“Sure wish you could stay a bit longer,” Applejack lamented, flourished with a bittersweet smile.

It was a sentiment that the others and I shared as we huddled beneath the pearly white sentinel that watched over our school and contained the magic portal linking the two worlds. Unlike the last time they bid farewell to Twilight Sparkle, however, we could all reassure ourselves with the knowledge that we wouldn’t be waiting years for the next chance to see her.

“I do too,” Twilight replied, “but I have responsibilities back in Equestria.”

Just behind her, Pinkie Pie was taking a strong interest in the magic portal, which took my attention away from Twilight for a moment. It didn’t surprise me that Pinkie would be the one most curious about the other side, as demonstrated as she experimented by putting her hand through the seemingly-solid stone base of the statue. Emboldened by her experiences, Pinkie stuck part of her face through, too, and likely would’ve done more had I not reached over and grabbed her by the shoulder. One Pinkie Pie was trouble enough for the universe; I didn’t want to unleash a second on an unsuspecting Equestria.

“Maybe another time, okay?” I whispered to her as I eased my disappointed friend away.

“Aww, but I wanted to see what it was like to be a pony,” she pouted in her usual, playful fashion.

“Since now we can open the portal whenever we need, this isn’t really good-bye, it’s just good-bye until next time,” Twilight continued on, pausing only briefly when she noticed Pinkie and I behind her. She must’ve realized what was going on when she saw Pinkie’s still bewildered expression because she quickly hid a polite giggle behind her hand. “You know, Sunset, you can come visit Equestria too, if you’d like.”

Despite the subject of Equestria being one that weighed on my mind like a pallet of bricks, I tried not to let that burden show with a haphazard grin and a dismissive chuckle. “Oh, I guess that’s true, isn’t it?” I replied. It didn’t help my nerves that all my friends had fixated their gaze upon me, no doubt all wondering whether their friend and newest member of the Sonic Rainbooms would be staying or going. After a few moment’s pause, I finally answered, “I’ll… I’ll think about it. I’ve still got a lot to learn here. Plus I still owe Pinkie here a birthday party.”

“A birthday party?” Twilight repeated.

“Oh! You should totally come, Twi!” Pinkie exclaimed as she pushed past me. “There’s going to be cake and music and balloons and clowns and—”

“No clowns!” I snapped a bit too hastily.

“Right, no clowns,” she apologized. Not that it mattered, because now everyone was having a quick snicker at my panic-induced objections.

“But seriously,” I tried to push the conversation back on track, if only to avoid further embarrassment, “it would be nice to have you there. I think we’re still trying to figure out a date for it, but I can message you the details once I know.”

Everyone looked to Twilight in anticipation, as if trying to collectively will a ‘yes’ into her mind. She didn’t need the help, of course, because apparently only a fool would turn down attending a party planned by Pinkie Pie. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she reassured us.

After a quick round of hugs for each of us, we waved good-bye to our friend just before she disappeared through the portal. We were all a little saddened to see her leave, but there was little time to dwell on it since we still had a school day ahead of us. I, most of all, felt reassured by the weighty presence of the magical journal that now lay at the bottom of my backpack. Part of me wanted to write Twilight a message as soon as possible, but I knew I should give her a bit of space. It’s been a hectic few days, after all.

“Glad to hear you’re gonna be sticking around for a while longer,” Rainbow Dash remarked as we all turned to start heading back to the school. “To be honest, I thought you would’ve jumped at the first chance to get back to Equestria.”

“I don’t come off like that, do I? That I want to leave?” I asked with a mix of concern and curiosity.

“You had been a bit mopey lately,” Rarity answered as she fell into step to my right. “I do suppose the rest of us had been a bit preoccupied with the band for a while.”

“It’s not your fault,” I waved off my friend’s concern. At least, it wasn’t entirely their fault, but I had no interest in laying blame at their feet. “Adagio did a pretty good job of making me doubt myself. She was… very good at her trade. I saw a lot of myself in her.”

“Except you learned your lesson,” Applejack said, taking a hint of pride due to her part in that. “Plus, you’re a heck of a lot better singer than they are now.”

Pinkie suddenly donned a wide grin as she bounced up ahead of us. “Ooh! Think we could try teaching them friendship next?” she suggested.

The bewildered expression from the rest of us was at least reassuring in that we were all of the same mindset on the subject. Though at the same time, none of us could really dismiss the idea altogether. After all, they had done that to me.

“Maybe later, if they really want it,” Rainbow Dash finally answered. “Though we already got our hands full with this troublemaker.” She then gave me a playful punch, which left us all laughing while strolling through the front doors.

That laughter came to an abrupt halt, however, once we stepped inside and every student in the hallway noticed our arrival. Now for Rainbow Dash and the others, they were used to lots of cheers and applauds, but for me it still felt surreal. Everyone was clapping and cheering for us, shouting things like ‘go Rainbooms’ and ‘you girls rock.’ I wasn’t the only one feeling a little uncomfortable, of course, as I felt Fluttershy’s fingertips digging into my shoulders as she took refuge behind me. Were the heat of the legions of stares any more intense, my friend would’ve been reduced to a scorched husk.

Lucky for both of us, Rainbow Dash was more than willing to absorb our share of the limelight. She took the lead, basking in the glory of our newest conquest. The rest of us just rolled our eyes and used it as a convenient distraction to slip by and get to class without too much commotion.

For me, I was still half-convinced that I would wake up at any second and find myself still locked underneath a concert stage, listening to my friends bicker and argue. People were waving to me, and not just because I happened to be standing next to somebody they’d wave to normally. They were making eye contact and everything, which only made me feel more awkward as I tried to smile and wave in return.

Probably looked as forced as if I were being held at gunpoint.

Suddenly a voice spoke up from directly behind me, calling out, “Morning Sunset!”

Followed in rapid sequence by a second, “Morning!”

And third, “Hey Sunset!”

When I heard the first voice, I tensed almost purely by instinct, expecting something like a paper ball or an empty can to come flying in at any second. It wasn’t until the third voice that my brain finally caught up and realized that they belonged to Apple Bloom and her friends, who greeted me as they raced past me in the hallway. I only managed a haphazard wave before they disappeared around the next corner into one of the classrooms ahead.

Celestia wasn’t kidding about how much things would change. Despite the universe’s uncanny ability to home in and bombard any sense of optimism I had in the past, I dared hope that my life had finally turned around for the better.

By lunchtime I could already say with certainty that today had been one of the most unremarkable days at school in a long time, and I mean that in the best way possible. Spirits at the school were at an all-time high and I had played a part in that. I didn’t want to let all the popularity go to my head, but it was hard not to let my ego swell just a little bit after getting so many high-fives in the halls that my palms were numb.

Before I could join my friends in the cafeteria, with the hopes of celebrating the day with a parfait or maybe a brownie, I had to swing by Ms. Yearling’s classroom as she apparently wanted to speak with me about newspaper business. The timing was fortuitous since my newfound reputation meant that I could probably drop the pseudonym and return to writing articles with pride again. As I approached the classroom, I could hear Yearling talking inside. Normally it wouldn’t be a matter of concern, except that it sounded like a very heated conversation.

“Listen, I don’t care what it means, you know how I feel about you pulling stunts like this unannounced,” Yearling said in a tightly restrained tone. Peering through the door window, I could see that she was on her cellphone, which made the conversation very one-sided for me. What really drew my attention, though, was an unusual item of jewelry that Yearling held in her free hand. It consisted of a beetle-shaped pendant, made entirely of gold and studded with colourful gemstones, suspended on a thin golden chain. It looked expensive, if a bit gaudy, which was very unlike Yearling’s neat and professional attire.

“I’m not jealous!” Yearling suddenly shouted into the phone. “I just don’t want you crashing on my couch for a month like you did the last time!”

Now there was a level of anger I didn’t see Yearling express very often. As I didn’t want to eavesdrop any further on this conversation, lest she turn that anger towards me, I decided to knock on the door to let her know I was here. Either she’d usher me away or finish her conversation quickly, but at least I’d be able to say I went to meet with her.

“If I so much as see your shadow, I will shove my foot so far up your—” Yearling stopped abruptly upon hearing me at the door, and for a brief moment it looked like she really wanted to finish that sentence regardless of my presence. Cooler heads prevailed, however, and Yearling ended her conversation with a very brief, “I’ll call you back.”

If I didn’t know any better, she looked embarrassed for a second, as though I had just caught her with her pants down.

“I’m not interrupting something important, am I?” I asked as I took a few cautious steps into her classroom.

“Hardly. If anything, you’re saving me from having to deal with something I’d rather not,” she answered. She quickly tossed the pendant into one of the desk’s many drawers, which seemed to alleviate her mood as soon as it was out of sight. “So how fares the life of Sunset Shimmer now that she’s no longer Canterlot High’s most hated attendee?”

“I honestly can’t tell if you’re being serious or not,” I deadpanned in response.

As if for the sole purpose of confusing me further, Yearling snickered at my confusion. “I mean it,” she eventually insisted, although no less convincing. “You’ve gone from trying to take over the school to saving it; it’s like something out of a storybook. Must be nice to be out of the metaphorical dog house.”

“It’s… certainly nice not to have to worry about incoming fire,” I replied. “Was there something you wanted to speak to me about?”

From one of her desk drawers, Yearling produced a simple computer tablet. “One of the kids in the computer lab was able to create a mobile app for our school newspaper,” she explained whilst tapping on the tablet’s screen. She then handed it over to me. “Thought you might want to take a look since you’re going to be on the front page when we go live.”

“You mean like my picture?” I asked as I scrolled through the template sample. It had a somewhat conventional layout of headlines with sample boxes that one could click on to reveal full articles, but considering it was designed by a teenager as a school project, I wasn’t about to nitpick. The important thing was that it appeared to be robust and versatile, which was more important when it was being handled by teachers and students who knew little about programming.

“I meant an article,” Yearling answered with a roll of her eyes.

“I was actually thinking it might be a good time to drop the Gabby Gums penname.”

“I concur,” she nodded in response. “Glad we’re on the same page.” I handed her back the tablet and she gestured for me to take a seat. “Think you could perhaps write something up about your experiences with the Battle of the Bands? People are going to want to know what really happened.”

“Does anyone even realize they spent the past few days being mind-controlled by the Dazzlings?” I replied.

“I’m sure word will get around quickly–Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie have messages about it all across their MyStables pages,” Yearling explained. “Probably a good idea that everyone is told, that way they know that there was a reason they were acting like jerks to each other.”

“Ah, yes. That’s a good point,” I muttered to myself. As I recalled, the students got very competitive during the Battle of the Bands, and I could still vividly recall the barbs hurled at me when I was on stage for even just a brief moment. “Wait, wouldn’t you have already assigned somebody to do a story on the Battle of the Bands?”

“I did,” Yearling replied with a half-hearted shrug, “but the whole darn article was about how wonderful and amazing the Dazzlings were so I think it’s best if we don’t publish it.” Her chair squeaked and groaned as she started leaning back, giving me a half-apologetic, half-complementary expression. “I know this is short notice, but you’re the best candidate for getting an article done in such a short time. You seem to work well under pressure.”

“Compared to evil magical beings, a newspaper article is going to feel like a vacation,” I replied with a modest chuckle.

“I’m seriously starting to consider taking one of those,” she said, followed by a wistful sigh. “Somewhere nice and warm without crazy magical happenings going on every other month. And ideally with a bar that serves you those drinks that come with little umbrellas in them.”

I had trouble picturing Yearling on a beach with a fruity, umbrella drink, but at the same time, I knew very little about her beyond the classroom setting. Fortunately, this little impromptu meeting presented an opportunity to see what I could dig up. The fact that she was willing to make off-hand remarks about vacations was already showing more openness than she usually demonstrated.

“So what’s the deal with that necklace? I didn’t know you were the type to go for bugs,” I inquired with a casual tone in order to hide the fact that my curiosity had been nagging since the start of the conversation.

Once again, I saw a flash of unease across Yearling’s face. She was quick to suppress it, though, hiding behind an air of indifference as she shrugged it away. “Just an unwanted gift from somebody.”

“A special somebody?”

“Please,” Yearling dismissed once again, almost in disgust. “Blondie knows me well enough to avoid getting me something so tacky.”

Despite my curiosity towards the name, I refrained from getting nosey of my teacher’s personal life. “So what will you do with it?”

“Would like to strangle a certain someone with it,” she muttered to herself. She must’ve confused her interior and outer monologue because she once again flashed a brief look of embarrassment and quickly followed up with, “Just gonna toss it in a box with all the other junk I’ve collected over the years.”

“Are you okay? You seem… angry.”

Yearling took a moment to pause and reflect, no doubt mincing her words over in her mind in order to keep me at a comfortable distance. I spent enough years psychoanalyzing fellow students to find easy targets to recognize a private individual when I saw one. After a few inaudible murmurs and pursing her lips in thought, she just gave an indifferent shrug.

“Guess I am,” she declared. “I usually try to check my personal luggage at the door, but some things are just harder to ignore than others.”

“Anything I can do to help?” It felt like a rather meaningless gesture, offering help to somebody who asked for none on a problem I knew nothing about, but it was the thought that mattered. Or at least that’s what my friends kept telling me.

Perhaps there was merit in my friends’ advice, as Yearling flicked the tiniest of smirks in my direction. “It’s just dull and tedious grown-up issues, kiddo. Don’t be in such a rush to get away from the trivialities of youth.” Any problem was going to seem boring to me when compared to the excitement and disasters of the past few months; however, Yearling was clearly uninterested in revealing more of her life as she steered the conversation back towards me. “So what’s next in your master plan?” she inquired.

“What do you mean?”

“You moved in with Tia and Luna so you could straighten up and fly right,” Yearling explained, shifting her posture once again in her seat such that she leaned forward over her desk. “I think it’s safe to say that you’re not a horrible person anymore, and you’ve managed to earn back the trust and admiration of your peers. Most people would call that ‘mission accomplished.’ So I say again: what’s next?”

I wished I had more to give for an answer than a brain-dead gaze as I tried in vain to muster up something that resembled a long-term strategy. For the last few months, I had been living almost day-to-day, focusing on the immediate problems ahead rather than some over-arching plan like in my evil days: fixing my mess with Diamond Tiara, surviving the county fair, becoming friends with Twilight. The only time that long-term thought entered my mind was when I was contemplating how long I’d have to live at the bottom of a hole for my latest disaster to subside.

“I don’t really have any plans,” I eventually answered with an honest shrug. “I mean, I’d hardly say I’m done learning about friendship and being a better person.”

“Those are lifelong goals, Sunset; you should never think you’ve finished improving yourself. You honestly think Celestia or I have perfected the art of being a good person?”

Were she talking about Princess Celestia, I would’ve said yes without hesitation, but Principal Celestia was her own person, with her own flaws and biases. She was a far better person than I could ever hope to be, but at the same time I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was also just better at hiding the skeletons in her closet.

Seeing my silence as a consent to keep talking, Yearling continued on with her inquisition. “Have you given any thought about what you’d like to do with your life?”

Once again, silence proved to be more telling than any words I could’ve pulled from my purse.

“You’ve got a good head on your shoulders there, kiddo; it’d be a shame to see it go to waste,” Yearling said. And for a change, I could instantly tell how sincere she was being.

“I didn’t realize you cared so much about lil’ old me.”

“I’m as surprised as you are,” she answered with a casual shrug. “I fear some of Tia’s infectious optimism has finally gotten to me.” We both shared in a quick laugh at that sentiment. It would be an understatement to say that Celestia maintained a sunny outlook on life, and both of us were better off because of it. “Seriously, though, you ought to start considering your options—your academic scores give you a lot of options for your future. Have you thought about journalism?”

“Not sure how much I’d enjoy a future of writing top ten clickbait articles,” I said, allowing some cynicism to slip out. School journalism was enjoyable enough for a hobby as a teenager, but the real world was far more convoluted. Not to mention I still wasn’t certain whether my future was going to be in this world or Equestria. I wasn’t going to burden Yearling with that added detail, so I just left up a veil of typical teenage apathy. “It’s still early in the school year, so there’s plenty of time for to figure things out.”

“Try not to take too long,” Yearling reminded me. “The end of the year will be on top of you sooner than you think. You’ve got the time, you’ve got a platform to showcase your work, and an editor who’s willing to give you way more operational freedom than she ought to be.”

Yearling was essentially handing me a free pass to use my column space to write whatever I want, perhaps in the hope that by doing so I will stumble across a passion for the art of journalism. It was an amusing coincidence considering not too long ago, I was using my column as a free space to slander and suppress anyone that I felt was a threat to my rule. Maybe Yearling was testing my character by seeing what I would do now that I had the same level of power as I did before my downfall. As a wise person once said, if you want to see the true measure of a man’s character, give him absolute power. It might’ve just been a school newspaper, but the principle was the same.

“I’ll… um, see what I can do,” I reluctantly accepted. Yearling was putting a lot of trust in me, which left me feeling a lot more pressured than I thought I would. I didn’t want to let her down, especially since she had finally turned her opinion of me around.

I spent the better part of the school day glossing over my lessons and contemplating my discussion with Yearling. Things like algebra and biology felt like low priorities when it came to figuring out what to do with my life from this point. For most of my life, the path that I was to take had been neatly laid out before me: as a child I was given to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns to study under the Princess; in exile, I schemed and plotted my way to the top of the social ladder in preparation to obtain absolute power and exact my revenge; as a pariah, I had to follow the guidance of my new friends and caretakers in order to redeem myself.

Now, though, I had accomplished that goal. As Yearling said, learning about friendship and how to be a better person was a lifelong process, so it would always be in the back of my mind. So where would I go from here? It was like being left on the side of the road without a map or even basic directions. For the first time in many years, this once-exiled unicorn was free to decide her own fate.

And by Canterlot’s gilded halls, was that a terrifying thought at times. Whatever future I decided to pursue, it would limit the majority of my time to just one world, much like how Princess Twilight’s responsibilities kept her in Equestria most of the time.

As the school bell rang, heralding our freedom for the day, I had at least calmed my nerves enough to avoid any mental breakdowns when I got home. I convinced myself to push the issues of the future aside for the time being, and to just focus on the next task ahead of me, which was getting a new article ready for the paper.

Now I wanted something a bit more substantial than just a mere public service announcement about the lingering after-effects of song-based mind control. I wish I could’ve pawned it off onto some other writer at the paper, but who else even knew the first thing about mind control? Hopefully my tenure as a journalist at school wouldn’t be surmised by ‘Resident Mind Control Expert.’

Not exactly something you can put on a resume or college application form.

I decided to seek counsel with one of my friends, as I had proven time and time again that I routinely made poor choices when left to my own devices. Unfortunately, between Applejack having chores at the farm, Pinkie Pie needing to babysit, Fluttershy volunteering at the animal shelter, and Rarity's work at the boutique, the only one of my friends at Canterlot High who was not already committed to a cause was Rainbow Dash.

That fact alone left me dragging my feet through the halls after class, and in no hurry whatsoever to find my friend. My apprehension wasn’t because Rainbow Dash was a bad or uncaring friend, but more due to the fact that she rarely thought more than five paces ahead of herself, let alone five or ten years down the line. She’ll no doubt tell me not to worry about it, and that I’ve got months or even years to decide what I want.

Still, the company of a friend was needed so I marched on regardless, passing by empty classrooms and students loitering in the hallways. Pangs of envy rang through me as I heard their laughter and carefree chatter—either they were better at hiding any worries they may have had or they just didn’t care.

The sense of melancholy lingering around me like a bad stink was soon dissipated when I caught wind of a familiar voice off in the distance. Rainbow Dash was always one of those people you heard well before you saw them.

“Our next game against Crystal Heart is coming up in a few days!” Dash’s voice echoed down through the halls, carrying with it her typical zeal and fury. “Now they may have put up a tough fight last time, but they just took us by surprise! This time around, we’re putting in double the effort and double the training so that we show them who’s boss!”

I eventually found Dash in the hall just outside one of the locker rooms, surrounded by her fellow members of the soccer team. Judging by the presence of their bright blue uniforms, the Wondercolts were on their way to hit the field for some practice when their captain decided on a last minute pep talk. A casual observer might think Rainbow Dash liked giving such talks as it keeps her as the center of attention, but it didn’t take long listening to her to realize that it wasn’t about self-aggrandizing, but a genuine desire for the team and its members to succeed.

Being the center of attention was just an added bonus.

As she was busy with her talk, Rainbow Dash didn’t see me approaching, but I also opted to stand off to the side to wait until she finished.

“Our defense last game was too aggressive—we kept over-extending ourselves and that Lightning Dust character kept capitalizing on it,” Dash continued on. “And we can’t keep giving the ball over to them like we did last match. I want more wind sprints, and more ball control drills. Twice as much, in fact!”

The other players clearly didn’t like the idea as there came an immediate round of groans so unanimous you’d think that our team had been replaced by zombies.

Dash met the groans with a frown, as if the very noise was a gross offense to her. “Come on, team, don’t give me that!” she snapped in response, taking a harsher tone. “Crystal Heart might be some fancy expensive school with top level athletes, but we’re Wondercolts! And that’s not something you can buy with any amount of money! We stood up against the Dazzlings, we stood up against Sunset Shimmer—”

“Come on, Dash, I’m standing right next to you.” My protests went ignored, however, though whether by intent or ignorance I did not bother to discern.

“We’ve won over every adversary that’s come along! Every time somebody thinks they’ve got us beat, we just come out even stronger! That’s what it means to be a Wondercolt, and that’s something no other school can claim!”

“Um, Dash?”

“Not now, Shimmer, I’m in the zone,” my friend waved me off without even looking in my direction. “As I was saying, those hardships we faced before brought everyone in the school closer together. We bonded not just as classmates, but as friends.”

“Dash, you need to—”

I tried to get my friend’s attention by tugging at her sleeve, but she brushed me aside once again. “In a second!” she insisted. “Just remember team: we’re all Wondercolts, now and forever, and we’ll always have something that no other school can possess—”

“Seriously, Dash...”

“—the magic of friendship!”

“RAINBOW DASH!”

Finally, my friend had enough of my constant interruptions. “For crying out loud, Sunset, what is it?” she turned and shouted.

“Dash, you’re flying!” I explained while pointing to the foot-and-a-half of empty air beneath her shoes.

The rest of the team stared on in a mixture of awe and wonder at their team captain, who continued to rise up above them like a heaven-sent saviour. Enshrouded in a vibrant aura of shimmering blue, adorned with majestic sprawling wings, Rainbow Dash had somehow summoned forth the Element of Harmony magic within her. And while I gazed at her in confusion and disbelief, Rainbow Dash’s response was all too predictable.

“Sweet! I’m flying!” she exclaimed, followed by an immediate loop-de-loop through the air. “I didn’t even need my guitar this time!”

“Exactly,” I replied. “How are you able to do this? There are no elements! There’s no music! This shouldn’t be possible!”

“Who cares? This is awesome!” she cried in delight. Wasting no further time with wild speculations, Rainbow Dash flew off down the hall with reckless abandon, weaving through students and sending several diving for cover.

Meanwhile, I was still struck with an overwhelming sense of dread. How could this be possible? They had never been able to summon their magic and pony up without outside assistance before. Just when I thought I had a grasp on how magic worked in this world, it pulled out a brand new surprise for me. If we couldn’t control the magic inside us, then there was no telling when it might rear its head again. The first image that came to mind was Dash pulling out her wings in a middle of game just to show off to a crowd, and before you could say ‘magical school girl,’ Canterlot High would be at the center of a huge investigation and my secrets would be dragged out for all the world to see.

I had to get to the bottom of this.

“Rainbow Dash, no flying in the hallways!”

“Yes Principal Celestia...”