Life In Canterlot 1: The Autumn Term

"That's a bit...excessive. Wouldn't you say?"

"Oh, please, darling! You say 'excessive', I hear 'not enough sequins'!"

The sun was in the sky, the cold autumn breeze blowing through the town, and Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were sat outside of Canterlot High, waiting for Rarity to arrive. It was the beginning of September; a new school year. Sunset was speaking to said fashionista over the phone, who was apparently busy fretting over her outfit of choice, which was no surprise to any of them. And Twilight was going over the changes to her routine she was hoping to implement to increase the efficiency of her studying, which was the only thing keeping Rainbow awake.

"Now then, " Twilight began, producing a stack of papers from her backpack. "I know Principal Celestia said to only retrieve your own schedule, but I took the liberty of retrieving all seven of them! I've colour-coded each lesson," she continued, handing one to Rainbow, "so that you'll always be able to tell what room you're in, despite the subject. To be honest, I don't think it was a great idea to stop colourcoding the schedules themselves, but I suppose budget cuts are inevitable. Besides, now it gives me something to do!. Ooh! I just had a brilliant idea! How about we all-"

"Yeah, Twi, I get it, " Rainbow interrupted, standing up from the old, stone steps leading up to the main entrance. "'Efficiency' or whatever's important to you. But, it's not really to me. So, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me sleep. I was up all night versing Applejack in Return of the Mane-iac."

Twilight opened her mouth, indignated, to respond to this - frankly - inexcusable bare-faced lie. After all, what could possibly more important than organisation? But she was stopped in her tracks as a voice from behind her caught her by surprise.

"It's okay, Twilight. Not everyone understands the important of organisation."

The girl turned around instantaneously, at the familiar voice. "Cadance!"

And there she stood, in a dark pink blazer and a long gold skirt, her multi-toned hair seemingly aglow in the morning sun. "Sorry I startled you. Shining Armor says you rushed out in a hurry this morning, so I didn't get to see you."

"You didn't tell me you'd been relocated!" the younger girl greeted excitedly, hugging her former babysitter lovingly.

"...about that..." Cadance responded sheepishly, pulling away and twirling her hair like a schoolgirl.

"Lemme guess...you were fired," Rainbow interrupted, much to the chagrin of Twilight.

"Rainbow!" the girl scolded. "Why would you say that? Cadance could never get fired from any job! She's amazing!"

"Well, you're half right, Rainbow," Cadance answered, amusedly. "I quit."

"WHAT?!?" Twilight yelled in shock. "H-how?!?!?"

Cadance sighed. "After what Cinch did to you in the Friendship Games, I could hardly just stand by. She refused to change school policy, or at least turn down the competitive fire when it came to the Games. And when Shining Armor told me what happened at Camp Everfree, I knew this went a lot deeper than simple school sports, so...I quit. Simple as that."

At this, Twilight flinched. "You mean, you left the school you've always loved working at...because of me? I-I'm just a regular girl, Cadance. I don't deserve that." She turned slightly, visibly saddened.

Noticing the subtle movement, Cadance rested her hands on the younger girl's shoulders. "Hey, you are anything but a 'regular old girl', Twilight. And believe me; I didn't love it at Crystal Prep as much as you seem to think."

Twilight smiled sadly. "R-really?"

"You bet," Cadance winked.

"Yeah, but then, Cinch was a major asshole," Rainbow once again interrupted, before opening one eye in a worried manner. "Wait...you're a teacher, right? Um, j-just forget I said anything."

The two girls looked at each other, before breaking down into a giggling fit. "Sure thing," Cadance responded.

Sighing, Sunset put her phone away. It turned out that Rarity couldn't find the boots that went with her "casual, yet chic and avant-garde" look, and so she had to start choosing her outfit all over again. Turning, it seemed that Cadance was no longer there; she must have re-entered the building at one point.

"Look," Rainbow pointed out, "Rarity isn't here yet, so I say we go in. I mean, she's gonna turn up at one point. And, hey, I usually wouldn't want to go into school before we have to, but it's FREEZING out here!"

"Well, if you'd dressed properly," a familiar voice chimed in from the entrance.

Rainbow turned to see the very girl she'd been talking about. "Finally! What took you so long?"

"You must not rush perfection, darling!" Rarity responded, twirling in order to show off...the very same outfit she always wore.

"Um, Rarity," Sunset questioned, "...you do know you're wearing the same outfit you wear for school every day, right?

"But of course, darling!" the fashionista replied, making her way up the steps and pushing past an agitated Rainbow Dash to enter the building. "I decided for a 'blast from the past', so to speak. Now then, I must get inside. It's dreadfully cold out here, and I simply mustn't stay out in it for too long."

Opting for a noncommittal grunt rather than a dignified answer, Rainbow followed her. Sunset went to follow, but was stopped by Twilight, who thrusted a colourful sheet of paper at her.

"What's this, Twilight?" Sunset asked, taking it from her friend with a confused look on her face.

Twilight beamed. "Well, you see..."

"Principal Celestia?" Sunset called, knocking on the wooden door that led to said woman's office.

"My door is always open, Sunset," the woman replied, with a bemused tone in her voice.

Chuckling to herself, the girl opened the door, and entered the office. The cream walls seemingly shone in the figurative light of the principal of CHS.

And, there she sat; her hair pristine as always, her desk neat, her intercom very clearly not on, as the woman liked to reiterate.

"What can I do for you, Sunset?" Celestia enquired, looking up at the girl with a warm smile.

"Well, I was curious about something," Sunset began. "When did Cadance start working here? She came up to us this morning. Well, by 'us', I really mean Twilight."

The principal chuckled. "Well, today's really her first day on the job. We had a vacancy for a councillor ever since Mrs Doodle was promoted to full-time librarian, and obviously I didn't need to see any of her credentials. Since she's my niece, we go quite a way back."

Sunset blinked. "Oh, right. Of course she'd be your niece."

"...'of course'...?" Celestia repeated, her voice thick with confusion.

"Well, er, back in Equestria, Princess Cadance is Princess Celestia's niece," Sunset explained, as the elder woman nodded in understanding. "Though, not biologically. She never explained why-"

Principal Celestia stood up, flustered. "Thank you so much for coming in to see me, Sunset, but I'm terribly busy." Ushering the younger girl out, she bade her farewell with a fleeting smile and the canned phrase "My door is always open!" And, with a slam, that very statement was proven false.

"...yes, that's right. The school board did phone to say you'd be coming in next week."

"...no, I completely understand. My sister and I will do everything we can to make sure the inspection goes off without a hitch."

"...well, it appears that's settled. We look forward to having you at CHS, Ms Glimmer."