The early minutes of a day at Canterlot High were always a hectic occasion. Groups of friends chatting about how their weekends had gone, students arriving late and panting for breath with a run, and of course a number of teachers absentmindedly looking over their papers as they made their way to the main building. In the midst of this, Sunset Shimmer, one of the school's more notable students, was herself arriving onto the scene, her eyes down on her phone as she was looking over her planner for the day. "Okay, hand in my essay, meet up with the girls for band practice during lunch, head over to the sushi place after school...yep, that's about everything," she remarked with a smile.

But, as he slipped her phone into her pocket, and after taking her first step inside the main doors of the building, she was halted from going any further by a voice from within. "Sunset? A word please."

Looking up, the young Equestrian's smile widened as she looked to Principal Celestia, who seemed as happy to see her as usual. "Principal Celestia. Good morning. How was your weekend?"

The older woman smiled right back to her. "Quite pleasant, thank you." After allowing Sunset to enter the building fully, she gestured to just behind her. "I realise you have to get to your first class, but I was hoping you could do me a favour today?"

Sunset glanced past her, to where she was gesturing, and it was here that she finally noted an unfamiliar face. A girl, about her age, wearing a largely yellow-orange ensemble with her hands clasped in front of her. Her hair was red, tied up into two, short pigtails. But that was by no means her most noticeable feature. No, that honour went to her eyes, which were by far the most piecing blue Sunset had ever seen on a person. The unknown girl smile to her though, so she was sure to put on a friendly face in turn, looking back to her principal. "Sure, what do you need?"

Celestia, standing between the two girls, explained. "We have a new student here today, and I was hoping you could show her around?"

Sunset nodded, of course having no problem with the request. However, memories of the last time she was asked to do so eventually found themselves at the forefront of her mind, causing a slight chuckle from her. "Sorry, have to ask. But you're not secretly here on some evil mission of world domination, are you?"

Celestia stifled a laugh of her own as she heard that in-joke, but the girl simply looked confused, looking to the two before answering. "Um...sorry?"

Sunset waved her off. "Nothing. Just a little CHS humour."

Not really knowing how to respond to that, the new girl cleared her throat, stepping forward and reaching out her hand. "Well then...Sari Sumdac. Nice to meet you."

Sunset took the hand, giving it a good shake, though she made a mental note of how good of a grip this girl had. "Sunset Shimmer. Likewise."

Clasping her hands together, Celestia nodded to the situation. "Well then, if there's no further questions, I've got a conference call to attend to. Principal Cadence and I need to discuss the events for the next Friendship Games."

Both girls gave her a smile as she walked off, and it was around this time that a number of the other students from outside were starting to enter the building in earnest. Realising that things here were likely going to be very crowded unless they moved off, Sunset gestured to one of the adjacent hallways, and Sari, understanding, began to follow her. Sari took in all around her as they walked together, every face, every sign on the doors they passed, all of it. There was interest and curiosity in her, Sunset could tell, but even so she knew they couldn't walk in silence forever. "So...where are you coming in from?"

Fondness crossed Sari's face as she replied. "Detroit. My hometown."

A spark on interest flared in Sunset. "Oh really? The city of robots?"

Unbeknownst to Sunset, a quick flicker of concern came to Sari's expression, which almost instantly mellowed out into one of understanding and relief. "Oh, you mean...yeah, all the robots for factories and the police force and stuff. We're pretty proud of all that."

Another chuckle from Sunset. "I'd imagine so. I hear walking into your neck of the woods is like walking into the future for most people." Then, after a few more steps, a look of thoughtfulness came to the former student of Celestia. Silence fell between them, with Sari looking to her with worry. After a moment, Sunset turned, looking her right in the eye. "Um...pardon me for asking...but you said your name was Sumdac, right?" After seeing Sari nod, she continued. "Are you, by any chance, related to Isaac Sumdac?"

Here, Sari blushed, nervously scratching the back of her head. "Well...yeah. He's my Dad."

To that, Sunset seemed genuinely impressed. "Wow, the daughter of a famous genius, eh?" she asked.

Sari, understandably, buried her face in her hands. "Ugh! I was hoping people wouldn't have recognised me from that! I kinda got enough attention as it is back home."

Sunset reached out, patting her on the shoulder. "Hey, no worries. I promise nobody here will treat you any differently because of that. And hey, it's a pretty cool ice-breaker in conversations, right?"

Sari rolled her eyes. "As long as nobody calls me the Princess of Robots, I'll be fine."

The two shared a laugh together, and after it was over Sunset looked around at the sound of the school bell. All of the other nearby students were making their way to their various classrooms, and Sunset, after sighing, gestured with her thumb to just behind her. "Come on, don't wanna be late."

However, Sari started to look just a touch embarrassed. "Um, sorry to do this, but do you mind if I just pop to the little girl's room first?"

Sunset nodded, understanding. "Sure." She pointed in a particular direction. "It's just down that way, round the corner, can't miss it." She then pointed in the opposite direction. "Our classroom is 1-B, okay?"

Sari nodded, giving her a thankful look before rushing off in the aforementioned direction. Sunset waved her off before resuming her march towards her classroom. However, once she was around said corner and sure she was out of earshot, Sari's smile vanished, replaced by a more serious look. Looking to her immediate vicinity, she made doubly sure nobody was about to see her, then placed her index finger up to her right ear. "It's me...I'm in."

One of the earliest fics I ever wrote for this site was a crossover between FiM and Transformers Prime. I've always wanted to do another crossover between my two favourite Hasbro franchises, and so I figured why not go for an earlier Transformers this time? And yes, I realise that Transformers Animated is set a bit further into the future than what EqG is supposedly set in, but I'm hoping that difference won't be too much for people to accept