Equestria Girls: The College Years

It was a busy day in Canterlot.  Students everywhere were getting ready for the start of a new school year.  But this wasn’t Canterlot High, or even Crystal Prep.  It was Equestria University, the biggest and best college in Canterlot and beyond.  And it’s here where our famous heroes plan to start their college years with their own goals and experiences in front of them.

It was in front of the Clover dorm rooms that a dark blue, 2-door sedan pulled up to the building.  It looked like it was over 20 years old, so it could have belonged to a staff member or campus worker.  But it was a fiery haired girl with a black leather jacket that came out of the car.  Sunset Shimmer looked at the building and took a deep breath before getting her suitcase and walked into the building.  Inside the lobby was one the dorms’ resident hall directors behind the half opened door to the building’s office, issuing dorm room keys to the residents that were attending this building.  Another door to the right was labeled “Kitchen & Laundry Room”.

Sunset walked up to the lady and said, “Hello, I’m Sunset Shimmer checking in.”

The lady replied, “Ah, Sunset Shimmer.  If you can look over and sign this form, I’ll get your keys for your room.”

Sunset looked over the form, explaining the dorm rules, and signing the form.  The lady came back to the half opened door and filled out the room number that she was staying in.  She handed Sunset her room key and said, “You room is 203.  Just take the door on the left and up the stairs.  You’ll see your room in front of you at the end of the stairs.  The next door at the bottom of the stairs leads to the boys’ dorm rooms.  The room next to us has a microwave and fridge if you didn’t bring your own, plus an oven for cooking and 3 washers and dryers for you to use whenever you need it.  Let me or one of our RA’s on duty help you if you have any questions.”

“Thanks.  Has my roommate arrived as well?” Sunset asked the lady.

“Let me double check.”  She looked for the sheet that had the same room number as Sunset’s.  “Yes she did, Twilight Sparkle.”

Sunset was surprised that she would be sharing the room with the former Crystal Prep student that she had to save after what happened at the Friendship Games.  She also had to help her understand what the true meaning of friendship means after she transferred to Canterlot High.

Sunset took her room key and suitcase and went through the door and up the stairs.  When she walked through the next door at the top of the stairs, she saw her room in front of her, Room 203.  She inserted the key into the keyhole, turned the key and doorknob, and opened the door.  She saw the side closest to the door already with boxes and suitcases in the area, but no sign of Twilight anywhere.

“I guess she’s still getting more of her stuff inside,” said Sunset.  She noticed the side next to the window was bare, with the expectation of the bed and drawers, and a two-sided desk shelf that divided both sides.  Both sides had an open hanger bar next to a sink and mirror.  There was a door between the entrance and the sink on Twilight’s side, which lead to the shared bathroom.  She wondered whom they would be sharing the bathroom with.  She went to the far side where the window was and placed her suitcase on the bed, knowing that she had a few more things to bring in.  She opened the window to get some fresh air and enjoy the view.  The entrance door started to unlock and open, which got Sunset’s attention.

“Excuse me, but can you help us here?” called Twilight.

“Let me get the door for you,” Sunset replied and went to hold the door open.

Twilight was surprised when she recognized the voice.  “Sunset, you’re rooming with me?”

“I know.  I was surprised that you would be my roommate as well,” Sunset told Twilight.

“Well, it’s nice that my little sis will have a roommate that she can trust again.”  The voice came from a guy with blue hair, who was bringing in a small microwave and fridge that were attached together.

Twilight responded.  “Oh, I don’t think you ever met my B.B.B.F.F.”

“B.B.B.F.F?” questioned Sunset.

“Big Brother Best Friend Forever,” Twilight replied.  “This is Shining Armor.  He also graduated from Crystal Prep and Equestria University with a major in Athletics.  And he’s finally married to Dean Cadence.”

“Well, she does treat you as a sister, Twily,” said Shining Armor.

“I guess congratulations are in order,” said Sunset.  “I hope Principal Cinch didn’t have a problem with it, since how she acted at the Friendship Games.”

“Well, Principal Cinch has been rethinking how Crystal Prep should handle its goals for the students, after having a ‘talk’ with Principal Celestia and Professor Discord,” said Shining Armor.

Twilight said, “Professor Discord is the head president here at EU, and a good friend of Principal Celestia.”

“Well that’s a surprise,” Sunset responded.  “The Discord from my world was known as the controller of chaos.  And it was Princess Celestia who requested Princess Twilight, before she was a princess, for him to be reformed.”

“That’s the mirror version of me, without the glasses,” Twilight explained to her brother.

“I’ve heard a bit about what happened from both Twilight and Cadence about Twilight’s magic experience,” he told Sunset.  “That’s why I’m glad that’s she’s rooming with you.”

Sunset replied, “I’ll do my best to keep her out of trouble.”

Shining Armor placed the fridge in the middle of the room and plugged it in so it can get cold.  Twilight placed the remaining boxes on the bed on her side of the room.

“Do you need any help getting your stuff up here?” Shining Armor asked Sunset.

“It’s not a lot, but I could use some help with the storage trunk I have.”

Sunset, Twilight, and Shining Armor went down to Sunset’s car to get her remaining things.

“It’s nice that VP Luna was able to help you with getting your driver’s license over the summer,” said Twilight.

“I’m just glad that she gave me her old car that she was having a hard time selling it years ago.  At least Indigo Zap was able to give it a tune-up,” said Sunset.

“She’s good at auto mechanics,” replied Twilight.  “I hope she’s here, as well as our friends from Crystal Prep.”

They were able to get a couple more suitcases and hanging clothes, plus the storage trunk and small TV up to the room.  Once they were done, Twilight hugged her brother goodbye before he left.  The girls went to their items and started to unpack.  Sunset hooked up the TV and turned it on so it can start scanning for channels.  Both of them placed their clothes on the hanger rod and drawers, got all of their daily items in place, and school supplies and laptops around their desks.  Sunset noticed that Twilight had some gadgets and tools that she usually uses to make various kinds of equipment, including the badly damaged magic scanning device that she used during the Friendship Games.

Sunset asked Twilight, “You don’t plan to rebuild that and start stealing magic again, are you?”

“Oh, that thing.  I was hoping to salvage its parts and rebuilt the old scanner that I used to build this.  You might have seen me use it on the statue when I was trying to keep my identity a secret.  You scared me off when you called to me.  I just have this feeling that there could be strange things out there, and it’s best to be prepared.”

Sunset started to rub her chin and said, “You might be right.  I did bring my book in case I needed to send a message to Princess Twilight for advice.  But we haven’t had anything like that happen since the Friendship Games.”

“Well, it helps to be prepared for anything.  Besides, I’ve been meaning to ask you this, but why did to decide to attend college instead of returning to your own world?”

“I guess I just wanted to experience what else this world has to offer,” Sunset replied.

Twilight asked, “But what about money?  It cost a lot to attend college, not like high school.  And your world uses ‘bits’ for money.”

“No problem there.  VP Luna asked if my world had gemstones as well, and Princess Twilight was able to provide me with enough to sell for money.  Besides the car and TV, Luna was able to set me up with my own bank account and debit card for me to use.  She helps oversee the account with me until I get used to it.  And I can message Princess Twilight for more gemstones to be sent over as money.  You might think I’m set for life, but I like to think that I’m making sure I’m on the safe end of life.  I am majoring in psychology, which could be helpful for both worlds.”

“Knowing you, that’s a good major to focus on.  I decided on science technology as my major.”  Twilight went to grab a big poster and ask, “Think you can help me get this on the wall?”

Sunset replied, “Sure,” and stood on the bed with Twilight to roll out the poster, only to realized that it was upside down.

“Whoops.  Better switch ends.”  Twilight went to switch sides and got the poster right side up.  “That’s better.”  She went to place sticky tabs at the corners on her end, then on Sunset’s end.

When it was in place, Sunset noticed what was displayed.  “The periodic table of elements.  And it’s the newly updated version.”

“I was surprised that four new elements were discovered over the winter,” said Twilight.  “Too bad there’s no element of magic.”

“Or friendship,” Sunset added, causing both of them to laugh.

Just then, they heard a knock on the bathroom door.

Sunset said, “I guess our neighbors want to meet us.”  She went to open the bathroom door, only to be greeted by a familiar face.

“Well what do you know?  I thought those voices sound familiar.”  It was none other than Applejack.  She yelled back into her room, “Guess who we have as neighbors?”

“I hope they’re not as rowdy as you are at times.”  A girl with glasses and pigtails came into view, only to have her eyes wide open.  “TWILIGHT!!!”  It was Sugarcoat who was running towards Twilight, giving her a hug.  She looked at her roommate and was surprised.  “Sunset, you’re rooming with her?”

Sunset replied, “That’s right.  I’m surprised that you and AJ are sharing the same room.”

Applejack said, “We were surprised as well, but we don’t have much of a problem with that.”

Sugarcoat said, “When I saw that she was my roommate, she was able to help get my stuff up here.  Never really knew that she was that strong, and well organized too.”

“Always willing to help out whenever I can,” Applejack replied.

Twilight asked, “Is there anyone else that we know that are here?”

“Well I did help Rarity in getting here stuff into her room,” Applejack answered.  “She’s in Room 212.  No word on her roommate.”

Sunset said, “I’m sure the others will show up soon.”

The girls soon then heard some loud music coming outside.  They stick their heads out of the door to see where it was coming from.

“Sounds like the noise is coming from the other end of the hallway,” Sugarcoat recommended.  “Could be Lemon Zest.”

“Or Rainbow Dash,” said Applejack.  “She likes to pay her music loud at times.”

“So does Indigo Zap,” said Sugarcoat.  “I’ve heard her play it while she works on cars.”

Twilight said, “What about Pinkie Pie?  She likes loud music at parties.”

“Maybe it’s all four of them.  They could be rooming together like we are,” Sunset suggested.

“Well we won’t know if we’re over here,” said Applejack.

All four girls made there way to the end of the hallway.  The noise was coming from Room 228, the last room on the side of the hall.  Sunset was ready to knock on the door, but stopped and looked at Applejack.  She knew what Sunset was trying to say and went up to the door and banged the door five times.  When the door opened, the music was extremely loud, and a girl with headphones around her neck stuck her head out the door.

“YEA, WHAT DO YOU WANT?”  It was Lemon Zest, who just noticed who she was looking at.  “TWILIGHT, SUGARCOAT.  HOLD ON FOR A MOMENT.”  She went back in and yelled, “HEY PINKIE, GUESS WHO’S AT THE DOOR?”

As the music volume went down, Pinkie Pie looked out at the doorway.  “Twilight, Sunset, Applejack, Sugarcoat.  You here as well?”

Applejack answered, “Yep, Rooms 201 and 203.”

“Awesome, dude.”  Lemon came back up to the door to see the others again.

“Hey, who turned down the music?”

Applejack recognized the voice.  “Hey Dash, you know there’s others in this building.”

The door to 226 opened and two girls, one with rainbow hair and the other with goggles, came out.

“AWESOME!!!”  It was Rainbow Dash and Indigo Zap who responded.

Sugarcoat looked at Sunset and said, “You were right.”

Sunset asked, “So all four of you are living next to each other?”

“That’s right,” replied Pinkie.

Dash asked, “So has anyone heard from Rarity or Fluttershy?”

“Or even Sunny Flare or Sour Sweet?” Indigo added.

It was then that another door opened from the middle of the hallway.  “Who is making such an awful racket out here?”  The girls saw that it was Rarity who spoke.  Rarity saw the group at the end of the hallway and went back inside yelling, “Girls, guess who’s here?”

Rarity came back out of the room with Sunny Flare.  The door next to them opened, and Sour Sweet and Fluttershy came out of that room.  When all four of them saw the rest of the group, they came running down the hallway to meet them.

“We should have known who was playing that loud music,” Sunny said as she was staring at Lemon.

Lemon responded, “Dude, I like my music loud, OK?”

“Oh yes, it’s cool music to listen to,” replied Sour, “If you want to make everyone go deaf.”

“At least there are no animals around campus,” said Fluttershy, “otherwise, it would scare all of them away.”

“I guess we can all say that the gang’s all here,” said Indigo.

“Isn’t that nice,” said Sour, “as long as there aren’t any magical portal opening up out of nowhere.”

Sunny slapped the back of Sour’s head.  “Do we need to be reminded?”

“Well, it’s better that being turned into mind controlling servants,” said Pinkie.

Applejack slapped the back of Pinkie’s head.  “Another thing that we don’t need to be reminded of.”

Sunset looked at Twilight.  Then she looked at everyone else and said, “I think we’ve gotten over that.  As long as we don’t get put under someone’s musical spell.”

“HEY, DID YOU REALLY HAVE TO MAKE THAT INSULT?”

Sunset recognized the voice and looked at the other end of the hallway.  “Aria Blaze!”

Everyone else looked towards her as she was walking towards the group.  While she wasn’t wearing her usual clothing, the purple pigtails and scratchy voice were a dead give-a-way.

“If you think you plan to get back at us after we destroyed your powers, then forget it.  We now have twice the friends that can take you on,” said Dash.

“Sorry Dash, but I’m here for one thing, and that’s with Sunset here.”  Aria was in front of Sunset, both of them staring at each other.  It was then that Aria made her move…

…And hugged Sunset saying, “Forgive me and my sisters for what we done in the past.”

Sunset was stunned at what was going on with Aria.  “Um, ok, I guess.”

Aria let go of Sunset and decided to explain why she did that.  “After you destroyed our magical pendants and ran away, we started to feel lost and confused.  I started to argue with Adagio about what happened when it got to a breaking point.  That’s when Sonata broke down after seeing what we’ve become.  We realized that we were nothing but monsters and knew that we needed to change, because if felt like we were given another chance in this world after being blasted by your rainbow magic.”

Applejack asked, “If that’s the case, then why are you doing here?”

Aria answered, “I work here on campus, checking up on the resident halls and making sure that everyone is settled here.  Already saw your names on the list.”

Sunset corrected, “I think she means what brought you here.”

“Oh, that.  Without our powers, we were left homeless.  We spent weeks trying to survive, staying in shelters if there was room, begging for pocket change.  That’s when Professor Discord saw us and took us in.  We were surprised that he was willing to let us live in his place for the night.  Until the next day, he had some visitors.  Principal Celestia and VP Luna.  We didn’t realize that they knew each other, and somehow, those two told him about us before he saw us.  We thought that we were going to be punished for what we did at the school, but they showed mercy for us and recommended that we work on the campus grounds with Professor Discord as a way to repay for the damage that we did.  We started working a year ago, and so far, I think we’ve understand what this world truly has for everyone, including me and my sisters.”

Dash asked, “If that’s the case, where are your sisters now?”

Aria answered, “Adagio is working at the campus library, and Sonata works at the cafeteria, and at times the food court, if they need the help.  I also work at the coffee lounge at night.  It’s nice to listen to students who want to talk about their problems or perform there to get noticed.  Working here has helped all three of us in changing our lives.”

Sunset asked, “And your magic hasn’t returned, has it?”

“Nope,” Aria responded.  “And I guess I should be glad that it hasn’t returned.  Although Sonata has a habit of singing in the shower when she feels like it.”  She looked at the new girls and said, “I’m guessing these girls are the Shadowbolts, right?”  Then she looked at Twilight.  “And this girl here is this world’s Twilight Sparkle, correct?”

Sunset responded, “That’s correct.”

“Figures.  We heard about the Friendship Games incident that happened long ago from Principal Celestia when she made another visit to Professor Discord’s place.  Adagio was shocked to find out that some principal forced a Crystal Prep girl to unleash the magic that she collected, only to turn into a demon.”

“That’s right.  And someone was able to take a picture of it, see?”  Pinkie pulled out her cell phone and showed the picture of Midnight Sparkle to her.

Aria said, “Whatever you do, DON’T show that to Adagio.  She will have a jealous fit for a week if she sees that.”

“Then you don’t want to see my Daydream Shimmer form that I became at that time,” Sunset told Aria.  “She’ll be that way for two weeks.”

And Pinkie displayed the other picture that Sunset was talking about.

Aria said, “Damn.  Make it a month.  It makes her looks feel like it’s old fashion.”

“So, just to make sure, you know this girl and her sisters?” asked Indigo.

“Yep.  It’s a long story,” replied Sunset.

“Well, you can tell it to them at Johnny’s.  It’s a nice local burger joint just outside campus.  It may not be like Sugarcube Corner, but they do make some good milkshakes,” Aria recommended.  “I’ll make sure Adagio knows that you girls are here.  She would really want to get everything off her chest for once.”

“Well, tell her to come look for us when she gets the chance,” said Sunset.

“Sure thing,” replied Aria.  “Now, I’m guessing that everyone’s rooms are ok?”

Almost everyone nodded, saying that the girls’ own rooms were ok.  Almost everyone.

“Um, we have a problem in our room,” said Fluttershy.  “The A/C unit isn’t working right.  It’s too cold in there.”

Aria said, “The guys just fixed it a week ago.  Just turn the dial to a warmer setting.”

“Oh we did turn the dial up,” replied Sour, “because it’s supposed to be feeling like a sauna in there when we did that, but its not.”

Aria looked at where the girl’s room was located on the list.  “Room 210?  Damn it.  I thought they fixed it last week.  Now I need to get them back in here and fix it again.”  She grabbed her radio from her waist.  “Maintenance building, can we get someone back in Clover building, Room 210, AND FIX THE DAMN A/C UNIT RIGHT THIS TIME!!!”

“That’s our Aria.”