What a difference a few years make.
I remembered it like it was yesterday: waking up in the middle of the night being pressed down to my bed with a mass on top of my hip, launching a full on assault to my face and chest. A familiar raspy voice was shouting and cursing at me, unleashing her rage and fury for “abandoning her”. The rage turned into tenderness, a flash of hate into love. Sitting on me to keep me from moving turned into laying on me. Punching turned into tearful kissing. Our affection ended quickly when the sound of the portal opened up downstairs and I heard the scurrying sound of five different footsteps. When door opened, our friends giggled at the sight of us. I knew that better days were ahead.
Jenna and Joshua returned that weekend to reunite with them. Nassir didn't take thirty minutes when I texted him that they returned. He busted through the door and went straight to Applejack for a bearhug .
There were no words between them, just the bearhug, and a real, more affectionate one.
Since the portal to Equestria was accessible at any time, the girls were no longer forced to go to school in my world and opted to come once in awhile to catch up with their former peers. My football coach missed her the most. Every football game he would occasionally glance to where Rainbow Dash was sitting in the stands, and longed for skills to be used to help him win. It didn't matter though, because we won the state championship in football that year. That night, as our friends partied to celebrate the impossible, Rainbow Dash and I went to my room to have our own private party for the first time.
Even if they no longer attended LFHS, the girls were treated as if they were still members of the school, even going as far as allowing them to go to the prom. That night was magical. Nassir and Applejack were each other's dates for the prom, Rainbow Dash was mine, and the rest of the girls were by themselves. We all had the time of our lives though. Graduation came soon after that, with me, Nassir, and our friend and star quarterback all committing to USC and were nationally touted as the “Lake Forest Three.” I would tell the media that being recruited by the school was the best moment of my life because they would never believe the crazy year of housing and falling in love with one of six girls from a different world.
Nonetheless,The end of my high school career also meant the beginning of the summer I had planned with the girls since they came back. It was a combined gift from my biological father, mother, stepfather, and the college fund I didn't have to use since I had a full ride athletic scholarship: an around the world tour with the girls, Jenna, Nassir, and Joshua. We went to many stops and many cities like Tokyo, Beijing, Sydney, Dubai, Moscow, Vienna, Rome, Cairo, Berlin, Paris, London, Sao Paulo, Cancun, Havana, Dallas, Seattle, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando, New York… And it all ended August, in Baltimore, when the girls decided to give their 'fans' a second chance, and what better way to do it then at the largest convention celebrating them and their adventures.
Minus the lines to everything, it was the best weekend they had. They saw the true spirit of the fandom, met new friends, and by the end of it all, they had to be carried from the rave because their feet were sore from the dancing. They were asked for many pictures since they “looked so lifelike” and, with my money, they bought almost all of their merchandise, and I couldn't stop her. It's cute when they get egotistical like that.
Sadly, however, that also indicated the end of the trip and the summer we all had together, as that Tuesday, I was to report for training camp with Nassir.
***
All those memories were cased in photos lining my room as I carried the last of my stuff out of my room, through the upstairs hallway and down the stairs, both of which had photos along the wall of the last two years. In the living room in front of me stood the girls, Jenna, Joshua, Nassir, and my parents. Once they went back to Equestria, Nas and I would head off to college. I set my duffle bag down and gave every girl a hug goodbye, sharing a few kind words with each of them. When it was Rainbow’s turn, she came up to me and pulled me into a deep kiss , causing her friends to stifle a laugh. Even after all these years they still laughed at us.
"I'm gonna miss you," I said as I held her for the last time in a while.
"Yeah, don’t worry, we will see each other soon," She replied
We talked about her feelings and what was going on, mainly the “urges” they had. Whenever a new 'season' of the show got near, they had a sudden urge to get home. The closer they were to it starting, the stronger it got. I guess they filmed the show based on their adventures they had. It had also happened during my senior year of high school, but this time, we were ready.
Anyway, we continued to hold each other and were not wanting to let go.
"Wish you could join me at college," I said, hoping to convince her to join me and Nas.
"I wish I could ,Egghead," she lamented. There wasn't sadness in our goodbye. We knew we would see each other again. There would be days where the wait for each other would be the hardest, but since we had already done it once before when I was in my senior year, I was sure we could do it again.
Rainbow's friends began to disappear in the portal one by one, with Applejack being the last. She had a longer goodbye with Nassir. He kissed her on the forehead before they broke their hug and AJ went back home.
We shared one last kiss, and as hard as it was, I let her go. We still held a hand as she walked to the front of the portal.
"I miss you already," I said as we shared one last kiss. When it was over, we waved goodbye as she slipped into the mirror.