***Sunday***

We arrive at the statue in the front of the school.

"So this is the portal..." I put my arm through it, and on the other side, it looks like an orange pony leg. I pull it out, and it returns to being an arm. I look at Twilight. "I hate that you have to leave so soon."

"So do I. But I have responsibilities in Equestria that I have to get back to. Its citizens need me. But now I can go through the portal whenever I need to."

"What's the deal with the portal, anyway? Every time I've leaned against here, nothing happened."

"Last time I came here, the portal would only be open every 30 moons. A couple days ago, Sunset Shimmer told me what was going on here, so I tried finding a way to open the portal at any time."

I look at Sunset. "How did you tell her if the portal was closed?"

"I have a book that I would use to write to Princess Celestia. Whatever I write in my copy would show up in hers. It's the only thing I held onto when I ran away. I guess Twilight has it now."

I sigh. "I just can't get over that I'm losing a friend so soon..."

"Hey, cheer up," Twilight says. "This isn't goodbye. It's just goodbye 'til next time."

I smile. "You're right. I still have six other friends."

"That's the spirit!" She looks at Spike. "Ready?"

"Ready!" They walk through the portal and return to Equestria.

***Monday***

I arrive at the school. Time to face my new reputation. "Well, it's now or never." I walk toward the doors. This feels like the longest walk of my life.

I open the doors and enter the school.

I walk through the halls en route to my homeroom. I nervously look at the other students, afraid of what they're gonna say. Surprisingly, most of them are only looking at me. A few talk amongst each other. This, I can tolerate. I honestly expected things to be much worse. Guess my little speech worked after all.

I walk into Mr. Turner's classroom without incident and take my seat.

"Psst, Cloudflare." I look to my right. It's one of my classmates. "I heard you turned evil over the weekend. What happened?"

"I was manipulated into helping a trio of evil creatures from another world."

He chuckles. "I'd call you a liar, but after what happened at the Fall Formal, anything's possible in this school."

"How are the other students taking all of this? From what I've seen, they're not as confrontational as before."

"Most of the people I've talked with aren't holding you responsible for what happened. They also feel sorry for what they put you through because of Sunset Shimmer. Also, your old friends said they're really sorry for abandoning you, and want to be friends with you again."

Seriously? After this long, they want to patch things up? "Sorry, but no. The fact that they abandoned me in the first place made me strongly reconsider our friendships. Besides, I have true friends now. Friends that will stand by me whenever something like those six months might happen again."

A/N: As of October 2016, the following scene is not canon.

***Three months later****

"Thanks again for helping me clean out the hamster habitat," Fluttershy says.

"No problem. I used to have a hamster as a pet, so I'm kinda used to this stuff."

"Are you sure you can't stick around?"

"I'd love to, but I have to help Pinkie make muffins for an upcoming party." I check the clock. "Actually, I need to be there pretty soon."

"I never expected somebody would be so busy on their birthday."

I walk toward the exit. "I just think of it as another normal day. Yes, I celebrate it, but I don't like making a big deal out of it."

"I see..."

As I leave the rescue center, I tell Fluttershy I'll see her later. I get on my bicycle and head for Sugarcube Corner.

The last couple months of the school year went way better than I could've hoped for. Not only did the original teasing stop, the students were very sympathetic about that night. They understood I had nothing to do with what the sirens did. Yes, Trixie and a couple freshmen kept up the insults, but I expected something like that. Though Trixie's were limited to how her band "kicked my band's butt" at the Battle...

Hang on... Pinkie wants me to help her with a party on my birthday. Is she...?

Nah. I already told her I'm not a party person. Besides, I made her Pinkie Promise she wouldn't throw one for me. She has to honor that.

I arrive at the bakery. As soon as I open the door, Mrs. Cake welcomes me.

"Hi, Mrs. Cake. I'm here to help Pinkie."

"She's upstairs. Second door on the left."

"Upstairs?" Why would she be upstairs? The kitchen's on the main floor. I walk upstairs and find the door.

Wait a second...

Seriously, Pinkie?

Without opening the door, I yell to whoever's on the other side. "Hey, Pinkie Pie! If you wanted to surprise me with a party, you should've met me in the kitchen, then sent me up here!"

I open the door, and I can see everyone is disappointed. "Aw... You're no fun..." Pinkie says.

I look around. There are balloons, streamers, and a cake. "Pinkie, I told you not to throw a party for me. You even Pinkie Promised."

"Oh, I didn't do this. I would never break a Pinkie Promise."

"The rest of us put this together," Rainbow says. "You think you could be just a little grateful?"

"Sorry, Rainbow. I told Pinkie that I don't like parties."

"Well, don't think of it as a party," Applejack says. "Think of it as spending your birthday with friends."

"I guess..." I notice there are only five of them here. "No Twilight?"

"We asked her," Rarity says. "She said she was busy, but she did wish you a happy birthday."

"That's it? Just 'busy'?"

"She wouldn't tell us anything else."

Even after all this time, it seems she still prioritizes studying over anything else. "Oh well. What about Sunny?"

"She's getting her present to you ready," Rainbow says.

"Now come on!" Pinkie says. "Let's get this not-party started!"

***Later that day***

"Why can't you tell me what it is?"

"Because it's a surprise," Rarity says.

"Not even a hint?"

"You already ruined one surprise," Pinkie says. "You're not ruining this one! In fact, just to make sure..." Pinkie walks behind me. Suddenly, my vision is obscured by a pair of hands.

"Come on, is this necessary? I promise I won't peek."

"We don't trust you," all five say.

We continue our walk to Applejack's house... or rather, they continue walking me there.

After a couple minutes, we stop, and I hear a door open.

"Okay, ready for your present? One... Two... Two and a half... And... Three!" Pinkie moves her hands and I open my eyes.

I see a drumkit. It has a big orange bow on the front of the bass drum.

Oh my gosh! I... I don't know what to say... I walk up to it. The shell is red and yellow.

"So you like it?" Pinkie asks.

Like it? "I love it!"

"I knew you would."

I turn around. Standing behind me is Sunny. I immediately pull her into a hug. "Thank you so much!"

We kiss. "Well, I couldn't have done it without everybody's help."

"How'd you know I wanted one?"

"I know you like playing Pinkie's spare kit, but you can't use that one forever. I couldn't afford this on my own, so I asked the others to pitch in as well."

I look at the others. "Thanks, everyone. This is definitely the best gift I've ever gotten. If I could kiss all of you, I would, but I don't think my girlfriend would be too pleased."

"How about you kiss me once for each of them?"

"That works." Sunny and I kiss five times. "And one more for you." This one lasts a bit longer than the others.

"Alright, alright. Enough of this lovey-dovey stuff," Rainbow says.

"Aw, what's wrong, Dashie? Jealous?" Sunny teases.

"Me? Jealous? No way! This is just getting too mushy for me."

"I'm with Rainbow," Pinkie says. "Not everybody wants this to turn into a romance story at the end."

"Pinkie, I don't think that's what she - Wait, story?"

"Don't bother," Rainbow says to me. "It's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie."

I really want to figure this girl out, but I'll save it for another day. Right now, I have a drumset to try out.

I wonder if they'll let me do this today. "Hey, AJ. Do you have a speaker dock?"

"Yeah, I do. Why?"

"I want to play a song. I figured since today's my birthday, you girls would finally let me play this one."

"If it's the one I think it is, no way!" Rainbow says. "We already told you you're not playing anything from the sirens while we're here!"

"It's just this one time! Besides, what does it matter? I'm the only one that'll be playing! It's also partially my song! I wrote the damn drum line!"

"It matters because we're the Rainbooms, not the Dazzlings!"

"Um, maybe we should let him," Fluttershy says. "I mean, it is his birthday."

"I agree with Fluttershy," Rarity says. "I don't see the harm in it. He's not a siren." The others nod in agreement.

Rainbow sighs. "Fine..."

"Alright!" Applejack gets out a speaker dock as I look through the songs on my phone. I decide to go with "Welcome to the Show". I'm still glad I transferred the original mix to my phone. I set the song to play when someone taps the screen, and I put it on the dock.

I sit down at the kit. I play a short beat to make sure it sounds good. I give a thumbs-up to show I'm ready, and Sunny starts the song.

As I'm playing, I still can't believe I have my own drumkit. As I reach the heavy part, I start really getting into it. It's been three months since I last played this song, and I'm playing with just as much intensity as I did that night.

As soon as I finish, I notice everybody staring in surprise. "What?" I turn my head to look behind me. What the...

I see a pair of bat-like wings. "Wings..." I put a hand on my back, and I can feel their bases. "Siren wings..." I move my hand to my head. "And pony ears..." I look at the others. "I'm not hallucinating, right? I actually have these?"

They nod.

"Well... This is gonna take some getting used to."

A/N: Now with a sequel (not to the epilogue). Check my story list.