The sextet of friends came out the other side with one piling over the other.
"Get your ass out of my face Rachel." Katie grunted.
"Just give me a moment to stand up." Rachel replied.
"Guys, next time we jump from one world to the next," Camden said as he dragged himself out of the pile and brushed off his clothes. "Lets do it one at a time."
They all nodded in agreement as they scrambled outward.
"Well whadaya know." chuckled Tony "We're back at Canterlot High."
Indeed they were. Cory and his friends had found themselves on the lawn of the school he had always wished to attend. A perfect opportunity for him to go in and pass a test he couldn't before. The sky was a calm blue with a few clouds complimenting it's magnificence. Surrounding them were quaint houses and a few small shops, clearly a much nicer and well put together part of town. As he crawled further away from the landing spot, a shadow with a familiar voice bared over him.
"Cory?" It asked.
"Mom?" Cory asked back as he looked up.
It was Twilight Sparkle in the human flesh, with Spike the dog looking over from the inside of her backpack.
"How did you find me?" She asked.
"Listen mom." Cory said as he got back on his feet. "I don't have much time to explain. Guys, we better get a move on."
His friends nodded back as they caught up with him and approached the school entrance, but not before making sure where they landed. Apparently a large stone block with a statue of a horse adorning it served as the the portal back to Equestria. Twilight and Spike just shrugged as they tagged along and caught up with them.
"So, do you think they'll let me in?" Cory asked.
"Relax." Katie replied "We'll just tell em you're a lost friend of ours and they'll escort you to the library like that."
Twilight and the gang swung open the doors and scrambled inside. It was truly the first time Cory saw the interior of Canterlot High. It was a much more welcoming place compared to his old school. The color hues, from the banners to the floor tiles, all the way down to the green colored lockers spoke a sense of growth and joy for all the teenage attendees that went there. On the walls were a few pictures of students and faculty alike, mingling and coercing with one another as if they were closest of friends. A far cry from Stiffson academy. But what reassured Cory the most was what appeared on flyers tapped to the bulletin boards. They all seemed to promote music theatre and arts programs. Back at his old school, one could get expelled for committing such as menial as that act. But now he was here, in a school where anyone of any taste would be accepted.
Suddenly, the bell rang, and like a swarm of insects, the hallways suddenly became crowded with students. Though as different in personality and character as they were, there was not a clique to be found. All had made up a melting pot of different teenagers, from different backgrounds, and different histories, and no one seemed to mind. It truly was the school Cory had hoped to be part of. At that moment, Twilight grabbed Cory by the shirt and pulled him by the lockers, to which friends followed in their direction.
"Easy there son." She said. "You don't want to get lost in the crowd."
"Thanks mom." Cory replied as he straightened his shirt.
"Hey! Aren't you gonna get stuck here in this world or something?" Jolene asked.
"Don't worry." Spike replied "We have some magical backup to get us home."
"So you can still talk." Camden said. "That's certainly gonna be in the news."
"Oh guys." Twilight chuckled "Everybody in this school knows Spike can talk. I'm pretty sure it's not gonna be a big deal."
The eight of them looked in the hallways and saw the crowd of students had died down a bit.
"Anyway." Twilight continued as they started to walk down the locker bay "I don't I think I told you this Cory, but there was another time I was here after the whole crown incident. See, I was summoned here by a magic journal Sunset Shimmer had to fend off a few sirens that threatened to take over this world. There was another journal in my world which she communicated through that is safely attached to the portal. Now thanks to these two books we share, I can go back and forth anytime I want."
Spike dug into her backpack and took out a picture of her with what looked like her five human friends performing in a band.
"So, what are you doing here?" Cory asked.
"We're here to check on a certain friend's progress." She replied "What are you doing here?"
Cory took a deep sigh and looked at his mother with a confident face.
"One more thing I have to do." He replied. "And then I'll be free of the past. I'll meet you at the school entrance in three days. Don't wait up."
And with those words, he followed his friends to the administrators office.
"Wait, three days?" Katie asked "Aren't you gonna miss your exhibition?"
"The time span fluctuates between our world and theirs." Cory explained "Now let's go." And off they went.
Meanwhile, Twilight and Spike looked at each other and shrugged once more as they were left with the task at hand. Spike gave her a little checklist tied to a clipboard and a pencil to write with while they looked for Sunset Shimmer. Suddenly, her presence caught the eye of one of the students.
"Hey everybody!!" The student shouted "Twilight's back."
Everyone cheered as they gathered around her and muttered a word or two.
"It's great to have ya back Twilight." A random student said.
"How ya been?" asked another.
"Tell us what it's like in the other world." pleaded another
"Guys! guys!" Twilight Chuckled. "I'm just here to check on a certain somebody Ok?"
"TWILIGHT!!" shouted some familiar voices.
It was at that moment she turned around and saw her four of her five human counterpart friends staring back at her.
"HI GIRLS!!" Twilight shouted as they all ran up and hugged each other.
"I thought we'd never see you again." Said Human Rainbow Dash.
"Well that's nothin a little magic couldn't fix." Said Spike as he hopped out of Twilight's backpack.
"Oh come here you adorable little scamp." Said human Rarity as he picked him up and scratched him by the ears. "I missed you."
"Oh yeah." Spike replied lustfully.
"So what bring ya back?" asked human Applejack.
"I need to see how a certain student is doing." Twilight replied.
"Oh, you mean Sunset Shimmer?" asked human Fluttershy. "She's in the extra curricular room with some pets at the local shelter."
The four of them escorted Twilight down the hallway and to the right where they reached a brightly colored door with flowers on it. A sign read "Shhhh, animals sleeping." The interior was no different to it's exterior as the five of them opened the door. The hues of the walls were of pink, lavender and fainted yellow with a touch of grass green on the floor. On the sides were some pens and cages with baby cats, dogs, pigs, gerbils and other assorted pets. Some were playing, Some were napping, some were eating and others were just staring at the ceiling with doe eyes.
"Well I'll be." Twilight said with a Smirk.
Sunset Shimmer was found in a rocking chair near the back wall, bottle feeding a young rabbit wrapped in a blanket with the most tender of care. She wore a green shirt that read "Volunteer" in big white letters and had a motherly face of peace and sincerity as she stared at the little critter.
"Yep!" AJ said with pride. "She was pretty feisty first time she took up the job."
"But now she's very sweet and has even made a few friends with the animals." Fluttershy added.
Twilight slowly approached Sunset Shimmer who got up at patted the rabbit on the back, allowing it to burp.
"Hey Sunset." Twilight said solemnly.
"Hey Twilight." Sunset replied as she put the rabbit in it's pen. "Look I don't want to make any trouble..."
Twilight lifted her hand up to quiet her.
"No need to." Twilight replied "Celestia just sent me to check on you. You know. She's always worried about her students.
Sunset Shimmer nodded back.
"'Ppreciate it." She said solemnly.
And so Twilight took out her pencil and checklist while her 4 human friends left the two ponies to their annual check up.