Chapters Author's Note
Hi, my name is Morbid and this is my first ever story on FiMFiction so go easy on me, please.
Through the Portal
"You know I'm ready! I'm your most magical student and yet you still think I'm not ready?!" shouted the orange mare.
Sunset Shimmer was Princess Celestia's, the princess of the sun's, most 'faithful' and definitely most powerful student. Sunset was a powerful unicorn with a red mane with yellow streaks. Though she may seem... nice, she was always a bit impatient. Through all of her years of being the princess's protégé, she continued to amaze Celestia with her magical abilities. Sunset was beyond any unicorn her age and that is definitely most impressive, even to an immortal princess.
One day, Princess Celestia showed Sunset a mirror which opens up a portal to another world once every thirty moons. She didn't tell Sunset where the portal lead though. After showing her it, the princess decided to move on with Sunset's studies and only give her more info when she thought her student was finally ready.
Later after seeing it, Sunset decided to ask her teacher about said portal. Celestia put her down on that request and simply said she wasn't ready. She did the same the next day but Celestia only said the same words.
This went on for days and later weeks but one night, Sunset eventually had enough. She managed to find out when the portal was open and she planned to sneak through to see what lies beyond. Sunset stood in front of the mirror and just as she was about to step through, the door behind her burst open and came through two of the castle's royal guards and Princess Celestia. Sunset was told to step away from the portal and that she still wasn't ready to learn what's on the other side. That was Sunset's snapping point.
"You know I'm ready! I'm your most magical student and yet you still I'm not ready?!" shouted the orange mare.
"My dear student, you are a very powerful mare but you do not understand. What lies beyond that portal is beyond anything Equestria has ever seen. It is even beyond my knowledge," spoke Celestia in her soft princess tone. "It is simply too dangerous to send a helpless unicorn to adventure somewhere despite her knowing the dangers-"
"Helpless?!" Sunset interrupted her teacher. "I am able to handle the dangers you through at me! Whatever's on the other side of that portal couldn't be anywhere near as bad as what you've put me through and I will prove it!"
"Sunset, no!" Celestia leaped forward to try grab hold of her student. But she was too late. After Sunset ended her final words, she jumped through the portal. The royal guards could only stare in shock as they now watched their princess silently sobbing on the floor.
"Sunset... no..." whispered Celestia as she layed on the floor. "Not again..."
~Unknown world~
Sunset opened her eyes to see that she was laying on a cold concrete surface. She slowly picked herself up but suddenly tumbled back down onto the floor. She caught herself before face-planting once again but something wasn't right. Sunset stared at her... hooves?
"W- what happened to me?" Sunset asked herself. "What am I?!" Sunset stared at what used to be her front hooves but only looked away as she saw she was wearing clothes. She followed the sleeve until she saw how her entire body looked. She wore a purple shirt that had her cutie mark symbolised in the middle of it and a black leather jacket over the top of it. She wore an orange skirt with a yellow streak and a more similar colour to her shirt streak going from top to bottom. And she wore tall grey boots on her back... whatever those are that replaced her hooves.
She tried to pick herself up again, this time using support from the statue that stood behind her. She looked at her surroundings. It was clear that she wasn't in Canterlot anymore. Small buildings stood in a row leading up to a split path that went both left and right.
The building that was closest to her however looked nothing like the rest: It was much larger, it was shaped differently and it had, like, a hundred more windows. It wasn't as easy to see due to the building being made of darker bricks and it being nighttime but Sunset could make it out.
It was very quiet were she ended up, and really cold.
Sunset knew she wasn't going to learn anything about this place tonight. "Okay, sleep now. Adapt to weird world later," said the mare turned alien.
Sunset let go of the tall statue with a horse carved from the stone and got down on all fours. She galloped her way towards the large building's glass door and used her magic to open it. She tried to at least. Sunset put her right front hoof on her flreheaf, looking around for her horn. All she felt was cold bare skin.
"Where's my horn?!" shouted Sunset. "What is going on here?!"
First she's turned into some kind of flesh monster and now she's been stripped away of her magic! She was already beginning to regret her decision but she didn't think it was a good idea to go back to Equestria, not with how she left Celestia.
Since she couldn't open the door with her magic, she would just have to use her new front hooves. She tried to open it again but to her annoyance, it was locked.
"Great. Looks like I'm going to have to sleep outside," she said to herself.
She trotted back down the steps leading up to the locked front door and looked around the building. There were more doors but much like the first one. Locked. She passed a few bushes and despite how uncomfortable she'll be, it might save her from freezing to death. She ripped off a bunch of leaves from the sticks of the bushes, arranged them to cover her new body as much as possible and settled down for the night... on dirt... behind bushes... in the cold... Just as she closed her eyes, a cold wind blew past her, blowing off some of the leaves covering her.
Sunset opened her eyes and sighed, "This is going to be a LONG night." Sunset suddenly heard a noise coming from nearby. She curled herself up and tried to make as little noise as possible. She was right for the first time tonight. This will be a very long night for her.
Though her rest wasn't the most comfortable, Sunset managed to find sleep. She could've slept longer the following morning but she was suddenly awoken by the loud sounds of what sounded like revving. Sunset peaked over her bush and saw a large crowd of the same creatures that she had turned into the previous night. They were all walking inside of the large building she tried to enter last night also.
Sunset analysed these things while trying to stay hidden. She noticed that they only walked on their hind legs and that no pegasi or unicorns walked among the crowd which she wasn't surprised to see.
"Um... hello? What are you doing behind a bush?" came a quiet voice behind Sunset.
Sunset immediately spun around to find the source of the voice. She saw a tall skinny girl with long pink hair and yellow skin.
"I... Uh, I'm..." Sunset looked for a good enough explanation to tell this stranger. She stood up. "I... Youdidn'tseeme!" Sunset tried to dash off as if she were never there but found her face towards the ground, yet again.
The yellow individual tried to hold back a giggle at Sunset’s little stunt. Sunset wasn't going to take being laughed at but decided to not get to hasty. Right now, she needed answers.
"Forget you ever saw that. Where am I and what am I?" she asked.
The tall girl looked at her in confusion but answered her anyway, "Well... You're in Canterlot City just outside Canterlot High School and you're a teenage girl... much like I am."
"Canterlot... High School?" she asked while staring at so called 'high school'. She looked back down at herself. "Teenage... girl?"
"Um... yes?" the tall girl said. "You're not from around here, are you?"
Sunset turned her attention back to the other girl, "You could say that. I'm Sunset Shimmer."
The other girl's eyes widened a little, "I'm... Fluttershy..." she whispered.
"What was that? Speak up a bit," Sunset wasn't going to waste time her waiting for someone to just say their name.
"Fluttersh-" she spoke a little louder but just as she was about to finish, a small white bunny jumped out of her bagpack. "Angel, what have I told you? Only come out of there when I tell you to."
Sunset was quite surprised to see that a bunny had just come out of this girl's bag. "You keep your pet inside your bag?" Sunset asked.
The girl giggled, "Not just one." She opened her bag and out came a squirrel, a cat, a mouse, even a skunk. "Oh, they get so lonely while I'm at school," she added.
"Wow. I've never met anyone who cares about animals so much before. If you ask me, I'd say that it's a bit much for everypon-... Uhh... for everyone around you," Sunset said, raising an eyebrow at her.
The yellow girl scooped her animals back in her bag, looked back at Sunset and said, "Well, they're all my friends and just thinking about them being so lonely honestly kills me. So-" She was cut off by Sunset.
"Wait. Your closest friends are your pets?" She couldn't help but chuckle at how stupid that sounds. "That's the loneliest thing I've ever heard!"
The yellow girl was taken back at those words. "That's not a very nice thing to say..." she said, slowly walking backwards.
"Listen, Fluttersh. Life isn't-"
"Fluttershy," she corrected Sunset.
"Don't interrupt me!" Sunset was slowly getting more and more annoyed. "As I was saying, life isn't all about being nice. I'd like to think of it more being like... aiming for first, y'know? Proving you're better than everyone else and not letting anyone stand in your way. You got that, 'Fluttershy'?"
"Umm..." Fluttershy was lost for words. "I... think so?"
Sunset stepped away from Fluttershy and brushed herself off. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a long day ahead." And with that, Sunset walked off knowing she'd eventually return to this school. Who knows, maybe she'll run into Fluttershy again and prove to her how pushing to be the best will eventually make her the best. But for now, she would have to get used to her new lifestyle.
First up: Walking on her new legs.
Sunset walked up and down almost every street that came by. She was improving very slowly but getting there. After a while, she wasn't just taking long strides just to maintain balance. Her footsteps were not very far apart at this point. Now she was almost walking like an actual... thing that inhabited this world. She'd find out what she was later.
As she was walking down the streets now, someone from across the road waved at her. She looked at her hands and tried to wave back while not looking like a complete idiot. She raised her arm and waved her hand back and forth but she immediately regretted that as her face kissed the ground once again. The guy from across the street crossed over to help her up. He took Sunset’s hand and lifted her back to her feet.
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," Sunset said back to him while rubbing her forehead.
The guy scanned Sunset for a second and came out with, "I don't think I've seen you around before. You just move here?"
Sunset didn't know how to respond to that so without thinking, she said, "Uh... Yeah. I'm frommmmmmm... Ya know? Around...?" She mentally slapped herself.
"Uh... Okay? Well, glad to know you're okay," he replied. And with that, he walked off leaving Sunset red as a tomato.
"Well done, Sunset!" she said to herself. She felt as though she had never been so humiliated in her life.
She turned back to see what caused her to trip and this time it wasn't her fault. It was just because of a crack in the pavement.
She sighed once again. "At least it can only get better from here," she said as she started walking back down the street.
Next up: Using her hands.
"Alright, this shouldn't be so hard. Just gotta learn how to pick up stuff with these... flesh sticks," Sunset said, wiggling her fingers around.
All she did to learn was just picking up random stuff. How hard could that be? Sunset was surprised at how easy it was, though, she still missed her horn. Just levitating stuff in the air while almost not doing anything, that was the life.
Some of the stuff she picked up she ended up keeping. For example: She just found a small slip of paper that read '$20'. If Sunset were to guess, she'd think that this was this world's currency, so lucky her. She'll make sure she looks for a place to eat tonight.
Final one for the day: Learning the name of her species and limbs.
Sunset knew she couldn't just go up to someone and ask, "Hey, sir. What's the name of my species and body parts?" She would look like a complete idiot and she has already made a fool out of herself enough already.
She knew there was only one place to learn. The library!
It took her quite some time but she managed to find a public library. She scanned the shelves for books on biology. She couldn't find anything at first but finally, she stopped on a book called, "Human Biology". This was exactly what she was looking for because on the cover, there's a picture of a creature that looks just the same as her. Just by the cover she'd already learned something, she's a human.
She scanned the book page by page, word by word. Sunset wanted to make sure she learned everything she needed to know about her new body.
She spoke aloud, reviewing the book, "Okay, so the things I hold things with are called hands and these flesh sticks are called fingers. Instead of front legs, I now have Arms. I still have legs but my hooves are called... feet? My Celestia, this is confusing."
Unfortunately for her, she was speaking loud enough for everyone around her to hear her. Everyone stared down at Sunset but didn't dare to take her attention away from her book.
As she went further through her book, she began to learn about more personal stuff about her body. She knew most of this stuff already but continued to read on.
A light blush formed on her cheeks and her eyes began to widen. It only got worse as she went on. Sunset slammed the book shut, she didn't make it through the entire book but she felt like she learned enough already.
Sunset has never had a worse day than the one she just had. She could not believe that she now has to adapt to living in a world she felt so alien to.
She walked out of the library with everyone's eyes glued to her. Sunset still hadn't noticed these people and they all thought it was best she didn't know.
As she was walking back down the streets that lead back to the portal, Sunset's stomach made the loudest grumble she had ever heard. This was a sign that she was starving. She needed food and she needed it NOW.
She walked past these buildings that were full of people. Her eyes caught sight of this one particular restaurant. She read the sign out loud, "Coleson's Coleslaw? Not the greatest name but... Meh. Sounds quite good."
Sunset took out her $20 and walked towards the restaurant, ready to see what human food taste like.
Author's Note
Second chapter within a day! Oh yeah!
I'll gladly accept constructive criticism and remember to point out any mistakes I've made.
Sunset walked into the restaurant, money in hand and what her eyes saw was like nothing she had ever seen before. The restaurant was very bright the sounds of people talking came from every side of her.
She approached the counter and looked up at the menu. The name wasn't lying, this place had coleslaw. The scanned the entire menu many times.
"There's so much to choose from. What do I pick?" she asked herself. She re-read the menu like four times already.
Suddenly a new voice Sunset could understand came in, "You having some trouble there, hun?" The voice belonged to a grown woman with hazel skin and dark brown hair, wearing a grey uniform with a name tag that read, "Orelda".
Sunset looked down at Orelda. "What? Oh, sorry. I just don't know what to pick," she said.
"I might be able to help out." She began to list what was on the menu, "We've got classic coleslaw, creamy coleslaw, crunchy nut coleslaw," Orelda went on.
"Those all sound good," Sunset's mouth was practically watering at this point.
"Oh yeah, and our new Coleson's Ultimate Meal with a side of fries and a large drink of your choice," Orelda finished.
"I'll take that one!" Sunset wasn't thinking now, she just needed food.
"Good choice, m'am. That'll be $14.99," Orelda said.
Sunset looked at her $20 bill and realised that she won't have very much money left. But she needed food now so she quickly handed Orelda the bill and she received her change and a receipt with a number highlighted in bold at the top. The number read 0305
Sunset looked back at Orelda, "What's this number for?"
"You see that screen right there?" She pointed to the large TV screen sitting behind her. Sunset slowly nodded. "If you look at the numbers, one of them is the same as the one on your receipt. So when that number goes over to the right side of the screen, that's when you know your order's ready. Then you come back here to collect your food," she explained further.
Sunset was beginning to understand now. She turned away and walked around the restaurant hoping to look for a table to sit at. She found one at the corner of the restaurant and quickly claimed before anybody else could swoop in and steal it.
~Later~
She sat there for almost twenty minutes. All she could do to prevent her from getting bored was to twiddle her thumbs. It was pretty fun at first but it got old almost immediately.
She was about to lose her patience but then Sunset looked back up at the counter and she saw that her number was on the other side of the large TV screen. She groaned and got up from her seat.
"Finally!" she said, almost shouting. "Starving to death here!"
She made it back to the counter and was greeted once again by Orelda.
"Sorry for the holdup," Orelda turned around and started yelling, "Some people can't work for five minutes without drifting off!"
"At least they finally got it done," Sunset whispered.
Sunset heard laughter coming from the kitchen after what Orelda had shouted.
She looked down at the tray Orelda had presented to her. There was a large plate of shredded vegetables soaked in mayonnaise, a box of french fries and a large empty cup.
She thought to herself, 'I'm having second thoughts about eating this. '
It wasn't the coleslaw she regretted ordering. It was the Coleson's Ultimate Meal she regretted ordering. She would've been fine with anything else but now she had to eat this mountain of shredded vegetables.
Orelda spoke again, "The drink machine is just over there." She pointed towards a large red box with a small screen and a dispenser sitting beneath it. "You can order either a soft drink or a more healthy drink, like orange juice."
Sunset turned back to the cashier and gave her a polite thank you. Then she walked over to the drink machine with her tray in hand. She placed it on the counter to the side of the machine and just stared at the little screen.
Sunset had no idea what she was doing. She looked around the machine for any buttons. She found one, it was just below the screen and it had a sticker that was shaped like a shiny cube stuck to it. Out of curiosity, she pressed it and held it. Out of nowhere, ice cubes fell out of the dispenser and onto the floor. Sunset let go of the button and stepped away from the machine. She turned back to see if anyone had noticed what happened but everyone was too busy either eating their food or talking to their friends. Even Orelda didn't notice, which Sunset was glad for.
She stepped towards the machine again and looked at the small screen.
"What do you want from me?!" Sunset growled. "How. Do. I. Get. You. To. Work?!"
She looked around the machine again. The button which released ice cubes was the only button that was on it. She began poking the machine randomly until her finger came in contact with the screen. Now it showed a collection of different drinks.
"Bingo," Sunset said victoriously.
She scanned through the different drinks and settled on a drink called "Cola". She tapped the screen and it now read, "Hold to fill". Finally, she was getting it.
She held the button on the screen and now, instead of ice cubes, a brown liquid came pouring out of the dispenser. Sunset immediately let go of the button so there wasn't another mess on the floor. She looked at where the drink had come and she could only imagine that was where she was supposed to place her cup. Sunset placed her cup down and held the button again. Finally, her cup was being filled and she was almost able to have dinner. She let go of the button right before her cup began to overflow, placed on the lid she was given and put the straw through the small gap in the middle of the lid.
Sunset picked up her tray and walked back to her table hoping it hasn't been stolen while she was away making a mess. Thankfully it hadn't been stolen. She took her seat once again and just stared at her food. Sunset did not expect her dinner to be so large.
She sighed, "I hope I don't regret this... Well, here goes nothing..."
She took her fork and stabbed the coleslaw. She lifted the fork slowly to her mouth and took a bite. Her world froze. Never before has she tasted anything this amazing. The flavours exploded in her mouth, filling her with nothing but pure delight. When she was brought back to Earth, she stared at her dinner with wide eyes and did not hesitate to scarf down the rest of her meal while only stopping to either take a handful of fries or take a large gulp of her drink.
~One mountain later~
The once spotless table was now covered in mayonnaise, the plate was now completely clean apart from a few vegetable shavings and a stuffed Sunset Shimmer sat there in delight.
"Money well spent," she said. "I'm definitely coming back to this place in the future." Sunset got up from her table, ready to leave.
Then she heard Orelda's voice over at the drink machine, "Hey! Who made this mess?!"
"And now I'm out of here." Sunset made her way out the door hoping to not gain the attention of Orelda.
~Canterlot High~
She walked down the streets leading back to the portal. Surprisingly, she remembered the way back.
Just as Sunset was about to head over to her bush, she noticed a light coming from the inside of Canterlot High. She tried the door again and it opened this time.
"Huh. Maybe I'll find a better place to sleep here," said Sunset.
She stepped inside and silently closed the door behind her, incase someone was still in the school. She walked down the school corridors, passing the hundreds of lockers and classrooms along the way. She had to admit it, this place looked quite nice. But she kept her focus on her main priority, finding a comfortable place to sleep.
Sunset halted to a stop as she heard a door opening and closing further down the hall. She heard footsteps getting closer to her. Sunset looked around for a place to hide and conveniently spotted a locker opened by a crack. It wasn't very big but she was able to fit herself in.
The footsteps got closer and closer and eventually walked right past Sunset. She climbed out of the locker when she felt like the coast was clear and continued down the hallway. Along the way, Sunset tried almost every door she passed but every single one of them were locked.
She was beginning to lose hope until she tried this one double door. She gave it one more try. Sunset pulled the handle down and she heard a click coming from the door. This was a sign that this door, this particular door was actually open.
"Yes! Finall-!" Sunset immediately slapped her hands over her mouth when she realised she shouted that. She turned around and prayed that no one had heard her cheer of victory. It was completely silent. She let out a hard sigh of relief and she entered the room. The door lead to a gymnasium.
"Seriously? The one door that opens, it leads to a smelly gymnasium?" Sunset said to herself. She was very disappointed of this outcome. She sighed, "Guess it'll have to do."
She looked around for a somewhat comfortable place to rest. All she did was glance around the room since this room was practically empty apart from the bleachers at one side.. She noticed that there was another door at one of the corners of the gym. She walked over to it and give the door a pull. It opened up and it revealed to be a small room with all the sports equipment layed out on the shelves and laying on the floor.
"There's bound to be something in here," she said beginning to look around.
It didn't take her long until she found a large crash mat on the floor. Sunset smiled with her find and layed down on the large mat. She took off her boots and layed them beside her new bed. She was comfortable but she felt chilly. Luckily for her, there was a large banner that could work as a cover for her in the other corner of the room. She went over, took the banner and layed it on top of her as she got comfortable.
She let out a peaceful sigh, "Tomorrow is another day." And with that, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Although this was only her second night in this new world, Sunset was doing well on survival.
Author's Note
Sorry if the story is very narrative. I couldn't think of many places to put speech where it would sound necessary.
Sunset Shimmer could not have had an even worse night than the one she just had. Not only was it, somehow, much colder but it also started raining. It wasn't very bad rain but it still ticked Sunset off that she had to sleep outside in it. Because of that, she barely any sleep last night.
Sunset picked herself up and stretched her back. "Ugh... What a night!" she groaned. "And on the first day as well." She rubbed her eyes and laid back down.
Her brain started working again.
"Oh crud! My first day of work!"
Sunset got up to her feet and started dashing through the streets of Canterlot City.
She stopped the first person she passed and asked them for the time to which they replied, "8:54."
This did it. Sunset when super sonic mode and sprinted down the road at the fastest her legs can possibly go. She was running so fast, she could pass through a single street in a matter of seconds.
By the time she would make it to the mall, her boots would either be extremely worn out or be in flames.
"Come on, Sunset! Only six minutes. You can make it!" she said to herself.
Along the way, Sunset barged passed quite literally everyone stood in her way.
"Hey, watch it!"
"Look where you're going!"
"My cake!!"
"You better be glad you're still running very fast!"
Sunset paid everyone no attention. She only had her mind set on one thing and she didn't plan to take her mind off of it for anything.
Sunset rounded the final corner leading to her destination. She didn't know what time it was but she was pretty sure she would make it on time. She passed the front door and continued sprinting for dear life. Every shop looked like a smudge from Sunset's peripheral vision as she ran by.
Sunset skidded to a stop as she finally arrived at her destination. She fell down to her knees and started gasping for air.
"Sweet Celestia! My lungs!" she managed to get out.
Sunset practically crawled through the door to the Japanese restaurant standing in front of her.
She pulled herself back to her feet when she was greeted by her new boss, Stove.
"Sunset Shimmer! You made it-" Stove paused as he took notice of Sunset's current get up. "What the heck happened to you?"
Sunset looked down at her clothes and realised her clothes were wet from sweat and rain and were very dirty from last night.
Sunset immediately looked for an excuse, "I, uh... fell in a deep puddle." She hoped Stove would by it.
"Right," he responded. "Well, it turns out I forgot to give you you're new uniform yesterday and boy, am I glad I did."
"Yeah, yeah!" Sunset said. "Where is this uniform so I can change?"
"It's hanging on a hook in my office," he told Sunset.
Sunset walked through the kitchen to Stove's office. She entered the well kept office and her eyes met a blue Japanese style uniform hanging alone on the set of hooks. She took it down and walked over to the female stalls to change. Sunset came out of the restroom, dirty clothes folded in hand. Stove looked at how Sunset suited her uniform.
"Very nice," he complimented Sunset. "Only thing I would change are those boots."
Sunset looked down at her footwear. "What's wrong with my boots?" she asked.
"Well, they both, don't go with the uniform and are very worn out around the bottom," he explained. "Hold on, I might have something."
Stove walked towards his office and came back out with a pair of wooden slippers.
He passed them over to Sunset. "Here. Try these instead."
Sunset took the slippers from her bosses hand and sat on the nearest seat. She took off her boots and replaced them with these new slippers. She stood back up and looked at herself.
"How's that feel?" Stove asked.
"I hate it," Sunset answered. "One thing is that these slippers are so uncomfortable and this uniform feels a bit tight around the waist."
Stove chuckled, "So does Ebi but we all gotta play our part, y'know?"
Sunset looked back at Stove. "I'm sorry, who's 'Ebi?'" she asked.
"Did she not introduce herself to you? Her name is Ebi Nigiri. You may remember her, she was the cashier girl from yesterday," he said.
Sunset looked back on yesterday's events and she could definitely remember the young girl who stood behind the counter that day.
That's when Sunset realised this Ebi Nigiri was nowhere to be seen. "Where is Ebi anyway?" asked Sunset.
"I don't know," he began. "If anything had happened, she might phone up any minute now. Anyway."
Stove clapped his hands together. "Anyway, let's talk about your new work station!" he said walking behind the counter.
"Regardless of whether Ebi will come to work or not, I've decided to make you, Sunset Shimmer..." he paused for dramatic affect. "The new cashier!" he announced silently cheering.
Sunset found her bosses forced excitement quite an amusing thing to look at and she was glad this is the job she was given. She definitely couldn't see herself cleaning the restrooms. Sunset would rather be found dead than to mop floors.
Stove invited Sunset behind the counter, "C'mere. I'll teach you the basics of working the cash register."
She followed Stove behind the counter and she was pointed to a rather heavy looking box with a wide variety of different buttons to push.
"Okay, so most of these buttons are very simple. You've got your numbers and your way of adding up the prices," Stove began explaining. "That button right there is the button to open the register." He opened the cash register to set an example. "You see all these little boxes?" he asked pointing to the opened tray of little boxes.
"Yeah?" Sunset replied.
"Each of them holds a different coin or bill. Make sure you don't get any of them mixed up," he explained further. "Got it?"
"Got it," she answered feeling quite bored.
Stove kept rambling on about how the register works, how prices work and how to treat customers. Round about after when Stove stopped talking about the cash register, Sunset just drifted off. She just stood there in a daze as Stove continued to explain. She was brought back down to Earth as she heard a phone ringing coming from Stove's office.
"That'll be for me, be right back," Stove said before he left Sunset alone.
Just as she heard the office door close, she heard the sound of a door opening. A young woman, who looked as though she was in college, entered the restaurant.
Sunset put on a genuine smile and greeted the customer, "Hey there. Can I take your order?"
The young woman looked at the menu behind Sunset's head and asked politely, "Can I get a mixed vegetables tempura with coffee, please?"
Sunset looked at the prices and added up the prices. "That'll be $7, m'am," Sunset told her.
Sunset was handed a $10 bill. She opened the register, slipped in the bill in the correct box and she handed the girl $3 worth of change.
It was at this moment that she suddenly remembered a word of advice from Stove as he was explaining the register. She remembered him saying, "When you've been given an order, write the order down on one of the little slips of paper provided and give it to the chef so he can cook it."
She did just that and walked back into the kitchen but it was still empty of a chef. Sunset heard murmuring coming from Stove's office. She was surprised he was still on the phone. Sunset pressed her ear against the door to listen in.
She heard Stove talking, "I hope she gets better soon. Okay. Goodbye."
Then she heard footsteps approaching the door so she took a step back. Stove walked out looking rather disappointed.
He spoke, "Okay, so it turns out that Ebi has come down with a serious case of the flu and will be staying off work for today."
"I'm surprised how I didn't get sick due of last night," Sunset whispered.
"What?" Stove asked her.
Sunset showed him the little slip of paper. "Order up," she said.
Stove took the order from Sunset and read it. "We already have a customer? How'd it go for your first time?" Stove asked her again.
"For my first time, it pretty much went perfectly. Heh. Told you I could do it," she said confidently.
Stove rolled his eyes and went over to his work station. "It may have been easy now, but just you wait," he said with little seriousness.
"Yeah, I'll wait to blow right through this work day with flying colours," Sunset returned.
Sunset made her way back over to the counter.
"Oh, you'll see..." Stove said silently.
~3 hours later~
"Thank you, sir. We'll get that ready very soon," Sunset was doing very well for the past few hours. Sure, she may be working and all but she felt very relaxed. That is... until she saw her next customer.
"Hello, m'am. What would you-?" Sunset could only stare at this customer. She couldn't think of anything to say, she just stared at her.
Then this girl stared directly at Sunset. "Sunset Shimmer? I-is that you?" Sunset was asked.
Words finally spilled out of Sunset's mouth, "Yes. Hello, Fluttershy. It's been quite some time," she said with no seriousness whatsoever.
"What are you doing here?" Fluttershy asked. "I've never seen you here before."
"Yeah. I just got this job, it's my first day," she answered.
"Oh, um... Well, I hope everything's going well so far," Fluttershy gave Sunset a small smile.
"Uh-huh. Are you going to order something? We would very much prefer it if you didn't hold up the line," Sunset said pointing to the small line of people behind her.
"Of course. Umm... Can I order a bowl of miso soup, please?" she asked Sunset.
"$3," Sunset told her.
Fluttershy handed over $3 worth of $1 bills. Sunset slipped the dollar bills inside of the register and wrote down Fluttershy's order. She walked into the kitchen and it looked as if Stove was working in two places at once.
"I think you really need another chef in this kitchen, Stove," she told Stove handing him the order.
He shrugged at Sunset. "Well I was going to promote Ebi to chef to help a man out, seeing as you've taken her place as cashier," he said. "But, obviously she couldn't come today.
"Anyway, I gotta get these orders done and you gotta start collecting more orders."
Sunset walked back to her work station and started taking everyone's orders once again.
~53 minutes later~
"Sir! Would you please hurry up and order? You're holding up a large line," scolded Sunset.
"Hmm... Maybe I'll have the...? No," said the rather overweight male individual standing almost directly in front of Sunset.
Sunset hoped she wouldn't have to deal with a problem like this. That one customer who just can't make up his flippin' mind on what to order. She was mentally banging her head against the wall as this guy still didn't decide on his food. Then an idea came to Sunset's head.
"Listen," she started. "if you can't decide right now. Then at least step out of the way until you know what you want. That way I can take everybody else's orders."
But he just stood there, like he didn't listen to a single thing Sunset had just said. It's like his mind was only set on food.
"Unbelievable!" she said quietly, pinching the bridge of her nose.
~2 hours later~
Currently, Sunset wasn't doing anything. She had taken everyone's orders and Stove got most of them cooked and ready.
Sunset thought about it for a minute and smirked. "Guess I can have a break right now," she decided.
Just as she said that, the door to the male restroom had flung open with a man now stepping out approaching to the counter.
He started talking, "It's a... It's a mess in there. Like... Like it is absolutely horrible in there."
"And?" asked the now disgusted Sunset.
"Well I umm... I-I clogged it. Someone's gonna have to do something about it," he finished while walking away.
Sunset stared at him in pure and utter disgust as he left the restaurant.
"Stove?" Sunset called.
"Yeah?" Stove replied.
"Do you think you can take care of a clogged toilet in the mens' bathroom?" she asked.
"I'm uh, kinda busy cooking the rest of these orders. You're going to have to do it," he told her.
Sunset moaned and walked over to the janitorial closet. She pulled out a red plunger and a mop with a bucket. She went into the kitchen and filled the bucket with fresh water while shooting glares at Stove.
"Like I said, we all gotta play our part," he reminded Sunset.
It was her turn to roll her eyes at him. Sunset walked into the males' bathroom and as soon as she did, she immediately closed her nose at the foil smell that filled the room.
"Eeeuuugh!! What the heck happened in here?!!" Sunset just about shouted.
There were four stalls. One of them still being used so that only left three. Sunset approached one of the open stalls and to her dismay, it was the clogged one.
"Oh. My. Celestia!!" She yelled.
She wanted to look away but her eyes just wouldn't turn away or even close. The once clear toilet water was now... no longer clear.
Other than having no experience in cleaning before, this was the main reason why Sunset didn't want to be the cleaner.
"Okay, let's see what I can do," she said raising the plunger closer to her face.
Sunset placed the red rubber end of the plunger inside of the toilet. After that, she didn't know what to do next. She tried to take it back out but it wouldn't come out.
"What the? Is it stuck?" Sunset asked herself still trying to take it out. "How did I get it stuck?"
It was then the person in the closed stall spoke up, "You have to raise the plunger and lower it to unclog the toilet," he explained.
Sunset took his advice and raised and lowered the plunger. She continued this sequence until the toilet magically started flushing again.
"Huh, thanks," she said to the man.
"No problem," he returned.
Even though the toilet was fine now, the smell remained and Sunset didn't want to spend any other second in a smelly bathroom. She gasped for some of that fresh air as soon as she stepped out for the male restroom, forgetting about her mop and bucket.
"There is no way I'm ever doing that again," said Sunset returning to her work station.
~3 more hours later~
Nothing else special really happened after the toilet incident. All Sunset did was take more orders but that was about it. No complications or anything.
"What kind of business are you all running here?!" came a loud voice.
"Huh? What?" Sunset was caught out of her daydream.
Sunset stared at where the voice came from. It came from a middle-aged looking woman who looked very ticked off.
Sunset was rather curious as to what set this woman off. "What seems to be the problem, m'am?" she asked.
This woman replied with, "The problem is how your chef treats the customers orders! Let me talk to your manager!"
'Oh, this'll be fun, ' Sunset thought. "The manager is the chef," she told her.
"Well go get him!" boomed the woman.
Sunset sighed through her nose. "Fine. Stove! Someone here would like to have a word with you," she couldn't help but get a bit of déjà vu after saying that.
"Can it wait?" Stove called back.
Sunset stared back at the woman. "No, it really can't," she said.
Stove came out of the kitchen and stood next to Sunset. "What's going on?" he asked.
"This woman here would like to file a complaint about the chef," Sunset explained.
"Oh, is that right?" he said looking at the woman.
"That is correct; I have a problem with how you cook your customer's orders. I ordered a california roll only to find it was undercooked. That is a health code violation!" The woman explained. "You'd be lucky if I don't sue this place for an irresponsible chef giving his customers food poisoning!"
Stove opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Sunset, "What exactly do you want him to do? Get down on his knees and pray for mercy while you give him very specific tasks to earn your forgiveness? I don't think so, miss!" Sunset wasn't finished yet. "This man has been working extremely hard all day and he's been doing it all on his own!"
"Sunset, what are you doing?" Stove whispered to Sunset.
"Standing my ground, that's what," she said. "If anything, he deserves some flipping respect for being able to practically work at three places at once! If you feel as though you have a problem with that, then you can just leave."
The woman was at a loss for words but then an idea sparked in her head, "Well, let's see what your other customers have to say about that."
She turned around to face everyone and called out, "Dear people of this establishment! Please give these lovely individuals your honest opinion on the food that this here chef has cooked up for you!"
Everyone's faces lit up with happiness.
"It's amazing!"
"I've never tasted anything like it."
"Mm-mm! Delish!"
"It's pretty good."
Sunset gave the woman a smug look. "Looks like the customers have a different opinion," she said.
The woman was aware that she no longer had ground to stand upon so she said, "You haven't seen the last of me!" And she then left the restaurant signifying that this was a win for Sunset.
"Wow. Sunset that was amazing. Thank you," Stove said.
"That was nothing, Stove. If anything, she was lucky I didn't go all out on her," she said laughing.
Stove chuckled and ruffled Sunset's bacon haired. "There's just one thing," Stove whispered something to her, "I maaaayyyy havepurposelyslightlyundercookedhermealtogetbackatherforpastactions."
Sunset stared at him with wide eyes. "Wait, what?" she asked confusingly. "You sneaky man."
"Trust me, if you knew her like I did, you'd probably want to go full throttle on her," he said half jokingly.
They both shared a laugh for a bit and went back to work.
~1 hour later~
It was closing time and the restaurant was completely empty. Stove packed things up for the day while Sunset was leaving to go to the laundrette down the mall. Stove held the door open for Sunset as she left.
"Hey, Sunset. Excellent work today," he said.
"Thank you, I'm glad I applied here," she said walking away.
She made her way down to the laundrette to get her clothes clean and yes, she still had her uniform on! She wasn't going to the laundrette naked!
She was finally getting somewhere with this new life. Soon enough, she won't have to sleep outside or in a school. It may have been hard for her at first, but she was managing it.
All she basically needs to do now is to by a home, get her own food and...
Sunset turned back to Stove. "Hey, Stove. Is it alright if I come in later for work during weekdays?" Sunset asked him.
"I guess, but why?" Clearly it wasn't very obvious for him.
"Oh nothing, just because of school," she finished.
"Alright but make sure you're down here by 5PM, got it?" He told Sunset.
"Don't worry," she started while walking away. "I will."
Author's Note
Hoo-wee! That was really something to write.
This could've been out yesterday but something had happened and it deleted what I had already!
But in the end, at least I finished it. And hopefully I can get the next chapter out within the next few days.
Look forward for next time: "Starting Off Small".
Getting Accepted... Somehow
Sunset was thinking to herself while laying on her crash mat. She wasn't really sure if she should start attending school either before or after she finds an actual house to live in rather than sleeping in a smelly gymnasium, not that she hated it though. Then it hit her. If she attended the school first, then she probably didn't have to worry as much when she's sneaking around the school at night. She didn't know exactly that would help her but she just went with her decision.
She felt as though she had already experienced the worst this world had to offer. What was so bad about applying for a school anyway? Couldn't be anywhere near as bad as unclogging a toilet, right? So then it was decided, she was going to apply for CHS first thing tomorrow.
~The next morning~
Sunset made sure she got to sleep early last night to make sure she'd be up and early to make it out of the school again before anyone arrived. She got up and made her way out of the gymnasium. She peeked through the door and listened out for any footsteps or anything at all to signify that someone else was here. She heard nothing, the coast is clear. Sunset began jogging her way down the halls and made it to the front door. She gave it a pull but it wouldn't budge.
She facepalmed. 'Ugh! How did I forget? Nobody arrives until 8, ' she thought to herself.
She peered up to the clock behind her. It read, "7:08".
Sunset let out a sigh. "Guess I got up a little to early, huh?" she said to herself.
She sat down by the trophy cabinet and just waited for time to pass.
Time was passing by very slowly. Each second felt like a hour. She waited and waited and waited. From time to time, Sunset would look back up at the clock and almost two minutes would have went by each time she looked.
She looked up for what felt like the seventh time. The clock now read, "7:19".
Sunset groaned and stood back up. "Y'know what? I'll become a fossil by the time someone finally arrives," she said. "Guess I'll give myself a tour of the school. That oughta pass the time."
She stood back up and set out to explore the many many halls and rooms of this school.
"Wow... This place didn't look this big from the outside," she said glancing through the windows of the hundreds of doors leading to classrooms. "Gym, maths department, English department, languages department- man, this place has everything," Sunset listed the different classes she had already passed.
Sunset has lived in the school for quite a while, but she never got the chance to really check the place out. She was only able to peek through the windows of the classroom doors, due to all of them being locked.
Sunset eventually crossed a double-door. She approached it and gave the handle a pull. Sunset was surprised that it actually opened. She made her way inside and her eyes were met with a large cafeteria.
"Wow... How big is this school...?" she said staring in every direction possible.
It wasn't the most exciting place Sunset has ever been to but it was quite a sight. Tables were laid all through out the cafeteria and six to eight seats were set upon the tables.
Why were they on top of the tables? She may never know but, quite frankly, she didn't exactly care.
Her stay in the cafeteria didn't stay long as she wanted to continue this tour.
Sunset continued her way down the hall. She passed the computer labs, the library and the-
Sunset stopped in her tracks and began walking backwards. She stopped at a large pair of double-doors with a sign above it that read, "Library". She tried the handle but, not surprisingly, it was locked. She practically squished her face against the windows and looked inside.
"Wow!" she said with large eyes. "This place looks amazing!"
On the other side of the window was a large library. Two floors and thousands of books just waiting to be read. It was an incredible sight to see for dear Miss. Shimmer.
But she was pulled away from the library window as she heard what sounded like the clicks of a door opening and closing. Sunset looked around for the nearest clock. She found one and it read, "7:50".
Her heart rate increased. "No one should be here for another ten minutes!" she silently exclaimed. "Who's here this early?!"
She began pacing down the halls away from where she heard that door as to not make many noise.
To her, she was travelling through a giant labyrinth. Sunset couldn't tell which hallway was one she had walked through, they all almost looked the exact same. Sunset eventually came across a hallway she knew she had passed before; she could recognise that one dent in one of the lockers anyday.
"This hallway isn't to far away from the exit. I can make it," Sunset whispered.
She quickened her pace but made sure she stayed silent as to not draw attention from whoever was in the building with her. What she didn't realise was that as she was practically jogging down the hallway, she was quickening her pace further until she was running. Sunset continued down the hall until, for the first time in quite a while, she tripped herself up and her face had collided with the floor.
She groaned in pain, ignoring her volume, "Uuggh! My nose!"
Sunset sat on her knees and continued to groan as the held onto her nose. She held her hands out to check if there was any blood staining them. There was only a little bit of blood but nothing bad. She wiped her nose against her sleeve and began jogging back down the hall again, keeping her volume at a minimum.
She was surprised that she didn't get the attention of the person inside of this school but also very glad she didn't.
Sunset approached the glass double-doors and made her way out of the school and what a lovely day it was outside: The sun was shining bright, barely a cloud in sight, birds soaring through the sky and a light breeze flying by (Hehe. Poet and didn't even know it).
First things first. Sunset had about an hour until she had to return to apply so the least she could do was go grab breakfast.
"I hear that that 'SugarCube Corner' place is doing deals on breakfast right about now, " Sunset said now walking away from the school.
~57 minutes later~
Sunset returned to the school all nice and full of energy.
"I don't know what they put in that latte, but that stuff really pumps me up!" she announced to herself.
What Sunset had noticed that the once empty school was now crowded by many many groups of teenagers all around the school. She tried to find her way past these people as it was probably a great time to speak to whoever ran this school. Whenever she was blocked off by a student, they would end up getting a barge from the pony-turned-human's arm. Seeing as so many people had surrounded the school, Sunset wasn't easily noticed whenever she pushed someone. They would think it was just an accident caused by another student.
Susnet made her way back inside of the school and to her dismay, it was filled with way more students than the ones that stood outside. An upside to this is that nobody had really blocked the way; the students inside would just group up at the sides of the hall, against the lockers.
She paid close attention to everyone against the lockers, one thing she'd noticed is that everyone in the school had a friend. Nobody was alone. This reminded her of Equestria, were, also, everypony had a friend. Everyone except her. But she knew she didn't need a friend. She would only get slowed down by paying them more attention rather than focusing on the more important things in life. She was no fortune teller, but she knew how she would get anywhere in life. Working to prove she's the best and make the others feel weak against her. She used to live in a world where she was on top of everyone, so why stop here in a different dimension? In order for her to get herself on top though, she has to somehow show everyone, and she means everyone, what Sunset Shimmer is capable of doing. But for now, she must first start off small and make her way up the chain.
Because Sunset was paying attention to those around her, she didn't pay any attention as to what was in front of her. She was facing front at the last possible second before her body collided with another's. They both fell to the floor, hurt.
The person who ran into her moaned in pain. "Oh geez! I am terribly sorry! I-I wasn't looking where I was going," they quickly said.
Once the pain in Sunset's head began to ease down, she looked at the person in front of her. It was a boy with purple skin, dark hair, glasses and was wearing a yellow and green turtleneck sweater with a large badge attached to it.
He held out a hand to help her up but Sunset glared at him and waved his hand away, refusing his help. She helped herself up and walked off as if nothing had happened.
Now as she walked down the halls, she heard the voices of the students surrounding her. They didn't talk about their morning or whatever they did yesterday but rather were talking about her.
"Who is she?"
"Is she new here?"
"I've never seen her around before."
Sunset kept hearing the students asking about her the rest of her way to the principal's office. She had only just arrived at the school and already people were talking about her. But no one was talking about her the way she would want them to. Then again, she knew she was a new face to everyone so that wasn't really anything she could do about it.
After walking down the heavily crowded school hallways, Sunset had finally made it to her destination. The door read, "Principle's Office". She took a deep breath and gave the door a knock. She waited a few seconds before she heard a voice coming from the other side.
"Come in," the voice said.
Sunset opened the door and made her way inside. She looked at the woman sitting behind a desk only a few feet away from her. It was at this moment that her entire world froze. Sunset was only able to stare at her with wide eyes and insect sized pupils and irises.
"Can I help you?" she asked, writing something down on a sheet of paper.
"I-I would l-like to umm... apply for t-this school, please?" Sunset said very hesitantly.
This woman stared at Sunset confusingly. She had put down the pen which she was writing with. "Are you here by yourself, no parent?" she asked.
Sunset remained staring at her. She gave her head a quick shake rather than actually talking to this woman. She had a rather pale pink look to her skin and a multicoloured hairstyle. Her hair consisted of four separate colours, them being: Blue, cyan, green and pink. She also wore a small badge on her blazer that looked exactly like her old teacher's cutie mark. This was the first time Sunset has ever met the human counterpart of someone she was very familiar with.
The principal gave a quick sigh. "Alright, we could still try to make this work. Please, have a seat," she gestured to the seat just across from her desk.
Sunset quickly sat down and the principal began with some questions. "Okay, first thing's first. What is your name?"
"Sunset Shimmer," Sunset answered.
"Where are you moving from?"
"Just some school from a foreign country." Sunset went with the first thing that came to her head.
The principal raised an eyebrow at her but continued with the questions.
~10 minutes later~
It seemed as though the question were finally ending. Sunset couldn't think of any other time were she had lied this much. It wasn't like she had a choice anyway. If she told the truth then obviously she'd have looked like an insane person.
"Okay, now all I need is your address and phone number then we'll be done here," she said with a small smile.
Sunset was hoping she wouldn't have been asked this. She had to think fast for an excuse and hopefully not blow her chances of getting into this school.
'Oh gosh! What do I say? What do I say?! '
"I... Uhh, we... haven't found... a place to stay...yet?" At this point, she would say literally anything and only hope it would work out.
The principal looked at her confusingly. "Wait, you don't have a household? Then were have you and your parents been living all of this time?"
Sunset was completely stumped now. Almost nothing she would say would work. She was trying so hard to search for an excuse a drop of sweat run down her face.
"That is personal..." which is what rushed out of Sunset's mouth. "We are living somewhere. We just prefer not to say where."
Now Sunset was trying to decide whether or not she had a brain. Even as a girl as intelligent as she is, she was doing a horrible job at putting her intelligence to good use.
The principal thought for moment. "Well make sure when you do find a house, you come to me with your address and phone number, okay?" she told Sunset.
'Did that actually just work? ' Sunset thought. "Okay... I will," she promised.
The principal leaned over her desk and held her hand out for a handshake. Sunset returned the handshake with a nervous smile.
"Welcome to Canterlot High, Sunset Shimmer," she said.
Sunset internally sighed in pure relief. "Thank you, Miss...?" Sunset knew who she was but she just wanted to make sure.
The principal chuckled. "Celestia, Principal Celestia," she addressed herself, sitting back down.
"Thank you, 'Principal Celestia'," Susnet finished.
Sunset stood up and made her way towards the door. Before she made her way outside, Principal Celestia quickly announced with a smile, "Remember, be here for 9AM tomorrow."
Sunset returned with a fake smile. "Don't you worry."
As soon as she closed the door behind her and was out of earshot, she let out a loud moan of relief. She was extremely sure she would fail but apparently she was so lucky, she could speak with an alien language which had never been heard before and still be accepted into the school. She knew one thing and that was what had just happened most likely shouldn't have worked. But she decided to leave it and made her way back towards the exit. Sunset knew she didn't have to lay low this time so she walked with pride, confidence, and slight confusion, even when she made her way outside.
Once she was outside, she turned back towards the school. "Look out, CHS. Sunset Shimmer is coming."
She continued to walk down the road for work but she couldn't help but think she was forgetting something.
"Crud! I left my work clothes in the gymnasium!"
~Gymnasium~
One of CHS' coaches entered the gym's large storage room and had noticed a blue and white work uniform lying beside the large blue crash mat.
"What the heck-?" He was interrupted by the sound of scrambling feet coming his direction.
He looked back and Sunset heavily breathing after running her way back here.
"Umm... Can I have that back? It belongs to me," she said trying to hide her embarrassment.
The coach didn't say anything, he just handed Sunset her uniform back and stared at her as she walked away.
"Who was that?" he asked very confusingly.
Author's Note
I ran into a LOT of roadblocks writing this. This is, by far, the hardest chapter I have wrote, (And probably my least favourite personally) if that wasn't clear with how this chapter came out.
And yes, I know I was going to call this chapter, "Starting Off Small..." I promise you, that'll be the next chapter. This chapter would have dragged on for too long if I went on so I had to change the title so it would make sense. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed it, despite the problems I may have with it.
Also, chapters will start taking longer to release due to school. Because school is important...
First day of school and how did Sunset feel about this? She felt confident but also quite nervous. She didn't know why she felt nervous and quite frankly there was no need for her to feel this way. Sunset was a powerful girl with a powerful mind. She was literally the best student of a kingdom's ruler. A high school should be nothing compared to what she had experienced back in Equestria. So, why did she feel this way? Like previously mentioned, she wasn't sure. But she did have the liberty to go out and buy herself a new school bag. It wasn't a very big bag but she hoped it would be big enough.
Just like every single morning for quite some time now, Sunset left CHS to get herself breakfast. She felt like she needed the brain food before school. She always visited a cafe called "SugarCube Corner" for her breakfast. She was fine with visiting the same place for the same reason everyday because their morning pancakes are to die for! They were easily Sunset’s favourite breakfast at this cafe.
As she was eating her breakfast, Sunset mentally prepared herself for her first day, 'Okay, okay. Relax, Sunset, ' she thought, 'It's only a school, you've been to schools before and you certainly were the best student. This shouldn't be any different. '
Sunset continued to think to herself as she stabbed her syrup covered pancakes. She was stressing herself over absolutely nothing. If luck had stuck with her after yesterday's events, she should be fine.
Sunset sighed and leaned back on her chair. "Everything'll be fine. I don't know what I'm getting so worked up about," she said. "Wait, what time is it?" Sunset looked around the cafe for a clock. She found one somewhere near the front door. 8:54AM.
"Oh crud!" she said while scarfing down the rest of her pancakes.
Almost in an instant, her pancakes were gone. Sunset picked up her bag and dashed her way out of the door and down the road to the school. She didn't know why she was running, she probably had way more than enough time. But she didn't care; she ran and ran and after almost a minute of running she arrived at the school, entirely out of breath.
Sunset made her way up the steps to the school and was greeted by none other than Principal Celestia.
"Oh Sunset! Perfect timing," Celestia greeted, holding the door for Sunset to walk through. "I was just about to wait for you."
"Uh, why?" Sunset asked while sweating. Running down the road during a hot morning really wasn't the best idea after all.
"Why, to show you your new locker and timetable of course," she announced.
"My locker?" Sunset asked once more.
"Mmhmm," Celestia nodded. "Follow me."
Sunset followed the principal down the corridors while pushing through the students that were in her way. They eventually stopped and Celestia gestured Sunset over to what was going to be her new locker for school.
"As you may see, each of the lockers have a combination lock," the principal started.
'Really?! How did I not notice?! ' Sunset said in her head dreadfully sarcastically.
"Each of these combinations already have a code set," she explained further and handing Sunset a slip of paper, "and that there in your combination. Give it a try."
Sunset stepped closer to her new locker and turned the little dial to match the order in which the numbers were placed in. Once she felt like she inputted all of the numbers, she pulled the door and it opened. She was very surprised she had managed to open a combination lock. This was her first time after all.
What was revealed to her was only a very closed space with small metal shelves. Other than that, it was completely empty.
"Oh yeah, you'll also need this." Principal Celestia handed Sunset a larger piece of paper. "That there is your timetable. With this, you'll be able to find your classes much easier just by looking at these rows."
Sunset scanned through her timetable, taking in every class she would have today, and even tomorrow, and the day after that, and then the entire school week. It told her where and when her classes will be.
"Alright. Umm... That should be everything. I'll now leave you to it." Celestia turned to leave Sunset. "If you need anything at all, you can always find me in my office."
Sunset didn't think she would ever really need Principal Celestia's help but she still casually replied with, "Will do, Miss."
It was then that the school bell rang and the hallway was suddenly flooded with students heading to their first class. Sunset followed the directions on her timetable to her first class. She travelled through the halls until she finally saw the same numbers on her timetable imprinted on one of the many many doors. Sunset stepped towards the class and peaked inside. She was met with what appeared to be a history class. She stepped inside and the teacher's attention was directed at her.
"Welcome! Please, come in," the teacher greeted. "You're our new student, is that correct? I'm Mrs. Cross. And you must be Sunset Shimmer, I believe I was told."
"Uh, yes m'am," Sunset answered.
"Great. I'll just have you sitting at that table there in the corner," she said pointing to a table with six chairs surrounding it.
Sunset made her way over to one of the six seats and placed herself on the one closest to the corner. Then others started entering the class. Sunset paid everyone no attention but one of the students in particular was familiar to her. It was that Fluttershy girl she had come across before.
Sunset pleaded in her head, 'Please not this table. Please note this table. '
Luckily enough she both, didn't sit at her table and didn't even notice her. Or at least Sunset thought she didn't notice her. She couldn't exactly tell but one clue was that her eyes were averting away to look at something else.
At Sunset's table, she sat with three other girls and two boys. One girl having light skin, glasses and great red eyebrows. Another girl having some sort of minty tone to her hair and skin and a lyre necklace. And the other girl also having light skin and pink and black hair, both colours separated equally. One of the guys had a slight orange tint to their skin, a jacket that looked quite similar to Sunset's with the exception of the spikes, and great blue hair. The other guy she knew completely; he was that fool that had bumped into her only yesterday. Sunset shot him a nasty glare and clearly this boy remembered Sunset because he tried to hide his face behind the history book he was carrying, as to avoid her glare of evil.
Soon enough, the class was full. Instead of everyone's attention being paid to the teacher, their eyes were directed to Sunset.
Mrs. Cross then spoke, "Alright, everybody. Before class starts, we have a new student with us today." She then looked over to Sunset. "Would you like to introduce yourself?" she asked.
Sunset stood up and began introducing herself, "Uh, hi. My name is Sunset Shimmer and I am the new student of this school." She didn't exactly know how she should approach this so she just went with something fairly simple.
Sunset sat back down and Mrs. Cross finally began class.
~Interval~
Sunset managed to get through her first two classes pretty well, despite her lack of knowledge of this world's current rulers. Other than what she's now being taught, school isn't as different from the schools back in Equestria. Still, that doesn't mean that nothing will change throughout her time here.
Sunset walked through the hall that lead to the entrance. She obviously wasn't leaving the school, she was just looking for something to do in this place before her next class started.
Again, Sunset heard everyone murmuring. She knew they were still talking about the new girl, who she is. She couldn't exactly hear what they were saying about her, except something about her 'looking lonely'. Then she heard her name being called by what sounded like... Well... She couldn't quite describe what it sounded like, but it was really annoying.
Sunset turned around to find the source of this voice. Her eyes were met with a poofy pink haired girl waving at her. Clearly she wanted something so Sunset walked towards her and her small group of friends.
"What is it?" Sunset asked. Sunset then noticed that apparently Fluttershy was part of this group. 'Can't I go anywhere without seeing this girl? ' she thought.
The girl with the gorgeous purple hair spoke, "Well, we couldn't help but notice how lonely you looked, darling."
"Oh, is that right?" Sunset raised an eyebrow at them.
Then the girl with the stetson spoke, "Uh, yeah. And we were just wonderin' if y'all would like t'uh join our li'l group," she gestured to the rest of her friends.
Sunset took a moment to analyse each of these girls: She knew Fluttershy was the shy one, the pink one was, judging by her enthusiastic attitude and the ear pearcing voice, the annoying one, the purple haired one could be the more fashionable one, the stetson one was the country girl, and the last one had... rainbow hair? Woah. Anyway, judging by the short skirt, the tight black shorts and the sneakers, she was the athletic one.
Sunset's expression hadn't changed from her cold stare. "Yeah, thanks. But no thanks," she said, turning to walk away. "I have better things to do than be part of your circus act."
Everyone around them gasped and the group of five took her words personally.
"How simply rude!" the fashionista cried out.
Sunset turned back towards her. "It's like what I said to a certain animal lover, everything isn't all just sunshine and rainbows!"
Clearly Fluttershy remembered that day when she met Sunset, because she looked on the verge of crying. Sunset took this to try again walk away.
"Hey! No one upsets Fluttershy and gets away with it!" the rainbow one shouted, following Sunset.
She turned again now to look at her. "And what exactly are you going to do to back her up?" Sunset asked her.
The athlete didn't answer. Instead, she looked lost.
"Hmm, didn't think so," she said coldly, starting to walk away again.
Now it was the country girls turn, "And just who do you think you are?!"
Okay, she still wasn't getting away. "Where you not told by Fluttershy? I'm Sunset Shimmer," she said, finally getting her chance to leave.
Everyone around the six of them was left in shock after what they had just witnessed. All that could now be heard were Fluttershy's soft whimpers, who was being comforted by the pink and purple one.
What was this she was feeling? Sunset felt as though she had them right where she wanted them. She felt powerful. Did she like this feeling? Absolutely! But why stop there? She could continue using this power and soon enough, she'll have the whole school down on their knees.
Sunset realised as she continued to walk down the corridor that nobody was talking about her anymore. Had she scared them? Did they not want to cross Sunset?
Sunset looked around her and started randomly glaring at students. They all shared the same scared expression whenever she stared at someone. Yup, they were now scared of her.
Sunset was enjoying this. She felt truly powerful. She felt as though she could take on that beef cake she saw not to long ago.
She could have continued looking cool and powerful while she walked down the hall if the bell didn't go, signalling that interval was over.
She wondered if she could use this power during class and not get caught by the teacher. It was probably possible. Maybe not as much, but it could be worth a try.
She thought to herself as she wandered to her next class, 'Sunset Shimmer is here, Canterlot High. What have you got for me? '
Author's Note
Bully Sunset is here everyone!
I could've had this out a little sooner but I was just working on a more humorous story. Expect to see that soon.
With that said, I want to focus on releasing this other story first before I start writing chapter 8. So the next chapter should be released within the next 2-3 weeks.
Two months have gone by ever since Sunset Shimmer first arrived in the human world. She has been doing quite well on survival. She still sleeps inside of CHS' gymnasium but has to leave the school during school hours. She finds money on the ground and spends it on food. Most nights, Sunset spends her dinner at Coleson's Coleslaw but only orders small meals to save money. She has learned more and more about her body and has adapted really well on using her new limbs. Life couldn't be better.
There was one small problem... She knew she couldn't live like this forever. Almost every night Sunset would fear she'd eventually get caught sleeping in the school and fear she wouldn't find any money anymore. There was only one option for her if she wanted to survive to see her future. Sunset Shimmer needed to find a job. Heck, she even found out that students at Canterlot High had jobs. That was another sign for her.
She thought at first she should try get a job at Coleson's Coleslaw. She already got along well with Orelda so there was no harm in trying. Sadly though, they weren't employing so that was a total let down for the poor bacon haired girl.
At night, she'd think to herself what she should get a job as. Obviously nothing that paid much but at least she would earn money rather than seeking out to find some on the edge of a pavement.
So one day, Sunset had prepared herself to set out to find a job at the local mall but every store she tried either wasn't employing or she wasn't qualified for.
"Store clerk, nope! Chef, nuh-uh. Phone agent, don't understand why that's a job in the mall," Sunset listed down all of the jobs she tried but was turned down. She went on, "Sports centre! Animal shelter! Ugh! Isn't there one job that would want to employ me?!"
After Sunset had shouted in annoyance, the eyes of everyone that surrounded her had their eyes fixed onto her.
Sunset blushed and rushed out of that part of the mall. She eventually stopped when she thought no one was looking at her anymore.
Sunset looked at the shop currently sitting closest to her and this is when she knew her prayers had been heard. She looked at this shop's window. There it was, the 'Help Wanted' sign. She took a second to examine the store; it was a sushi restaurant. The large name that sat above it read, "寿司" (Japanese for sushi).
"Whatever... that means," Sunset said. She took a sigh, "If this place doesn't employ me, then I oughta just give up." She wouldn't be surprised if they didn't, she'd been let down literally all day.
She stepped inside of the restaurant. In terms of business, this place was doing fine. In terms of employees however, she could only see two. One working the kitchen, a man probably in his forties, and the other, a young girl about Sunset’s age, working both waitress and cashier.
She stood at the back of the line, waiting to ask about the help wanted sign.
~Later~
Ten minutes passed, she had only moved two spaces forward, still had six more to go. Sunset looked to the front and saw that the cashier lady wasn't even there.
'What th-? Where is she? ' she asked to herself.
"This is outrageous!" shouted a man at the front. "Where's the cashier?!"
Then everyone in the line started complaining. All except Sunset. She just stood, clearly losing patience fast. Her foot began furiously tapping the floor, waiting for the cashier to come out of hiding.
The cashier had finally emerged from the door leading to the bathrooms, plunger and bucket in hand. She through them in a closet and took her place back behind the counter.
"Sorry for the holdup, everyone," she said. "What can I get ya now?"
~40 minutes later~
Sunset was still nowhere near the front. She couldn't understand what was going on, orders were being taken but she felt like she hadn't moved at all. She looked down at the front again. The cashier was there but it looked like she moved back some spaces.
She counted everyone in front of her. Seven. Seven people now stood in front of her. Sunset looked at the person standing directly in front of her. He definitely hadn't been there the whole time.
"Di- did I get cut in line and didn't notice?!" Sunset silently asked herself.
She tapped the shoulder of the man in standing in front of her to get his attention. He turned back to look at her.
"Hey! You cut in front of me!" she told him.
He didn't return with a reply and looked back at the head in front of him.
Sunset wasn't going to take being ignored, "I'm talking to you!" Nothing.
She was beginning to get very irritated.
"So it's going to be like that, is it?" she whispered.
After saying that, Sunset immediately made her way to the front paying no attention to all the others.
"Hey, she's cutting in line!" said the man who stood in front of Sunset.
The cashier girl looked at Sunset.
"Uh. M'am, I'm going to have to ask you to get back to your-"
Sunset raised her hand and interrupted her, "I'd like to speak to the manager about the help wanted sign outside."
"You're going to have to wait 'til I get everyone's orders ready," The cashier returned.
"Listen, I've waited for almost an hour only to get cut in front of. If I'm going to do this, I'm choosing now to do it."
The cashier sighed.
"Fine. Stove? This girl here would like to speak to you," she called.
The man from the kitchen started walking towards the counter.
"What's the problem?" he asked.
"I would like to ask if you still have a job opening and if I could take it?" She said.
"Yeah, sure. Let us just get these people some food first and then I'll see what I can do. Fine with that?" explained Stove.
Sunset looked back at the line of customers. She knew she have to wait a while and it wasn't like she had any other choice.
"Fine, I'll wait," Sunset tried to say without moaning.
"Right. Oh, by the way, could you give us your number so we can call you when you're ready?" Stove asked.
"I don't own a phone," Sunset admitted.
"Ah, right. Then at least stay close by to the restaurant so we can find you."
That annoyed her a bit, but decided to let it slide.
"Alright..."
Stove clapped his together.
"Right! Now we're back in business. Don't want to keep these loyal customers waiting any longer," he said walking back into the kitchen.
Sunset walked back out of the restaurant and rested on a nearby bench.
~2 hours later~
Sunset was still waiting for Stove to tell her she can come back in now.
"...78,79,80," she counted. Sunset got so bored, she started counting the people who walked by without losing count.
"...86,87,88,89-"
She was interrupted mid-count by the sounds of the restaurant's doors. Stove walked out.
"Alright, you can come back in now," he finally said.
Stove, being the gentleman he was, held the door open for Sunset as she walked inside. There was no more line but the restaurant was still packed with customers. Stove led Sunset behind the counter and into the kitchen. Metal pots, pans, knives and spoons filled the large metal sink. The grills were all dirty. The floor wasn't very clean either. None of this bothered Sunset very much. She could handle a little cleaning, if that is what she gets the job for.
"My office is just through here," Stove said.
At the very end of the kitchen was a door. Stove held the door open for the red-head once again to let her in.
"You're welcome..." said Stove
"Huh? Oh, yeah, thanks," Sunset said with no care.
Stove rolled his eyes and walked over to the other side of the small, well kept room behind a small desk with a computer.
He gestured Sunset to take a seat and that she did.
"Alright, interview time!" he started. "First question: What is your name?"
"Sunset Shimmer," she answered.
"Sun-set. Shimm-er," Stove said, writing. "Next question: Do you have any cooking experience?"
"I'm not bad at cooking. I used to do it quite frequently back where I used to live."
Stove continued to write down her answers on a piece of paper. Sunset could swear she saw him shake his head slightly. That made Sunset quite nervous.
"Okay, next question: How are you with people?" asked Stove.
Sunset thought that was a weird way of wording that question but just rolled with it.
"Some may say I'm very good when it comes to dealing with people," she answered honestly.
"Alright, good, good," Stove said quietly.
The questions continued for a few more minutes and Sunset answered all of them honestly.
"Alright!" Stove rose from his seat. "From what I've gathered, you're an honest girl but can be quite aggressive when annoyed. If you want this job, you'll have to promise me you won't show any aggression towards my customers. Don't want this restaurant to have a bad name now," he explained.
Sunset put on a light smile.
"I'll see what I can do," she said.
"Perfect," he said. "Alright, I'm going to have to fill out a bit of paperwork, and make some decisions on what you'll work as. If all goes well, you should start your first day tomorrow morning at 9AM. Is that okay?"
"I guess," she replied.
"Great. I'll see you again tomorrow, "Sunset Shimmer"," Stove addressed her.
Sunset walked back to the door leading into the office.
"See you tomorrow, Mr. Stove," she said.
Stove chuckled, "Please, just call me stove."
Sunset returned a laugh and let herself out.
Sunset was on her way out but was stopped before she could walk out the door. She turned her head around and saw the cashier girl.
"So, how'd it go?" she asked.
"It went fine. I'll be back here early tomorrow," Sunset answered.
"Hope he wasn't pressuring you too much," the girl said.
Sunset smiled at her. "Nothing I can't handle."
Sunset left the restaurant with confidence. She was finally getting somewhere in this world.
"Maybe this world isn't so bad after all," she said to herself.
She opened the front door to the mall and was shocked when she looked up at the sky.
"How long was I in there?!" Sunset screamed.
She arrived here in the morning and now, as she leaves, it is now late at night.
She huffed. "Hopefully the school is still open."
Sunset started running her way back to CHS.
~One run later~
She made her way to the front door and tried to push it open. It didn't move.
Sunset's eyes lit up in anger. "Oh come on!!!" She screamed once again.
After throwing a little fit, Sunsetmade her way back to her old sleeping bush from her first night in this world.
Author's Note
Next time: "First Day".
I hope everyone who reads this is enjoying the story as much as I am writing it.
