupted as she quickly made her way towards the nearby double doors that led outside. Cloudy blinked a few times as she watched the red and yellow haired girl storm off before cramming the rest of her half eaten taco into her mouth and dashed after her friend with her other two tacos in hand.
Sun Chaser closed his eyes and tilted his head back as a cool breeze washed over him. The weather that day was amazing, probably the best it had been in weeks. Or maybe it had been better? He hadn't really been outside very much over the past month, having spent most of his days sleeping while he worked on his various projects throughout the nights. At the very least his sandwiches tasted the same regardless of where or when he ate them, provided they were freshly made.
“Maybe I should leave the yard more often,” he thought with a smile as the breeze passed and he returned to eating the ham, turkey, and cheddar sandwich that was in his hand. He eyed the morsel that was left, wishing he had packed more into his cooler box. He wondered how much longer he would have to wait. He had come all the way to the school just to pick them up, the least they could was turn up on time.
“Been waiting long?” a sultry voice called out to him from across the parking lot. Chaser's green eyes flickered from his hand to the owner of the voice, Adagio Dazzle. He let out a sigh as he jumped down from the roof of his truck to greet the girl and her sisters. His messy silver hair swayed slightly as he landed on the ground with a soft thud. He grinned as he stood up, standing several inches taller than any of the Dazzlings, and dusted himself off with his free hand.
“Nah, not that long at all. Just finished my lunch though. You girls eaten? There's not much left to scrounge up at the workshop,” Sun replied, popping the last of his meal into his mouth to finish it off.
“Yes, we've eaten already. Can we just get going already? We don't exactly want to attract any attention,” Adagio's voice had dropped it's sultry tone and, despite her best efforts to sound aloof, was edged with urgency. It was true that the trio weren't the most popular girls in school, but it wasn't like anyone would really pay them too much attention. They had been stripped of their powers for quite a while now, so it wasn't as if they could get up to any more trouble than anyone else. Not any more anyway.
“Uh, Adagio?”
“Ugh, what is it Sonata?”
“I think we've attracted attention,” the blue skinned girl said flatly as Adagio and Aria turned to glare at her. Adagio sighed in annoyance, while Aria clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes, upon seeing whom Sonata was referring too. Sun Chaser shuffled nervously himself when he noticed Sunset Shimmer storming towards them, another girl he hadn't seen before in close pursuit with a taco sticking out of her mouth.
“Sun Chaser,” Sunset growled, “Just what exactly are you doing here with them? You're not even meant to be back at school for another week!”
“Excuse me? Them? We have names you know,” Adagio stepped between Chaser and Sunset, hands on her hips. Chaser could tell by the sound of her voice that she didn't take well to Sunset's questions. He knew this wasn't going to go down well unless he intervened right there and then.
“Whoa, whoa, calm down girls. Adagio, why don't you, Aria, and Sonata wait in my truck. I'll talk to Sunset and then we can leave,” he smiled sheepishly as he pushed his way between the two girls. Sunset opened her mouth, Chaser guessed to argue, but Adagio spat out a “fine” first and dragged her sisters to the other side of the truck. Chaser watched as she pushed Aria and Sonata into the back seat before claiming the front passenger seat for herself.
“Of course she wants to sit up front,” Chaser thought with a sigh as he turned back around. This was the last thing he wanted to deal with today. The Dazzlings could be a handful normally, but now Aria and Adagio were likely to be in a foul mood all afternoon and on top of that Sunset didn't seem none to pleased with him either.
“Now before you say anything Sunset, just hear me out. The Dazzlings have just asked me to help them out on a project of theirs, nothing nefarious or anything like that. In return they've agreed to help me out around the workshop for a few hours here and there,” Chaser explained, hoping that was enough to calm Sunset down. It seemed to do the trick, though the expression on her face told him that she was still upset.
“Ah, okay. If you say so, but you really should have told me or someone else about it.”
“Actually Principals Celestia and Luna both know about the arrangement, which is why I'm picking them up now instead of after school. We just didn't tell anyone because Adagio asked us not too. Sorry.”
“Uh huh. How about coming in to say hello since you were stopping by anyway? I... I mean, We haven't seen you in weeks. Look at you, you've not been sleeping properly again haven't you?! You've got bags beneath your eyes again, and you're covered in oil stains,” Sunset fussed. Chaser wasn't sure if she was legitimately concerned about him or just trying to turn her focus away from the previous issue.
“Um, Hi,” a voice pipped up from behind Sunset, whom promptly went wide eyed and span around. It was the blue haired taco girl that Chaser had seen following Sunset earlier. He had forgotten about her.
“Uh, howdy,” he responded, slightly confused. He could feel an awkward tension growing all of a sudden.
“Cloudy?! Why did you follow me? I told you I would be right back,” Sunset gasped.
“I'm sorry, I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about,” Cloudy squeaked back, shrinking into herself as it dawned upon her that maybe she should have just waited.
“Well there's no point worrying about it now,” Sunset sighed, “But since you're here I might as well introduce you properly. Cloudy Day, this idiot is Sun Chaser as I said before. Sun Chaser, this is Cloudy Day. She's a new transfer student from Maretropolis.”
“Nice to meet you Sun Chaser,” Cloudy said, offering out her hand in greeting.
“Likewise. Another transfer huh? You're not going to enslave everyone or rip apart to fabric of space and time are you?” the words tumbled out of Chaser's gaping face-hole before he could stop them. Cloudy gave him a very confused look, and Sunset simply glared at him.
“Chaser!” Sunset snapped angrily.
“Oh, uh, right, sorry. I'm just going to go now, bye,” Chaser apologised as he turned and clambered into his truck. He could feel his face burning with embarrassment as he turned the ignition and resisted the urge to floor it as he drove out of the parking lot. He had a feeling this was going to be a long day.