"I'm awesome! Take caution! Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be!"
Rainbow Dash, standing on stage with the rest of the Rainbooms, turned from the microphone to Sunset Shimmer, and the two guitarists leaned back and let their instruments do the talking as they dueled through the solo of Rainbow's song. The dancing crowd below chanted "Hey! Hey!" along with the rest of the band as Rainbow's and Sunset's fingers flew over their guitar frets.
"Step aside now, you're just gettin' in my way!
I got sick chops you could never hope to play.
When it comes to making music, I'm the ruler.
You wish you could be twenty percent cooler!"
They went into the final chorus and outro, and when they hit the final chord, the crowd erupted into applause as they took their final bow. With the Rainbooms being the final musical performance of the night, something that had become more and more common after the first Battle of the Bands, the stage lights dimmed as they made their exit.
"Whoo! That was awesome!" Rainbow exclaimed, fist-bumping Sunset as they both put their guitars away.
"Think that was our last performance?" Sunset asked as she closed and latched her case.
"Nothing official. We might get asked to perform a set for prom, but if not, that was certainly a great way to go out," Rainbow answered.
"Well, I'm gonna go mingle before they announce the Princess," Sunset told everyone.
"Tell Wallflower good luck for us!" Fluttershy called as Sunset headed out onto the gymnasium floor.
A bit parched from their performance, Sunset headed for the refreshments table to pour herself a glass of punch, and didn't have to look too far for Wallflower, who was also getting a drink.
"You look beautiful, Wallflower," Sunset complimented, raising her glass as she gazed at the girl's dark blue evening gown, what she had picked out for her Hearth's Warming present a few months ago.
The Gardening Club president smiled.
"Thanks to you," she replied, clinking their glasses together and then sipped at her punch.
"So, word through the grapevine is that you're thinking about going back home after graduation. Back to Equestria," Wallflower told her.
Sunset sipped at her punch. She knew it was only a matter of time before word eventually got out about the portal, and how the administration was planning on sealing it.
"I've tried not to think about it too much. I didn't want to dread having to decide, and instead just try my best to enjoy my senior year," Sunset admitted.
"I couldn't imagine making that decision. Heck, I can't even imagine living there. In a place with so much magic. I had a small piece of it, and look what happened," Wallflower replied.
"To be fair, the Memory Stone was considered dangerous even by Equestrian standards. Yeah, my world has a lot of magic, but the stuff we deal with over here is usually of a powerful enough nature to break through in the first place."
"Any aspirations if you do go?" Wallflower asked, continuing into her drink.
"Yeah, I suppose you could say I've got a job offer lined up."
"And what offer is that?"
"A Princess' Court Wizard," Sunset replied.
"Oh. Well, that's certainly not something you hear every day," Wallflower admitted.
"I haven't made up my mind yet. My friends turned me into the person I am today. It... It feels wrong to turn and leave them after all we've been through."
"Well... I don't want to tell you to do anything, but it is April. You might want to start thinking about it. This isn't one of those decisions you make on a whim, and you don't want to save it for the last moment."
Sunset knew Wallflower had a point; it was probably the time to start seriously making preparations to either stay or go.
But it was going to have to wait until at least tomorrow as the gym lights dimmed and the stage lights lit back up, and Vice Principal Luna took the stage, and stepped up to the microphone.
"I'd like to once again thank all the bands that have given their time and talents to our Spring Fling this year. And now, the moment we've all been waiting for, we will now reveal who is the Princess of the Spring Fling," Luna announced, holding an envelope.
'That's odd,' Sunset thought. 'Isn't Celestia usually present for these things as well?'
Luna tore the envelope open, end pulled out the single cue card within.
"The Princess of the Spring Fling is..." Luna began, opening up the card. "Wallflower Blush!"
Wallflower had to do a double take as the gymnasium erupted into cheers. The girl covered her mouth as her eyes widened. The students populating the dance floor turned to her and Sunset as more realized where she was standing.
"Whoo!! Congratulations!" Sunset screamed over the cheers, embracing her for a moment, before gently shoving her forward towards the crowd and stage to go accept the crown. The girl fought back tears as the applauding crowd parted, giving her a path towards the stage. She ascended the steps to the stage, and walked up to Vice Principal Luna, who looked down curiously at the girl's hands. Wallflower looked down, and had to have a laugh when she saw she was still holding her half-full glass of punch.
Fellow student Muffins came out from behind the curtains with a polished wooden box, which Vice Principal Luna turned to open, coming out with the Spring Fling crown. She turned back to Wallflower, who bowed her head slightly, still softly giggling at the fact that she forgot to put her punch down. Luna stepped forward and placed the emerald-studded crown onto her head, before the students down on the gym floor began cheering again. Wallflower couldn't stop the tears now, which only prolonged the applause. She saw Sunset raise her glass again towards her from all the way in back at the refreshments table. With another laugh, Wallflower gave a wave, and raised her own punch glass, taking a sip as she made her way back to the stairs back down to the gym floor, as the cheers began to die down.
"Sunset Shimmer, please report to the principal's office. Sunset Shimmer, to the principal's office," she heard Celestia's voice come over the intercom. As she got a few friendly, teasing 'oohs' from the closest students, Sunset downed the rest of her punch and deposited her cup into the dish bin, making her way to the exit to the hall.
Celestia making an announcement at this time of night? Calling someone to the office at 8:45 pm? Something must have come up. She made her way down the hall at a brisk pace, making her way down A Hall towards administration. She walked up to the closed door of Celestia's office, and knocked, announcing her presence.
"Come in," she heard Principal Celestia reply. She took hold of the door knob, turned it, and pushed it open, stepping into the room. She saw a woman already sitting in front of Celestia's desk, wearing an orange t-shirt and brown jacket, and as the red-and-yellow-haired female turned to face the new visitor, Sunset began to feel as if she was outside her body, as her steps into the office were brought to an abrupt halt as her mouth slowly and silently dropped open in shock, her eyes widening in silence.
Celestia took a moment to clear her throat, before speaking.
"Sunset Shimmer, allow me to introduce, Sunset Shimmer."