“While the StormLords’ conquest of the Arisians was undoubtedly a disaster for the natives, there were”

Sunset Shimmer stopped for a moment, took a drink of diet Mountain Shine from a bottle beside her laptop, then continued typing.

“...some positives to it. While the death and loss of personal liberty was a negative, the Stormlord's reign did help to introduce a standardized system of weights and measures, as….”

Sunset stopped in mid-sentence. ”You know what…I think that’s enough for today.” Saving her work, the newly-minted college student closed the laptop, pushed her chair back, and plodded over to her bed. She flopped onto the mattress, red/gold hair splayed out around her head like a fiery halo.

How could sitting on your ass for twelve hours straight be so damn exhausting?

The laptop had become her god. When she wasn’t at work or in class, she was spending irreplaceable hours of her life welded to the device; either studying, writing an essay, or watching an online lecture. Even on the rare occasions when she had some time to spare, she could still feel an insatiable itch telling her to go online and check her courses or study for some upcoming exam.

Who needed enchanting voices or mind control when you had the Internet?

Feeling a little better, Sunset turned her head towards the terrarium on her desk. “Hey, Ray.”

The little fire gecko lay on his rock, bathing in the synthetic sunlight of his heat lamp. He turned his head towards her.

“Yeah. Me too.” She blew a strand of hair out of her eye. “You know, I kind of expected more from college.” According to the movies, it was supposed to be one big party. A place where you could do whatever you wanted. Go wherever you want. The world was yours to take.

In reality, the only thing college had done was to make her life exponentially more complicated. In less than a year, she’d transformed from a seasoned high school senior into a scared freshman scrambling to juggle a thousand new worries and responsibilities at once.

Pop culture had lied to her. Imagine that.

Stretching out a hand, Sunset focused on the little gecko. A soft, golden light surrounded the terrarium, gently lifting off the lid. With a thought, Sunset gingerly picked up the little lizard with her magic and gently placed him on her stomach.

It used to be she could only use magic in this world when she was “pony-upped” with her friends, usually while dealing with some magic-based shenanigans. Even then, using magic had felt “stiffer”; like some cosmic editor was trying to revert her changes. Now she could use it almost without thinking. It was like this world was starting to adapt to the existence of magic.

Surely this wouldn’t have ramifications for this world. Nope, none whatsoever.

“So, what to do?” She wondered, stroking the reptile on her belly like a crime lord stroking his cat. “You know, it's been a while since I played Order and Overthrow 3 campaign on Brutal. I could give it a go… “ She groaned. “If my retinas weren’t already screaming for mercy.” Any more screen time and her eyeballs were going to revolt.

“I gotta get out. Maybe a walk…. “

Sunset looked out the window. “Never mind.” The sky was a dull, happiness-draining sheet of grey. All colors felt duller. All sounds sounded flatter. It was the kind of weather that made you want to pull down the shades, plop in front of your computer, and decompose.

She picked up her phone from its charging cradle and scrolled through her contact list, trying to find at least one friend who was still available.
No dice. Everyone was busy these days. Dash was getting ready for basic training. AJ was busy at the farm getting ready for winter. Rarity was preparing to leave for Prance to attend some fancy fashion school. Pinkie was babysitting the Cake twins. Shy was busy with her vet certification, and Sci-Twi was busy with a research project.

Sunset sighed. It used to be there was always time to hang out with the girls. Yes, there were times when some troubled teen would come under the influence of a mystical toilet plunger or whatever, but those were relatively straightforward; a rainbow laser followed by a friendship lesson usually resolved everything in less than an hour.

These days, her problems weren’t nearly as simple. You couldn’t blast a midterm exam with a rainbow laser, and the current recession wasn’t particularly receptive to friendship lessons.

“Well, I guess I could always do something by myself.” She sighed. “If I had two bits to rub together.” After tuition, utilities, and groceries, she barely had any cash left in her bank account. It didn’t help that “Ten no kōgan Sushi” was cutting her hours.

Sunset sighed. “Well, guess I’ll just stay here. Talking to a Gecko. Slowly losing my mind. Yay.”

Sunset stretched out an arm, letting it dangle over the side of the bed. Her fingers brushed against something hard and smooth. Curious, she turned her head to see her motorcycle helmet laying on the floor

“Oh, that’s where that went.” She picked up the Motorcycle helmet, running a finger over its top. It’d been a while since she’d taken the bike out for a spin. Maybe…

Suddenly, another idea popped into her head. A strange, phantom ache appeared between her shoulder blades. Better yet, why not go to the meadow for a bit?

“Yeah.” A smile slowly spread across Sunset’s face. “Yeah, why not?

Gingerly placing the little lizard back in his tank, Sunset grabbed the helmet and her keys then slipped into her old leather jacket. “I’ll be back later tonight. Hold down the fort while I’m gone, okay?”

Ray just blinked and resumed his nap.

Rushing out the door, Sunset clambered onto her second-hand motorcycle, stuck her keys into the ignition, and gave them a good twist. The engine turned over, then let out a throaty roar.

Goddess, she loved that sound.

Mounting her chrome steed, Sunset gunned the engine and rode down Canterlot City’s Mainstreet, then turned off onto the highway leading out of town.

After following the road for a while, Sunset turned onto an exit, riding until she found a packed dirt road. She followed that until she reached a grassy meadow nestled in a river valley.

Sunset cut the engine, slid off of the bike, then started stripping. First, she slipped out of her jacket, followed by her T-shirt and skirt, then her bra and panties, leaving them folded on the bike seat. She walked out a bit into the meadow, relishing the feel of the cool spring air on her bare skin.

Sometimes she just needed to let her adopted body breathe a little.

Sunset closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could feel it; liquid energy flowing through her veins, itching to rewrite the mundane laws of this world into something more exciting.

Sunset grabbed that energy with her mind and tamed it, channeling it through her body. Her human ears disappeared, replaced by two pony ears. A soft silky tail sprouted out of the small of her back, while a curlicue horn formed on her forehead. And, to complete the ensemble, a magnificent pair of wings made from golden light sprouted from her back.

Sunset gave her newly-grown appendages a good flex, straightening them, running a hand through the ethereal wings. A warm tingle spread through her body as magic flowed through her body, bending the local laws of gravity and aerodynamics to her will.

Neither she nor Twilight could explain why the wings showed up. Frankly, she didn’t care.

Before she went any further, Sunset cast a quick detection spell to check for any aircraft. While the meadow was a long way from the nearest airport, why take the chance of some pilot getting lost?

Wouldn’t that be an ignoble end to her career? Sunset Shimmer. Savior of the human world. Conqueror of the Sirens. Slain by a rogue 747.

The pulse returned. No planes. The sky was clear. Satisfied,
Sunset gave her wings a few experimental pumps, letting them get a feel for the physical laws of this world. She raised them as far as they would go, then launched herself into the air with a blast of wind and a scattering of golden feathers. Had anyone been nearby, they would have seen a streak of gold shooting into the sky.

Higher and higher she rose, wind whipping through her hair and tail, giving them the appearance of dancing flames. The meadow and surrounding landscape rapidly shrank below her. Trees became shrubs. Roads contracted into hair-thin capillaries of asphalt. Above her, the grey ceiling came rushing up to meet her. For a moment, she was surrounded by a thick, soggy blanket, then she punched through the cloud layer, emerging in a world of foam.

Below her, a fluffy sheet of clouds stretched as far as the eye could see. Here and there, the fluffy plains were broken by anvils and pillars, forming castles made of foam, towers of cotton, and arches carved from fluff. Above her was a deep blue sky, crisp and clean. As the sun dipped below the horizon, everything its rays touched turned to shimmering gold below a rich blue sky.

Sunset started putting her wings to the test, starting with simple loops and turns before moving on to more sophisticated aerobatics. With a twist of her wings, she performed immelmans, split s turns and triple loops that would have put the nimblest human aircraft to shame.

“WOOHOOO!” Sunset yelled as she pulled out of a daring falling leaf maneuver. It was like going on one of the roller coasters at Equestria Land, only a thousand times better and without the forty-minute wait times!

Once she’d had her fill of stunts, Sunset gave her wings a few more pumps and rocketed into the upper atmosphere, laughing like a child playing with a new toy. The sky turned midnight blue A lone cirrus cloud flowed around her, pricking her with tiny ice crystals.

With a twisting of her wings, Sunset dove back towards the cloudy plains, leveling off at the last second. In a fit of child-like whimsy, she plunged a hand into the cloud like a child dipping their hand into a stream. Foamy vapor flowed through her fingers like water.

For the first time since she graduated, Sunset was at peace. Up here, in the endless sky, the stress of early adulthood couldn’t touch her. Up here, the laptop had no hold on her.

Up here, she was free.