I started to walk up to my old stomping grounds to see the same statue still standing after all these years. “Can’t believe it’s still standing.” I look over to the school and see that a few improvements were made out front, but the rest of the school still remains the same. Even the big dome where the library would be located is still the same. “I wonder if they added new wings after all these years.”
“It’s about time you showed up!”
I look to see a professional lady with azure blue hair, with some streaks to gray in between.
“Hi, Vice Principal Luna,” I said. “Or is it Principal Luna now.”
She let out a hearty laugh. “Please, you can call me Luna now. You’re no longer a student here, so there’s no need for formalities, Ruby.” She walked up to me and gave me a hug. “I hope you didn’t have any problems getting here.”
“The train ride to the city felt like the good old days,” I said. “And thanks to you and your husband for letting me stay at your place for the week. I need some time looking for a new place to stay.”
Luna asked, “I’m guessing he dropped you off, right?”
“Yep. Had to run to the grocery. He was hoping you would take me back after touring the school.”
A grin came across Luna’s face. “I don’t see any problem in doing so. I’m waiting for all the after school activities to finish up, which would be a few hours. Come on in.”
As we started to walk towards the entrance, I looked back at the statue and asked, “Does the portal still work?”
“You mean to Princess Twilight’s and Sunset’s world? Yes.” Luna stopped and pointed the a stone slab in front of the statue. “Sunset Shimmer decided to place the first diary in a metal case and had it buried in front of the statue, since she used up all the pages and went to a second book. But don’t worry. You now have to message her to open the portal, through a special bracelet that we have here. So we don’t expect anyone to walk through it by accident.”
“That’s good to know,” I said. “I still can’t believe that magic started from that portal while I was here.”
“And after twenty years, it still does… in some way that we still can’t figure out,” Luna said, placing her finger on her chin.
“I guess your sister has been busy keeping it all under wraps since she was put in charge of the Canterlot school board over a decade ago.
“It’s been a lot on her… and her husband,” Luna said. “At least he can understand why it still goes on, even if he can be a bit… chaotic at times.”
We made our way inside and straight to a room to the side of the entrance. My guess was that this room was used for guest to check in.
“If you will put your hand on the scanner, please.”
I did what Luna said and placed my hand on the scanner so that it could scan my ID. Once it scanned my hand print, a screen pulled up that had my basic info. But it also had additional info that came to a surprise.
“13 Years of Perfect Attendance? Seriously?”
Luna laughed. “Well, you were the only student who graduated from this school with perfect attendance since Kindergarten. You should be proud of doing that. And we haven’t had another student to do so. Well, not just yet. But I figure I attached your digital profile with the one we have in our records. This way, you can come and go as you please.”
“You sure trust me with all this,” I said. With the fact that school safety was a top priority, everyone that didn’t have a school ID bracelet had to check in and be cleared before they can walk around the school. “And what do you mean by not just yet?”
“We have a student here who would be graduating with thirteen years of perfect attendance this year,” Luna explained. “Now we can fully enter the school.”
We went back into the hallway and started to walk around, seeing the same lockers as before.
“We kept most of the old stuff the same as always,” Luna explained. “We still have books in the library, but a good amount of digital media in order to save space. Mrs. Cheerilee still works there when we need her. But she focusing of her teaching more than working in the library.”
“I guess some of the staff are still here,” I said.
“Some are,” Luna said. “Mrs. Harshwhinny will be retiring the end of the school year. And last I recall, you two were never on the best of terms in her class.”
I let out a sigh, having to be reminded of that. “I know. I had a rough time in classes like hers. But she was right. I had to put a lot of effort in the assignments, even if I didn’t do well in her classes.”
“You should be lucky to get a C in her class after all that you went through,” Luna said. “But now, you’re having to deal with a new set of issues that you want to put behind, right?”
I nodded. “The past few years have been rough. Not the path I wanted to take at the time.”
I noticed what I believed was another staff member walking towards us. She had familiar fiery hair tied up in the back and red glasses.
“Luna, I just finished up on… Ruby? Ruby Starstone?”
Her voice sounded familiar. “Sunset? Sunset Shimmer?”
She quickly ran up and embraced me in a hug. “I can’t believe it’s you.” She pulled back to take a good look at me. “Luna said you were coming back home. But I didn’t expect to see you here today.”
“Just got here,” I said. “But what are you doing here?”
“She’s our vice principal,” Luna explained.
“Vice principal?”
“I know,” Sunset said as she adjusted her glasses. I noticed a wedding ring on her finger. “Finished college with a masters in mathematics. Came back here to teach. Then went on to being the vice principal when Celestia started working for the school board and Luna became the new principal.”
I asked her, “You never went back to your own world?”
“Equestria? There was a lot to do here that needed to be done. And Princess Twilight already has her hands… er, hoofs full with her own school. I really didn’t want to get in her way.”
“I think you two have a lot to catch up,” Luna said. “Sunset. Why don’t you show Ruby around the school. I need to check up on some things before we have to close up for the day.”
So I started walking down the hallway with Sunset and had to ask a few questions.
“So when did you start wearing glasses?”
“Too much reading and research,” she replied as she removed her glasses. “These are just reading glasses. I can still see fine, but need them to help reading stuff better.”
“I guessing you’re still writing to Princess Twilight?”
“Already been through ten books over the two decades. Now I’m on book eleven. It’s been helpful when I need to backtrack what I wrote since we started hunting magic related items in this world.”
“And there’s still magic in this world?”
“It’s becoming rare now. But the other world has started to evolve into the tech age. Magitech is what Twilight calls it. So she’s been writing to me for advice on that topic.”
“I guess it is a lot to take in.” I decided to ask another thing I noticed on her. “So… who’s the luck one?”
She started to look at her ring. “Oh this. Take a good guess. It’s someone you would remember.”
I took a moment to think, and one name came to mind that stopped me in my tracks. “No way. Him? You went back to him?”
She nodded. “Yep. I finally went back to Flash during our time in college. Got married after college, and now have a daughter who’s in middle school. So you could say that our life has been full of surprises, which we happily enjoy.”
That was when we stopped at the gym doors.
“I think basketball practice is still going on,” she said.
We opened the doors and went in. We saw two groups of kids practicing on the basketball court. The boys were on one side while the girls were on the other. When I saw the coaches for each group, they both looked familiar. The boys coach had really short blue hair, while the girls coach had short rainbow hair.
“Hey Dash! Soarin!” The coaches looked over to Sunset. “Look who’s back!”
The girls’ coach blew her whistle. “Alright everyone. Take five. And I mean everyone.” Both her and the other coach started to walk towards us.
“Well look who decided to show up.”
Soarin extended his hand for me to shake.
“Been far too long,” I said, shaking Soarin’s hand.
“Way too long,” Rainbow Dash added. “You never showed up for our ten year reunion. And you’re the one with perfect attendance here.”
“Someone has to help father out,” I explained. “He did had a heart attack a few years before our reunion. So it was a no go for me.”
“Hey, at least he sent a video and some old pictures for the reunion,” Soarin said to Rainbow Dash.
“Alright, alright. I’ll let that slide. So what brings you all the way back here?”
“Moving back home in a few months,” I said. “Dad passed away several years ago, been out of a job for over a year, and just living under my father’s estate with some extra cash that I get every month during that time. Nothing felt the same since then. So I finally got around to getting my dad’s estate and everything sold and move back to my old home. Just need to look for a place to live in and get started on the move back home. But what have you been doing here?”
“Besides being awesome Wondercolt coaches?” Rainbow Dash answered. “Having to raise two awesome kids.”
“Both of them are in middle school with Sunset’s daughter,” Soarin added.
I looked at both of them, pointing between each one. “You mean, both of you married each other? And still coach together in the same school?”
Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head. “Strange, I know. But at least Spitfire has helped out as well.”
“She’s here as well?” I said, shocked.
“Well, not here, here,” Rainbow Dash replied.
“She coaches the volleyball, softball, and soccer teams,” Soarin added. “I coach both boys’ basketball and baseball teams.”
“And I coach the girls’ basketball team, plus the soccer team with Spitfire,” Rainbow Dash explained. “Coach Iron Will is still here, but he focuses on the football and wrestling teams.” She looked back to the players on the bench. “Look, we’re trying to get ready for tomorrow night’s game against Crystal Prep. It’s senior night for the students here, and we plan to take the top seed for the playoffs.”
“In both teams,” Soarin added.
“Well, don’t let us hold you back,” I said.
“Cool. Games going to be here tomorrow, so you might as well show up while you’re here.” Rainbow Dash blew her whistle as both her and Soarin called the team back to the court.
“Wow. I guess we’re still trying to be better than CPA,” I said as we left the gym.
“Well, we have won the championships at times in various sports against CPA,” Sunset explained. “One year we’re champions. The next, it’s them. But it makes both schools a big focus in high school sports. Besides, both her and Indigo Zap has been busy proving who’s the better coach in basketball.”
“I still remember her from the Friendship Games,” I said. “So she’s the coach over there?”
“She is. And our own Twilight Sparkle is a science teacher there.”
“She’s gone back to her old school?”
Sunset nodded. “She did. But Principal Cadence is still there, since she’s married to Twilight’s brother. Twilight heard how much the school has changed since Cadence took over, from Sugarcoat, of course. And they had the perfect opening there for her. Plus she’s married to Timber Spruce, which they already have a daughter of their own.”
“Timber? But if that’s the case, then-”
“No need to worry about Camp Everfree,” Sunset said. “It’s now listed as a historic landmark, and gets some extra funding from the government. Not to mention that Gloriosa now has her own staff to help her out. So everything’s just fine down there.”
“Fine and safe from being lost like the time we attended there. But there’s still magic around, right?”
She started to fiddle with her magical pendant. “There have been some… magical incidents. It’s rare these days,” looking at me, “but all of us are keeping it under raps, just for the safety of others. And we’re working on passing those roles down to our children when the time comes.”
‘I guess everyone is married, right?”
“Well, Fluttershy married Sandalwood, but they decided to adopt a girl. Both of them are running a pet day card and shelter nearby. Heard that Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare from CPA go there to help out at times. Pinkie Pie is married to some guy name Cheese Sandwich and have a son of their own. She’s now working with the Cakes since their kids went off to college. And Rarity is, as she would like to say, happily married to the nicest man out there, Thunderlane. They already have a daughter who’s been into art as of late. She’s running her own fashion business and has a few stores in other cities. As for Applejack, well-”
“Mrs. Shimmer!”
We looked behind us to see someone from the cafeteria staff appear. She had a blue ponytail that was hauntingly familiar.
“What is it, Miss Dusk.”
“Just wanted to let you know that we have all the food supplies in stock for tomorrow night’s game.”
“Everything’s accounted for?”
“Yep. And my sister does plan to help out on the grill tomorrow.”
“Thanks for all your help. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The lady smiled and left us.
“Was that-”
“Yes, it was.”
“But where have they been since the Battle of the Bands.”
“That’s… a long story from what they told us,” Sunset explained. “Short version, trying to survive on their own. Came across them after college, looking for help. Talked to Celestia about it, and got them work and a place to live, kinda.”
I raised an eye brow. “Kinda?”
Well, they live in an RV that’s located near the school grounds, so they use the school locker rooms to clean themselves up. Sonata is in charge of the cafeteria, while Aria, the one with the pigtails, works on maintenance around the school.”
“And the one who was in charge?”
“Adagio? Rarity was able to get her a job at the local spa. Been working there for over a decade. But Sonata and Aria have been a big help here. Especially Sonata, since… she retired… and, well…”
“I heard,” I replied. “Luna told me that she passed away a couple of years ago. One hundred and one years old. She was still full of life when she retired ten years ago.”
“It’s been a lot on Applejack and Big Mac. They both now run the apple farm. Their sister, Apple Bloom, and cousin, Babs Seed, help out on the farm.” She looked at me again with an idea in mind. “You know, if you need to look for a job here, I’m sure they could use the help. You did say that you were out of a job for about a year, right?”
“Yea,” I said, with a hint of disappointment in my voice. “I couldn’t find a job that would fit me when I lost my long term job, one that I felt I wouldn’t lose for quite some time.”
“Well, how about we stop by there and see them,” Sunset said. “I can let Luna know and maybe then drop you off at her place afterwards for her.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
So Sunset called Applejack about our visit there and alerted Luna about where we were going to so that she didn’t have to worry about where I was at. Sunset filled me in on some of the changes in the school that was made over the years, as well as the changes at Crystal Prep that she heard from Twilight. When we finally arrived, I could still see the same old farm house still holding up. There were some technical updates, which I was told was Twilight and Sugarcoat’s doing. But It looked like Applejack and Big Mac were doing the hard work like always.
Applejack was the first person to greet us. “Well look who decided to show up. It’s been a long time, Ruby.”
“Same thing, AJ.”
Applejack took off her gloves and gave me a big hug. Too big that I almost lost my breath.
“Sorry about that. Don’t know my own strength.”
“With or without your magic?” I asked, causing all of us to laugh. “So I see you now own the farm.”
“With my brother, of course. He handles all the manual labor, while I handle all the orders.”
“And I do help out with the finances over the weekends if needed,” Sunset added.
“Not to mention that Twilight does come over if any of the machines need repairing,” Applejack also added. “So what brings you back over here?”
“Coming back home,” I said. “Nothing been the same since my father decided to move east.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Care to explain? I mean, I remember your father wanted to move away so that he could enjoy some retirement and such, but I figure life would be easy for you. Sure he’s no Mr. Rich, but… well you understand.”
“I know. He had everything planned out for not just himself, but for me as well. Helped me with getting into college. Was able to get a summer job with a private company, which later became full time. Did very well there. But dad had a heart attack, which let me to miss out on our ten year reunion. Was so busy helping out with dad and my job that it took a toll on my personal life. He passed away five years ago due to his failing health, but was able to leave me with an amount of money that his financial adviser was able to set up for me after his passing, not to mention a roof over my head.”
“And what about your job?” Applejack asked.
“Lost it when the company decided to move the department that I worked in over to the west coast over a year ago. I didn’t feel like moving at the time, with all that was left to me from my father. But I couldn’t find another job that would fit me. Either I didn’t have the motor skills or commutation skills to qualify for the jobs that were open.”
“I’m guessing your wife and kids are fine with this?” Applejack said.
“AJ, he’s still single,” Sunset replied.
Applejack’s eyes went wide open. “Say what!?”
“He told me about it on our way over here.”
“Now I can hardly believe it,” Applejack replied before looking at me. “You of all people wouldn’t have a hard time finding a girl that’s right for you. You’re the nicest person anyone could get along with.”
“Which is why nice guys finish last,” I said.
“Now what make ya say that?”
“I struggle doing so in college when girls there said that I deserve someone better. At my job, we don’t see many new faces. Most of my former co-workers are married. And we rarely get temps to help, until changes were made in the company for security reasons. And with every merger made for the company, they decided to move their mail department where I was working in, to the west coast mega-center. And with everything that was left to me, I didn’t feel like moving at the time.”
“Until now, I see.” Applejack crossed her arms. “You were a hard worker, wanted to get things done in school.”
“And it turn me in to a lone wolf,” I replied. “I was able to to get the best results by myself, since most people couldn’t match my level of skill. Not to mention what I try to explain to anyone, to which most can’t quite understand what I’m saying to them. The past year has become a struggle for me. Everyone I knew has moved on, and I have a hard time just doing… well anything anymore. Just felt like returning to my old stomping grounds and maybe get my life back in order. Hearing that some of my old high school friends were still in the area made me want to come back.”
“Well, we had to stay close, for magic reasons,” Applejack said.
“But a lot has happened over the years,” Sunset said. “We’re just glad to have each other.”
“And if you need a job to get you by, I could use some extra help here,” Applejack said. “Doesn’t pay much, but it could keep you busy until you can find a more fitting job around. Just need to find a place to stay.”
“I know a place.” I look to see Applejack’s big brother, Big Mac, join us. “Just saw a condo go up on sale when I was doing a delivery to Crystal Prep. It was your old place, Sunset.”
“You mean my first home is up for sale again?” Sunset asked.
“Eeyep.”
“I’ve seen the place go up for sale a few times when I drive by since I graduated from college. I’m glad that the place is still standing.” Sunset looked at me. “Maybe we can run by there and get the contact info and call them up tomorrow… together. I can tell them that I lived at that home back then and let them know that an old friend of mine is looking for a place to stay here. Maybe work on a deal for the price.”
“I have enough money. And my older cousin, who’s in charge of my dad’s will, plans to get all of my father’s estate sold and the funds to me and any of my family members that were on my dad’s will. The rest of my family members live far away from the home, and my cousin was able to make the trip over to discuss all the details that I want to do. I just need to let him know if I have a place to live and movers to get the stuff over, which I still working on.”
“I might be able to help that,” Applejack said. “We have family members far and wide. Heck, we learned that Pinkie Pie and her family is loosely related to us. You just give me an address and I’ll get in touch with someone in the area to help you with your move.”
“And maybe some of us can come down to help you with your move,” Sunset added. “We can get all the stuff sorted out for you so you don’t have to panic.”
“That would be nice,” I said.
Applejack placed her arm around my shoulder. “Hey, that’s what friends are for.”
I could see his little sister, Apple Bloom, run up to us. “Big sis! We just finished with our work. I’m going to… hey, isn’t that the guy who you had-”
Applejack was quick to cover her mouth. “Alright, little sis. Why don’t you go and have your… video chat with your friends. We just need to get some things taken care of for Ruby’s move back home.”
“Sure thing, sis.” And Apple Bloom ran off back to the house.
“She’s sure grown up,” I said.
“And yet can be a kid at times,” Applejack added. “But it keeps her spirit strong since Granny Smith passed away. And that’s all I ask for from her.”
“Well, we might as well head out of here,” Sunset said as she could see the sun setting in the back of the farm. “I’m sure all the students have left the school.”
“Which means Luna is on her way home,” Applejack said. “You go on ahead. And maybe we can chat some more during the big game tomorrow night against Crystal Prep. We all like to see that match-up every time. And this is one worth watching.”
So I said my goodbyes for the night and got back into Sunset car, making our way back to Luna’s home.
“Looks like we got you set up for your move here,” Sunset said. “Home, job. All that’s left, is a girlfriend.”
“At my age, I doubt I’ll find one.”
“Didn’t you notice?” I looked at her, curious. “Applejack’s is also single. And I think she might have had her eyes on you back then. Or didn’t you catch on to Apple Bloom’s hint back then.”
Now I was curious. “What about the rest of her family?”
“Big Mac’s already married to a lady name Sugar Belle. And Apple Bloom has been dating with one of her classmates. They just never got around to taking the next step.”
“Which leaves Applejack in the dating pool.” I let out a huge sigh. “And this is why I fail on the dating scene over the years. I lack experience in… communicating with others. It’s why I can’t find a job, get a girlfriend… just about everything in life. Somehow, having thirteen years of perfect attendance ain’t worth squat to what goes on in life.”
“Then I guess it’s time to start over again.” I looked at Sunset. “I know I had to after the Fall Formal and the Battle of the Bands. And there are some that had to do the same thing. Maybe it’s time for you to do the same. And I think the twenty year reunion would make a great start. Rarity and Pinkie Pie are in charge of that event, just like our ten year reunion. At least this time, you won’t have to miss out on it like last time. We just get you set up back here, and maybe get you back on track like you want it to be.”
“And Applejack?” I asked.
“Let’s just take it one step at a time. You have a lot of work to do, and I’ll be happy to help you with it. And if all goes as plan, then maybe you can find a way to make up for all those past years that you went through that you wish you had. For now, enjoy what you have now and what you can enjoy while you’re here. We do have a game tomorrow night. And I’m sure the others would be great to see you again.”
“That… would be nice for once.”
Author's Note
Just something that I thought up after having to reflect on life the past few months.
