The dismissal bell rung as the Mane 7 rushed out of their classrooms. They arrived at their lockers and gathered in a circle formation. “Finally it's the end of school!" Rainbow Dash punched a fist into the air in excitement. Her friends nodded agreement.

“After band practice I have to go to the animal shelter,” Fluttershy whispered softly, hiding her excitement. “Yay.”

“Hey, maybe-” As Rainbow said a reply, a booming voice from the microphone cut her off. “Good afternoon Canterlot Wondercolts! It’s the end of another school day. I know that the end of the year is coming, and you’re all excited for the holidays, but that doesn’t mean you can talk in class. That will end up with you having your grades lowered, so don’t you all relax just yet. Well anyway, remember to study your finals next week!” The radio box cracked once before becoming silent.

"I just cannot wait for band practice!" Pinkie Pie squealed, jumping around her friends in circles, spraying some rainbow confetti.

Sunset Shimmer brushed some confetti away from her face. "I suppose." she mused to herself. But it was enough for her friends to hear. "What's wrong, darling?" Rarity placed a hand on Sunset's shoulder. Sunset shrugged it off. “It’s nothing..."

"Really, darling. Every one of us can see something's wrong," Rarity sighed.

"Come on, let the cat out of the bag," Twilight urged. The girls looked at the amber girl with pleading eyes.

Sunset put her hands up in defense. "Okay, okay. I suppose there's no point hiding it now. The end of high school is coming, and all of us is starting to apply for college, including some of you. But you would have noticed that I haven't applied for anything. I haven't made up my mind about something…” Sunset trailed off, suddenly finding the floor very interesting.

Twilight's eyes widened in realisation.

"Yes, I think you know what I'm saying, Twi. I don't know if I should stay here, in the human world or go back to Equestria."

“You should have told us, Sunset. We could have helped you!" Applejack gasped.

Sunset shook her head. “If I go back, I wouldn't be able to see you all for a period of time. If I stay here, I would be able to stay with you all, but I wouldn’t be able to use magic, or see my parents, Princess Celestia, and maybe even Princess Twilight as well. I know that I was born in Equestria, and I’m a unicorn pony, but if my heart decides to stay here, I will. You all are very important to me, even if you don’t know it, and I can’t bear the thought of leaving you all, so I would like you to help me.” Sunset looked at her friends as some of their eyes teared up.

After looking around at her emotional friends, Fluttershy stepped forward with a stray tear rolling down her face. “I…I never knew you thought of us like that.” Sunset nodded and walked towards the school doors.

The rest of Mane 7 exchanged nervous glances before following along.

***

Sunset pushed open the door to her apartment. She sighed. I’ve been living here for so long, but it still looks the same. She stripped her shoes off and went to the narrow kitchen to get a drink of water.

The apartment wasn’t very big, but it was enough for an average person to live in. It had a kitchen near the door, a living room with a dining table and chairs, a toilet and lastly a bedroom. Sunset ran to her bedroom. She launched herself onto the bouncy mattress and laid down with her facing the ceiling. What should I do? She thought. I want to see Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight again, but I don’t want to leave my friends. We’ve gone through so much together, and we’re literally best friends. Hmm… I wonder what they’re going to do in the holidays…maybe they’re going to go to the theme park. Hey! Maybe we could hang out there together, all seven of us. Ooh, maybe we could ride the Ferris wheel, or take photos in the photo booth…..

Her mind wandered far and wide, and before Sunset knew it, half an hour had passed, and it was nearly time for the Rainboom’s band practice. Her yellow phone vibrated, and jolted Sunset out of dream-world. “W-what?!” She rubbed her eyes and reached her hand to grab her phone. With one eye opened, she looked at the screen.

“Oh no, I’m almost late!” Sunset pushed herself off her bed and grabbed her guitar case. She rushed to the front door, put her shoes on desperately, and sprinted out of the door towards Canterlot High.

***

Meanwhile, the Rainbooms had already set their instruments up, and were ready to play. “Ugh, where is Sunset? I thought she would be here already,” Rainbow complained, tuning her guitar.

“We’ll have to start without her,” Applejack replied, glancing up at a clock hanging on top of the door. Precious time was ticking away as they waited.

“Be patient, and wait a bit longer. Maybe she’s still having a headache about returning to Equestria.” Rarity said, playing some scales on her white key tar.

Suddenly, Sunset burst through the doors, panting with exhaustion. Everyone jumped. “Finally….” Sunset panted, “Can we begin….now?” Pinkie Pie threw some confetti into the air. “Yay, Sunny’s here! Now we can start!” She snatched her drumsticks and jumped onto her seat. “Let’s begin! One, two, three, HEY!” Pinkie yelled.

“Applejack!”

Applejack had ran over in time and had taken Pinkie Pie’s drumsticks away just as she was about to play. “Nope,” Applejack waved the drumsticks, “Wait ‘till Sunset explains why she was late. She’s never late, rightttt?” She glared at Sunset, still panting a bit.

“You owe us an explanation for wasting our time.” Rainbow lashed out. Sunset flinched back. “Don’t be so rough,” Sunset said, holding her hands up in defence, “I was daydreaming about going back to Equestria. You’re lucky you don’t have to deal with this.” She glared at Rainbow. The latter just shrugged. “Let’s start. We have 45 minutes left. We’ll play….. Awesome as I Wanna Be.” Rainbow pondered.

“NO!”

“Rainbow, We can’t play Awesome as I Wanna Be every single time, Rainbow,” Annoyed, Twilight expressed, putting her hands on her hips.

“Ugh, fine! We’ll do, hmmmm…..Better Than Ever?” Rainbow looked at her friends. They didn’t object. Rainbow sighed with relief.

The Rainbooms walked towards their positions. Rarity gestured at Pinkie to count.

“One, two, three, four!”

There was a time we were apart
But that's behind us now
See how we've made a brand new start
And the future's lookin' up,
Ah-oh, ah-oh
And when you walk these halls
You feel it everywhere

Yeah, we're the Wondercolts forever,
Ah-oh, yeah! ......

The Rainbooms played one song after another, until their rehearsal time was over. Even if they had a good time, there was still a problem unsolved.....

Author's Note

This is my first story, and I'm so excited! Remember to stick around for the next chapter.

Credits to Daniel Ingram for Better Than Ever