It had been nearly a year since my adventure in Equestria. For the first few months after the attack of the Sentinels, there was a lot of panic: the government had all kinds of meetings as to how they would defend against another attack, people had crazy theories as to where they came from, and religious officials tried to say it was punishment for people’s sins. I laughed at all of these claims, for only I knew what had really happened. Eventually, everyone shut up about it; after all, the Sentinels had vanished without any sort of trace, so there was little proof of their existence aside from crappy hand-recorded footage. So, the world pushed that day out of its mind, but still kept an eye out in case they did return.

I was sixteen now, still living in that dead-end town, but my time in that wonderful world had given me a brighter outlook on life. I was doing really well in school - not straight A’s, but it wasn’t anything to sneeze at - and I was finally satisfied with my life, because I had friends who genuinely cared about me. Sure, in all likelihood I would never see them again, but it still felt good knowing that someone - or, somepony - outside of my family loved me and cared for me.

I still felt sad, however, that we were worlds apart.

One day I was cleaning my room a little, taking down some of my older sketches and putting them into a binder, and hanging up new ones. I would never take down the pictures of me standing alongside the ponies, though; I’d sooner fight a Crystal Sentinel without my sword.

Speaking of my sword, I found that I still had that crystal Celestia had given me on my first day in Ponyville. I had forgotten about it for so long, but as I was digging around through my things, I found it. It still looked exactly as it did the day I received it, sparkling like a diamond when even the littlest bit of light hit it. I smiled and set the white gem on my nightstand as I continued cleaning, and that night I held it in my hand tightly as I fell asleep, remembering my visit with Luna so long ago.
I miss her, I thought as I drifted off to sleep, I miss them all so much.

I slowly opened my eyes to see the crystal surroundings I lay in. I was in the crystal world created by my gem; I didn't know it would even work on Earth!
“Hello, Allen. You’ve grown quite a bit, I see,” I heard a gentle voice say behind me, and turned to see a white alicorn with a beautiful, rainbow-colored mane, smiling as she approached.
“Celestia!” I said happily, “is it really you?”

The solar princess chuckled. “Yes, Allen, it’s me, and this is real. I just came by to see how things were going with you.”
I smiled. “It couldn’t be going any better. My time in Equestria really showed me how great life can be,” I said, and suddenly frowned, “but…”

Celestia looked at me, concerned. “What’s the matter?” she asked gently.
I looked up at her sadly. “It’s just, I miss you all so much. I wish I didn’t have to destroy the portal; I wish I could have stayed there, with all of you,” I said, my voice breaking.

She smiled at me gently. “Allen, what if I told you… that there was a way for you to return to your friends?” she asked slowly.
This got my attention. “What? How?” I asked, hardly able to contain my excitement.
The white alicorn laughed lightly. “Settle down, Allen; I need to tell you the details. Firstly, if you do this, you will not be able to return to Earth, so you must be absolutely certain that you wish to go through with this. Secondly, there are a few things you must know in order to reopen the pathway between worlds.”

I nodded slowly. “I understand. What do I need?” I asked seriously.

Celestia looked off into the distance. “You need three things: the place, the object, and the words. The place is the spot where the archway used to stand, and the object is the crystal I gave you. If you can find the words, you will be free to return to our world whenever you wish, and live the rest of your days among us,” she said, and began to walk away.
“Wait!” I called after her, and she stopped and turned back to me. “How is everyone else?” I asked slowly.
Celestia smiled. “They all miss you very much. Especially my sister; in case you have forgotten, she is quite fond of you,” she said, giggling.

I laughed. “How could I?” I asked as she continued walking away.
“Until we meet again, Allen,” she said as she vanished.

I woke up the next morning feeling like I had drank an entire pot of coffee using Red Bull in place of water, and added in about five cups of sugar. I shot out of bed like a rocket, threw on my clothes, and ran downstairs, where my mother was cooking lunch. She stared at me in shock.

“Allen, you’re late for school!” she cried. I held up my hands.
“Mom, please, listen. I have something really big to ask you,” I said, and explained my dream from the previous night.

“So, they want you to go back?” she asked sadly. I nodded, looking at the table.
“I mean, if it’s fine with you,” I said, already knowing the answer.
She’s not going to go for it, I thought sadly, but she said something that surprised me
.
“...okay,” she said with finality. I widened my eyes.

“What?” I asked, shocked.

She nodded slowly. “I don’t want to lose you, Allen, but also don’t want to deny you a life where you will be happy. So yes, if you really want to, you can live in Equestria with your friends.
“Just promise me one thing,” she asked, smiling tears brimming in her eyes.
“Yeah, sure,” I said, nodding quickly.

“Just make sure you say a proper goodbye to your family before you leave,” she said, her voice barely a whisper, and suddenly cleared her throat.
“Anyway, you’d better get moving, or you’ll miss school!” she said, shooing me toward the door. I grabbed my backpack from off the chair and threw it over my shoulder and ran out the door.

When I got home later that day, I ran out into the forest and tried my luck at reopening the portal. I stood in the debris of crumbled archway and held the crystal out in front of me.

Magic words, magic words… what are some magic words? I thought eagerly, better start simple.
“Abra kadabra!” I said loudly. My words were answered by the ironic chirping of a cricket.
“Okay, let’s try… klaatu, barada, nikto!” I boomed.

Silence.

I sighed. “By the power of Greyskull?” I asked, throwing my hands up in desperation. Still nothing happened, so I sighed and walked back home dejectedly.

There’s always a catch, I thought angrily, there’s always a catch that seems like no big deal at first, but then when it’s time to face it, it bites you in the ass!

I sat in Chemistry class the next day, sitting in my desk as the class sat in their desks and scribbled away at the test. I stared at the paper sitting in front of me, only partly focusing on the task at hand.
What words could she have meant? I thought desperately, What do I need to say?

“Uh, Mister Lance?” I whispered from my seat, and my teacher looked up at me. “Can I run to the bathroom?”
He nodded slightly, and I ran out the door. I expected him to be surprised, because I hated using public restrooms. I didn’t even have to go; I just wanted to get up and walk around for a couple of minutes. I decided to stop at my locker and see if I had a book or something I could grab.

I dug around in my backpack, and felt a strange rectangular shape. I grabbed the unknown object and pulled it out, revealing it to be my camera. I turned it on, and the first image that greeted me was the picture I had taken of myself and my friends on the train. I smiled at it, the wonderful memories flooding back into my mind, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I turned to see Mister Lance looking down at me. “Get lost on the way to the bathroom, Allen?” hs asked teasingly.
I widened my eyes. I was in trouble now; our school was really serious about wandering the halls during class. “Mister Lance, I’m sorry, but-”

He held up a calming hand. “Hey, hey, I’m not going to tell on you. I was just wondering why you, who makes it his mission to not use a school bathroom, suddenly decided to break that vow,” he said, glancing at the camera screen. “Well, I didn’t think you were that into My Little Pony, Allen; skipping class to stare at pictures you photoshopped yourself into?”

I nodded, blushing. “Yep,” I lied, “I’m a huge nerd for this show.”

He smiled and turned to stare at a bulletin board at the wall. “It’s a shame, isn’t it? That there aren’t more shows teaching people the lessons those ponies teach us?” he asked quietly so his voice wouldn’t carry through the halls.
I nodded. “Yeah. Maybe if they did, people would get along better,” I said.

He chuckled. “I think it’s in human nature for us to not get along. Then again, who knows? Friendship is magic, after all, so maybe it could change that,” he mused.

I nodded slowly, and suddenly it hit me: right then, I realized what the words Celestia wanted me to say were.

“Mister Lance, thank you,” I said, extending a hand for him to shake. “You are probably one of the greatest teachers I’ve ever had, and it has been a privilege being taught by you.”

He shook my hand, confused, and I turned and walked away. “Allen,” he called after me, “where are you going? You have a test to take!”

I glanced back as I strode down the hall and chuckled. “Me? I've got some friends waiting for me,” I said simply.

Later that evening, I stood on that stone platform once again, this time accompanied by my mother and little sister, who didn’t quite understand what was going on. I got down on one knee and placed a hand on my sister's shoulder.

“I’m going away, Lisa,” I said quietly, “I’m going to go live with some friends from now on.” Her eyes got really big when I said this, and she started to argue, but I went on: “I know you don’t want me to leave, but believe me when I say it’s for the best. Just always keep one thing in mind,” I said, leaning forward and wrapping her in a hug, “I will always love you. Even if we’re a million miles apart, just remember that I love you.”

I stood up and looked down at her, noticing she was starting to cry. “Can you promise me that?” I asked the child, and she nodded, tears steaming down her face as her lower lip quivered. I stepped over to my mother, who was barely keeping it together herself.

“Take care of yourself okay?” I said softly as I hugged her, and she nodded.
“I'll be fine,” she said, her voice wavering as she struggled to hold her tears in. "Tell Celestia thank you for me, okay? I never got a chance to thank her for bringing you home."

They stepped down from the platform and watched as I took the crystal out of my pocket and turned it in my hands, watching the moonlight sparkle off of it. Then, I held it tightly at my side, closed my eyes, and bowed my head.

“Friendship is magic,” I whispered, smiling, and felt a cool breeze run through my hair. I heard my sister’s and my mother’s quiet sobs as the world around me faded.

I woke up what must have been the following, and sat up in the middle of a grassy field. I knew this field well; after all, I had gotten arrested by talking ponies and fought giant crystal statues in it only a year ago. I stood up slowly and looked at what I held in my hand; rather than the magic crystal, I was holding a small pile of dust that sprinkled out from between my fingers. I opened my palm and let it blow away in the breeze, and then looked around.

I figured I’d go to Canterlot later; after all, It would be a good idea to let Celestia know of my choice, and I could hardly wait to see the look on Luna’s face.

There was one thing I had to do first.

I started sprinting in the direction of Ponyville, reaching into my pocket for my MP3 player and played what had become my favorite song when I first became a brony. Before I saw the princesses, though, I knew there were six ponies that would never forgive me if they weren’t the first to find out I had come back.

And so it was: I was in Equestria.

I was home.