Amor Vincit Omnia

by BRyeMC

The End of an Era

“Where are you headed off to now?” asked Shale looking away from the TV to see Clyde about to leave the house. “You just got your diploma not even two hours ago, and you’re already ready to celebrate?” He gave a chuckle.

“Coach wanted the team to have one last meeting before we all went our separate ways,” said Clyde looking out the door. “He told us countless times that this team was his most favorite. It’s probably because we won a title for the school and he got paid extra for it.”

Shale nodded contently. “Probably.” There was a long silence between the brothers. “Did you ask her parents yet or tell her what you’re doing?”

Clyde shook his head.

“I see...” Shale got off the couch and walked over to him. He placed his arm around his younger brother and sighed. “I still think you’re crazy, but I know you know what you’re doing. I have faith in you, Clyde. I always will.”

Clyde gave a weak smile and nodded. “Thanks. This decision had me up for countless nights for the past few weeks ever since she told me she was leaving Canterlot for at least one year to pursue a designer internship at Manehattan. I knew she was struggling with the decision and she wanted to see what I thought about it first before telling anyone else or changing her mind to not go. I can’t let her abandon her dream.”

“What about your dream then, Clyde?”

The question stunned Clyde for a few moments as he didn’t expect that response. Clyde frowned and pulled out his phone to look at his lock screen. He hadn’t changed it since they began dating, but it was a picture of Rarity and him smiling with the sides of theirs heads touching from the New Year’s party where they had first kissed. The picture was taken only a few minutes before they kissed, so Clyde kept it as his lock screen after he dropped her off at her home. He let the phone’s screen fade to black before he dug it back into his pocket. “I just want her to be happy.”

Shale soon smiled with saddened eyes. “This is exactly why I think you’re crazy, but I understand.”

“You do?” asked Clyde surprised.

“I not only had to be your older brother when our parents died, I had to also take care of you like a father and mother would to their child. I know I left you alone here for a year, but I only wanted you to be safe and happy, as any parent or family member would want for their loved ones. “ Shale gave him an encouraging pat on the back. “I know many tears might be shed in this, but I trust what you’re doing. I got your back and I know both Mom and Dad are watching your back, too.”

Clyde wiped his now teary eyes and gave his brother a nod. “Thanks, Shale.”

“Anytime,” replied Shale warmingly. “Have fun at your last basketball meeting for high school.”

Clyde smiled and ran out the door and to his car. After plugging in his phone, Clyde gave his brother a wave before backing Midnight out of the driveway as he drove towards the school one more time.

Iron Will gave a speech during the graduation ceremony that he wanted as many of the members of the basketball team to visit the gymnasium around one o’clock for some last words and food. Clyde never really bonded with Iron Will as much as Tyrone did, if anyone could even call their bickering between each other ‘bonding’. Clyde did what he was asked to do and never complained just because he wanted only to ball. He did have to thank Coach Iron Will with all of his help with basketball, as he did improve in the two years he was on the team.

Upon arriving at the school, Clyde pulled into the normal parking spot he always had managed to nab in the mornings and shut off the car. He took his phone with him and hurried out of the car and down the pavement towards the back doors of Canterlot High which were near the gymnasium. As he opened the doors, he saw standing in the doorway was one of his greatest friends he met after joining the CHS family.

“There he is! My boy, C!” Tyrone ran up to him and gave him a brotherly-love-yet-manly hug. “I can’t believe we are out of this place, dawg. It was like yesterday we sat in that detention with the other boys!”

“Yeah, ain’t that the truth.” Clyde scratched his head. “T, I’m really sorry I never really hung out with you guys since meeting Rarity and leaving that group chat. I know it was sort of a ‘douche’ move of me, but lots of things were on my mind during that time, and yet, that’s still no excuse since I could have easily joined your cool parties all year long.”

“Nah, C. We're good. The boys know the hardships you went through for the past two years and your quest for love, and while they were pissed at you for ditching them for a girl, they learned to accept it.”

Clyde smiled. “I know we hung out a lot, but I haven’t balled with Sticky or Rivs for almost two years now. I’d like to see everyone again soon.”

“You’re in luck, my dawg. Our boy Wahlburn is throwing a party in a few days. He's in charge of the weed." Tyrone laughed. “Nah, I'm joking. I'm real proud that he stopped doing that stuff. Ride with me and we can surprise all of them so you can finally apologize to all of them at once.”

Clyde grinned. He couldn't wait to rekindle his friendship he once had with the first friends he had at Canterlot High. He had a fair amount of friends now, but none of them could compare to the ones he met that Saturday morning. From Sticky and Rivs, the near identical brothers in which their favorite basketball teams hated each other to Poncho the always nervous and sketchy dude who helped him, in an unplanned way, have lunch with Rarity to signal the beginning of their relationship.

The two of them then walked into the gymnasium together. Most of the team was standing around chatting up a storm or near the small table with a few boxes of pizza. They saw Thunderlane sitting on one of the fold-up chairs eating a slice of pizza. He gave the two a wave and motioned them over to him.

“What’s going on, dudes?” asked Thunderlane while chewing a mouthful of pizza.

“Nothing really, except watching you be a savage,” snickered Tyrone. “Learn to chew your food, my boy.”

Thunderlane gulped. “Sorry, bad habit.” He gave a laugh and looked behind him. “Man, can you believe Coach ordered pizza for us? What a swell guy.”

“That’s not what you called him a few weeks ago,” said Tyrone with a smug look. “You called him a ‘fat bastard’ if I recall.”

“Hey! It was the heat of the moment,” replied Thunderlane defensively. “I was pissed off I didn’t get to close the game out because I turned the ball over too many times.”

“You gotta be smart with the ball, dawg. I tried telling ya...”

“Yeah, yeah.” Thunderlane rolled his eyes. “I’m surprised RD isn’t here.”

“She probably isn’t coming,” spoke Clyde. “She and her friends have their graduation party later and they decided to celebrate it together with all of their families and friends invited.”

“Ah. I guess you’re going to go to it?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Rarity invited me almost instantly as soon as they thought about the idea.”

Thunderlane laughed. “You’re lucky you found a girl like that. In truth, I always thought Rarity was extremely hot. I should of went after her before you came in town.”

Clyde glared at him. “You better stay away from her now since you said that.” Tyrone burst into a loud and uncontrollable laugh while Thunderlane moved back in shock.

“Damn, Thunderlane. You made Clyde pissed. That’s something you don’t see every day.” Tyrone wiped a tear away from his eye.

“Chill, Clyde. I won’t steal your girl from you.” Clyde could tell in his voice that Thunderlane was being serious so he calmed down. “You’ve been with her for so long I don’t think anyone would dare try and break you two up now.”

Clyde looked at him and nodded, accepting the withdrawal from his advances. Most of the time, he knew guys would tease him about trying to take Rarity away from him. It always ended up with the guy apologizing or saying they were joking because everyone knew Clyde had people that would help said foolish boy forget what he had said. One of those people was indeed Pinkie Pie and her party cannon.

Soon, Bulk and other members came over to them and sat down. Coach Iron Will was nowhere to be seen, but the team seemed to not even care. This was probably their last time they would all be together again anyway, as most of the members just graduated.

A loud bang erupted from the locker room door and everyone looked to the far side of the gym. Iron Will, decked out in his normal hoodie and sweatpants, waddled over to them and stared at each one before chuckling.

"Iron Will sees you all enjoy the pizza!"

"We sure do, Coach," mumbled Thunderlane while stuffing his face with another slice.

Iron Will shook his head. "Iron Will is no longer your coach. You don't have to call me that."

"Yeah, but you still are the coach we had to win that trophy," spoke Tyrone. "You will always be our coach."

Iron Will looked at him seriously and then to everyone one else. Each member gave him a nod and confident smile. Iron Will emitted a sniffle and wiped a hand over his eyes. "I am honored to be remembered this much."

"Of course! Just because you hated a lot of us, we still had a blast!" Tyrone stood up. "I never hated you, Coach. I just like messing with you." He stuck out his thumb.

"I never hated you either, old man!" Thunderlane stood up this time.

Iron Will looked at the two and laughed. "You were punks, but I never hated any of you! Iron Will could never hate his favorite team!" He paused and looked at the newly hung banner in the gymnasium depicting the championship and year. "Last year was a learning point for all of us. I could easily tell by the time you all stepped on the court this year, all of you had changed both in skills and personality. Plus, I could see all of the fire in your eyes." He gave a sigh and a rare smile formed his lips. "I'll miss all of you."

The room fell silent for a few moments until Tyrone shrugged. "Fuck it. Group hug?" He outstretched his arms.

Iron Will angrily looked at him. "Who do you think Iron Will is?! A pushover?!"

"Nah, dawg. Everyone can use a group hug. I don't care if that's soft."

Iron Will shook his head before looking around. "No one tell anyone," he whispered.

"We are all brothers here. This is our final family farewell moment." The others stood up and nodded in agreement.

Iron Will laughed. "Alright, let's make it quick." Iron Will and the team stood next to each other and hugged. Clyde thought the whole situation was awkward, but he knew he probably wouldn't see lots of these guys for a long time. After a few seconds, everyone stepped away from each other and shared a laugh.

Iron Will's gathering eventually died down after thirty minutes went by. Bulk was the first guy to leave, and soon, more and more people left. Clyde was one of the last ones to stay, along with Tyrone. However, Tyrone's stay didn't last long as he received a text message from his girlfriend First Light who wanted to give him his graduation present.

Clyde was now the last one left in the gymnasium, along with Iron Will. Iron Will was busy by the table trying to clean everything up. Clyde looked at the fold-up chairs and began returning them to their unfolded position and moving them against the bleachers.

"There he is helping again," laughed Iron Will. "You don't have to help me. You've been the unsung hero the whole season."

Clyde shrugged. "I don't mind."

Iron Will shook his head with a smile. He waited for Clyde to finish moving all the chairs before speaking up again. "Do you still plan on playing? I know you didn't earn any scholarships like that punk or Miss Dash did, but you have a remarkable skill for passing."

Clyde frowned. "Getting a scholarship for a school would have been awesome, but I don't really want to do anymore schoolwork right now." Clyde looked at the championship banner in the gymnasium. Seeing his name along with the rest of the team's forever hanging above the court to be immortalized was a sincere feeling. "I do want to keep playing, but I don't think I would be good enough for the professionals yet."

"You don't have to play in the professionals yet. Many players go through the development league first if then don't go to college."

Clyde was silent for a moment. "Or play overseas, too."

"Is that what you're doing?" asked Iron Will curiously.

Clyde looked away from him and looked down at the court. "It's not my ideal plan, but they pay the players way more than the development league. I said it myself, I need to take care of her and make sure she's happy. I just hopes she understands..."

Iron Will smiled. "I always admired your personality, Clyde. You always cared more about the team and other people more than anything else. While you had some pretty good offensive games, you seemed to only care about how everyone else did and made sure to help them get better the next game if they had an off-night. I loved seeing you talk to a bench player during a timeout or during the half trying to get them motivated."

Clyde smiled this time. "I feel like that's my fate on the basketball court. Showing altruism because people helped me when I joined this school. Especially a certain girl who showed her generosity and took a chance with me without any reason. She was my first true friend and soon became my everything."

Iron Will nodded at him. "I respect that. Iron Will might act all tough and intimidating, however, he can also be a swell guy who loves romantic stories!" He walked over to him and gently slapped Clyde's back. "I think you would be interested in knowing that I roomed with some certain people in college. One of them is now a scout for the professional league, while the other is an assistant coach for a team overseas. If you really want to play more basketball, I can help you get on that team and eventually get notified by scouts."

"That... would be awesome." Clyde knew it would be amazing to play for the Kneighs as they played in the same city Rarity always fancied. However, it would still be a long time before that point and he might not even get noticed by that team or maybe not even any team. He had to try, though.

"I know they start training camp in early June, so that's not really a lot of time to decide if this is what you truly want, but I'll let you know soon after I call him in a few minutes."

Clyde nodded and flashed a large smile. "Thanks, Coach. Thanks for everything. I'll miss you and your outbursts."

"Iron Will only outbursts when he is angry at bad calls or plays!!" He gave a laugh and gave Clyde a thumbs up. "I'll miss all of you guys, too. I'm a nice guy when I can be."

Clyde gave a nod and wave before walking out of the gymnasium. As he walked down the hallway of Canterlot High once more, he couldn’t help feel a little sad and happy at the same time. Graduating was truly a bittersweet moment in a person's life. From all the memories within the halls, classrooms, gym, and locker room, Clyde was going to miss them. In the future, he wanted to somehow give back to this school, but as for right now, he had something on his mind instead.

After walking the length of the barren parking lot except for the few cars that belonged to some teachers that were cleaning out their classrooms already, Clyde climbed into his car and soon headed off towards Rarity’s house. Her party, and technically all of her friends’ party also, was still a few hours away. However, knowing Rarity, she would probably be just getting ready for it so he decided it was the perfect time to go to her house. As he parked alongside the curb in front of the shop entrance for the thousandth or so time by now, he noticed Iron Will texted him a message. After reading it, he looked out the window and stared at the streetlamp that was not lit due to the time of day.

There was no going back now.

Clyde crawled out of the car, locked it, and entered the shop. Opal, who was laying on the counter in her normal spot, perked her head up and flicked her tail at him as he walked by before resting her head back onto the wooden counter. Clyde pulled the curtains away from the doorway and entered the kitchen to see Rarity’s parents talking to each other. They abruptly stopped their conversation and looked at him.

“Hey, Clyde,” greeted Magnum with a nod. “How’s it feel being a true adult now?” He casually chuckled. “Go ahead and sit down if you want. We were talking about how fast time flew by. It seems like yesterday we brought Rarity into the world and here we are now.”

Pearl intercepted him on his walk to the table and before he could sit down, she gave him a hug. She let go of him and smiled before pulling out one of the kitchen table chairs. “You’re very early, dear. The party isn’t for another two hours. Rarity is in the shower upstairs getting ready.”

Clyde smiled at the mention of her name. He couldn’t help but smile anytime he heard her name. It was such a beautiful name that only he could understand the joy it brought him when he saw or heard it. Clyde looked at each of them before taking a deep breath. “I knew she would be getting ready, so that’s why I came over earlier than expected."

"Oh? Did you want to chat?" asked Magnum after sharing a glance at his wife.

Clyde looked at Rarity's parents with a serious gaze. "I wanted to ask you guys something.”

* * * * *

The warm water felt so soothing as it rained down on her skin. It was so soothing that Rarity lost track of time and stayed in the shower a few minutes longer than her already long usual time of thirty or more minutes. After she washed her body, and conditioned and shampooed her long, violet hair, Rarity turned the water off and stepped out of the tub to dry off. Since she didn't bring clothes in the bathroom with her, she wrapped a towel around her body and looked at herself in the mirror.

The first task was for her to return her violet hair to the normal curly and primmed version. It wasn't so much difficult for her to do after so many times. What really bothered her was how long it took for her hair to dry. Even with her hair dryer on maximum heat, it still took a few moments. After what seemed like an eternity, her hair was dried and she began curling the ends. She put her tri-diamonded hair clip into her hair, and after guiding her hands through her hair to fluff it out, she gave a smile.

Next on the official "Rarity's Daily Beauty Guide" was makeup. Makeup was a typical asset for most girls, but Rarity always wore it to enchant her sapphire eyes. She gently applied her light blue eye shadow, her personal favorite color as it went with her love for diamonds, and finally her mascara to make her eyelashes more attractive and darker. She rarely wore lipstick, and never really enjoyed it anyway, so she finished up working on her eyes before looking at herself in the mirror again and smiling at her work.

Her work in the bathroom was finished, so Rarity quickly rushed out of the bathroom and dashed into her room. Her room was the closest room to the bathroom compared to her sister or parents due to her arguments to her family on why a young lady like her needed to use the bathroom mirror all the time. She quickly put on a stylish matching set of undergarments and laid out her outfit for the day.

It was a simple outfit. It was a short, flowing dress that had blouse-type features, like her normal shirt she wore everyday. The pale blue color of it matched her normal shirt's color. The dress was both sleeveless and backless, which was a good thing her bra was as well, so her back was uncovered for the warm air to hit it. While the dress would be considered "too inappropriate" for formal settings due to her whole back showing, it was perfect for a small party. She then quickly put in her diamond-studded earrings and strapped the necklace Clyde gave her for Christmas around her neck. The final addition to the outfit was adding a small belt to surround her waist, to not only keep the dress in place, but to add that extra flair it needed. Plus, it accented her feminine figure which was always important to impress Clyde. She put on her socks and purple boots and gave one last look at herself in her mirror above her dresser.

"Perfect." She nodded proudly and pranced out of her room and down the steps. As she reached the shop level, her eyes made contact with a certain car in front of the door along the street. She felt her heart skip a beat and she made her way to the kitchen. "Can you believe he's already... Clyde? What in heavens are you doing here already?"

Both her parents and Clyde looked at her and she felt an awkward silence in the room. Looking at their gazes, it felt like she walked into a serious conversation and interrupted them. Clyde soon gave a smile and stood up. He walked over to her and hugged her snugly. "You look beautiful like always."

Rarity returned his smile and looked at him. "Thank you, darling. Didn't you have that team meeting with Iron Will?"

"I did, but it ended early so I came over here."

"We were talking about his favorite high school memories since you were getting ready," spoke Magnum with a sly smile. "Of course he said playing basketball and meeting new friends was some of them."

Pearl looked over at her and gave an amiable giggle. "But out of everything, he was telling us about how you made high school worth going to do he could see you again."

Rarity looked up at Clyde and giggled. "You sure made my time at high school amazing as well." She snuggled her head into his chest more and let the warmth of their hug soothe her soul and mind. "Are you ready to see our slideshow at the party? I made sure my section had pictures of us together."

Clyde gave a warming chuckle. "I can't wait to see it. I knew how much time you and your friends spent on that slideshow." He hugged her tightly for a moment and broke out of the hug. "I'm going home for an hour to spend time with Shale before he leaves again for the year to go back to training in a few days. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind," replied Rarity with a smile. "I'll just go to the party with my parents then." She grabbed his hand and gave him a small peck on the lips. "I'll see you soon, my love."

Clyde smiled and waved to her and her parents before leaving the kitchen and out of the shop's door. After hearing his car pull away, Rarity dreamily sighed and looked at her parents who remained relatively silent since she walked into the kitchen.

"Are you ready to leave?" asked Magnum, "your friends are probably getting there by now."

"Yes, we can leave, but what's wrong?" Rarity noticed her father was acting strange. Normally he joked around whenever Clyde and her hugged or kissed each other in front of him.

"Hm? I'm just hungry is all," laughed Magnum. "You know me." He got up from the table and walked past her. "I need to use the restroom before we leave."

Rarity watched him leave the room confused on what was going on as Pearl walked over to her and put her hands on Rarity's shoulders. "Don't mind him. He's been having a headache off and on today. I told him to take medicine, but you know how stubborn he gets." Pearl shrugged and walked away from her to the door. "Dear, we'll be waiting in the car!" she shouted.

Rarity heard her father's mumbled reply from upstairs and quickly followed her mother to the car. After climbing into the back of the SUV, Rarity checked her phone to see her friends had already arrived and was waiting for her to get there so they could set up the slideshow they all created. She sent them a text saying she was on her way and looked through her social media account until her father got in the car and drove them to the party.

Momentarily, Magnum finally walked out of the house and got in the car. After giving his wife and daughter and smile he drove off towards the party. Normally Sweetie Belle would be in the backseat with Rarity, but since she stayed over at Applejack's the prior night to hang out with Apple Bloom, Applejack decided to bring her with them instead of having Rarity's family drive across town to pick her up.

Soon, the car arrived at its destination: the Sweet Shoppe. Rarity quickly rushed into the building to find her friends. The Sweet Shoppe itself was rather small and it belonged to Pinkie's uncle and aunt. The shop itself specialized in treats and drinks. While there were many cushioned booths and chairs in the shop, it was hardly enough room to throw a party. However, the Sweet Shoppe's back room was large and empty, perfect for throwing parties and was the official party location in the city of Canterlot.

As Rarity walked into the room, she saw Pinkie had already decorated it. Tables and chairs were lined up in perfect harmony as the usually blank white walls had banners that read "Congrats on the Graduation!" across them. Many of her friends' family and friends were helping the Cakes set up food and desserts. She gave a nod at Pinkie's nearly done job and smiled when she saw her best friends huddled around a laptop near the back of the room.

"Sorry I'm late, girls!" apologized Rarity as she ran up to them. She took out a small flash drive from her boots, since her dress had no pockets, and looked at Sunset who was staring at the computer screen intensely. "Is everything working correctly?"

"Yeah... We just need your part and that should be it," stated Sunset. Rarity nodded and handed her the flash drive.

"Wait 'till you guys see my section," said Rainbow Dash proudly, "I made a montage of all my cool achievements in sports." She gave a chuckle.

"That's surprisin'," uttered Applejack with a roll of the eyes. "Mine ain't anything fancy. It's mostly pictures through the years Granny saved in her album."

"Same as me, AJ!" shouted Pinkie in joy. "I had a lot of pictures to use! But I also had a party to set up, so I spent like two minutes on it!"

"So, your section is only two minutes?" asked Rainbow Dash with raised eyebrows. "Man, mine's like twenty minutes long."

Sunset kept her eyes focused on the screen, moving around blocks of video data and reorganizing the timeline. "No, Pinkie's is about... ten. Somehow." The girls looked at each other confused as Pinkie gave a cheesy grin.

Rainbow blinked. "Ooooookay. How about you, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy jumped at the mention of her name. "Hmm? Sorry, I was just thinking about something." She looked at the laptop and smiled. "All my pictures involve me growing up and my time with animals."

Rainbow nodded. "That's cool. I don't even have to ask what Rarity's about. It's probably many pictures of herself, some clothes or fashion, and probably Clyde." She looked over at her. "Am I close?"

"Mostly," replied Rarity with a smile.

Rainbow nodded again. "That's cool." she repeated. "What about you Sunset?" The other girls looked at Sunset as well. They were all intrigued to see what she spent time working on.

Sunset remained quiet for a few moments. "You'll see. Mine's at the end since I put all of your mini-movies in alphabetical order." After a few more clicks, Sunset gave a smile and looked above them. "Everything is set up. We just need to turn on that projector when it's time." The girls gave nods and smiles and stepped away from the computer to celebrate the special day with the guests.

Rarity spent the next few hours talking to her family and her friends' family by thanking them for coming and for the wishes and eating food. Truthfully, she was extremely sad that in a few months time she would be in Manehattan far away from them, but each of them were going to be split apart to pursue their dreams. As she stood by the dessert table, getting ready to eat another slice of cake, a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind.

"I thought you didn't like eating a lot of dessert?"

Rarity smiled at the voice and turned around to look straight in Clyde's eyes. "Glad you came, darling. We are about to start our movie soon."

"Sorry I was late," apologized Clyde with sad eyes, "Shale wanted to take me to that wing place for my graduation gift and so we could talk."

"That's quite all right, Clyde. What did you guys talk about? Did you tell him you're spending a year with me in Manehattan?"

Clyde ignored her eyes for a split moment. Rarity knew something was wrong just because he looked away from her. "Rarity, I need to tell you something. I–"

"Hey, everybody!!!"

Clyde stopped talking and the two of them looked to see Pinkie Pie standing on a table with her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice.

"Pinkie, could you please get off the table?" asked her aunt, Mrs. Cake, politely.

Pinkie sheepishly smiled. "Sorry, Auntie Cake." She hopped down and ran up to the laptop. "We wanted to tell everybody that it's time for our slideshow we all made!"

Sunset ran up to the computer. After the overhead projector came on and projected the computer's screen on the only blank wall in the room. Sunset enlarged the projection and clicked a button on the laptop, quickly running back to her seat. Soon, a small preview popped up and everyone hushed down and found a seat.

"Tell me later, okay, darling?" asked Rarity as she pulled Clyde to an empty pair of seats with her. Clyde frowned, but gave a nod. Rarity could tell something was troubling him, and she wanted to speak to him to figure out what it was, but she also wanted him to see her section of the slide show movie because he was in it, hopefully cheering him up.

For almost an hour, the room was silent as the people within it watched and listened to the movie the girls made for graduation. To lead things off, Applejack was the main girl on focus. People watched intensely as Applejack grew up in the pictures with her little sister, big brother, and granny, eventually culminating to just a few hours ago in a photo of when she held her diploma. At the end, a small screen read that she was going to keep working the farm with her big brother Big McIntosh instead of going to college since Granny Smith was growing old. Granny Smith did work as a cafeteria lady now, but she hadn't spent nearly anytime doing laborious tasks on the farm in years. Her section soon ended and Sunset paused the video so people could clap, and for her relatives, wipe away tears at the memories and joy of her growing up. Applejack stood up and tipped her hat to them and smiled.

After everyone was ready to move to the next girl, Sunset pressed a button on the computer and soon Fluttershy’s section began playing. Fluttershy’s main goal after high school was to become a veterinarian. All of her pictures, even the ones where she was a small girl, was her with some sort of animal. Since she turned sixteen, Fluttershy spent most of her free time at the animal shelter in the city and was well liked by the workers there–which wasn't really an oddity because it was Fluttershy after all. After her clip was done, like Applejack's, Fluttershy timidly stood up and waved at the applauding room.

Next up was Pinkie. Her choice of music was rather upbeat compared to Applejack's and Fluttershy's. Since the music was so rapid and thumping, Pinkie's pictures were only on the screen for one second each so she could keep a rhythm throughout it. Pinkie also used a lot of colors and many of the people looked away to prevent themselves from having a seizure. Pinkie ended her crazy photo album by stating she would also stay in town like Applejack to help her uncle and aunt run the Sweet Shoppe and eventually take over the business once they couldn't run it anymore. Pinkie also put she wanted to be the only source of partying in Canterlot. Once her pictures were over, she bowed to the applause and grinned, her teeth shining brightly with pride.

Loud rock music suddenly echoed through the room and a Rainbow Dash jumped up excitedly. Her video and pictures had lots of dramatic editing techniques, like pictures almost jumping out of the screen and pictures zooming from the right or left. After all her pictures were shown, her various montages began. Rarity stopped watching her video after the soccer and basketball montages, as she worriedly looked over at Clyde. His head was focused on the floor tiles and he was ignoring the montages, too. He may have even ignored the other sections before Rainbow Dash, but Rarity didn't know. She only knew Clyde's eyes were tearful and he was sad about something.

She heard a familiar song come on and she looked up at the screen. She must've faded out all other thoughts as her section was now playing and Rainbow Dash was sitting down. Rarity quickly put her hand under Clyde's chin and lifted it up so he could see it. Clyde looked over at her surprised, but gave her a smile and looked forward.

Rarity split her video section into two parts: childhood and high school. She was quite proud of the quality of her video. Both sections had about the same about of pictures, but the high school one was even more special because half of those included Clyde since he became important to her after two years in high school. Rarity saw Clyde's smile grow with each picture he saw of them. However, his eyes were still sad and Rarity didn't understand why. Her video eventually ended with a picture and caption of the fashion studio she was going to intern at in Manehattan starting once July came. Once the screen faded out, Rarity stood up and waved to her family and friends. She then sat down and hugged Clyde's arm, hoping he would be happier.

Rarity leaned her head against Clyde's arm and wondered what Sunset's section would be. She was instantly surprised as, instead of a plethora of Sunset pictures, various pictures of the girls as a group were shown, starting from the Freshman Fair to their group photo from a few hours ago with their diplomas. Sunset became more common in the pictures towards the end, mostly because it wasn't until their Junior Fall Formal where Twilight helped them turn her into a nice girl again. As the pictures traveled along the timeline, Rarity could only feel tears slowly stream down her face. Her friends made her the girl she was today, and without their support, she may have not been able to have a steady customer base for her clothing. She hugged Clyde's arm tighter and smiled. Both Clyde and her friends were important to her and she never wanted to lose them. She was disheartened she had to leave her friends for Manehattan, but since Clyde was going to be with her until she returned home, she knew he would help make her mind preoccupied to not think about them and feel sad again.

When the movie finally ended, all of the girls' friends and families clapped with tears in their eyes. Rarity looked over at each one of her friends as they all shared a smile with each other. They simultaneously stood up and ran towards each other for a group hug. The people in the room gave one last smile at them before returning to whatever they were doing before the movie, whether it be eating or chatting.

"Sunset, I simply loved how you made a group collection at the end," said Rarity with a smile. "Although, I feel sad you don't have your own section like we all did. I know you want to go to school to be a teacher, but it would've been lovely to see all the pictures you had taken so far since living in this world."

Sunset grinned. "I don't have many pictures of myself, actually I might only have one of two, so I decided to just make the ending all of you because you all have been friends for a long time."

"And hopefully stay friends for a long time."

"Ah wouldn't worry about that, Rarity." Applejack gave a nod.

"AJ's right. We've been through so much!" Rainbow Dash grinned. "Even Princess Twilight would be proud of our bond!"

"Yeah! She is all about friendship after all! We are the bestest of friends!" shouted Pinkie in joy.

"Indeed!" chirped Fluttershy.

Rarity smiled and hugged them all again. "I'll miss you all so much." Once the girls ended the hug, they all walked away to go talk to the party visitors. Rarity noticed Clyde was still sitting in the same position in the chair since she had left. Troubled, she walked up to him and put her hands on his cheeks. "Clyde, what's the matter?" she asked him nervously.

Clyde looked up at her. "I need to tell you something, but it would be better if we did it someplace private."

"Why? What's wrong?"

Clyde shook his head. "Please. Not here. Not in front of all these people."

Rarity looked around the room. The party was officially over since the movie ended and people were beginning to leave. Since she had already talked to the ones she invited, Rarity knew she could leave. "Okay. Let me tell my parents I'm leaving."

Clyde nodded, but Rarity saw his eyes were scared. "Wait out front and I'll pick you up in the car." He gave her a snug hug before walking out of the room, ignoring all the people who tried talking to him as he past. Rarity frowned and walked over to her parents.

"Ah, Rarity. Are you ready to go home yet? I saw Clyde just left," said Pearl.

"No, I'm leaving so Clyde and I can talk about something. He said it was important."

Pearl's face instantly froze and she nervously looked over at Magnum. His face showed the same expression. Pearl looked at Rarity and frowned. "Stay strong, dear."

"Pardon?"

Pearl shook her head and smiled at her, trying to comfort not Rarity, but herself. Rarity looked over at her father who looked down at the table. Now feeling an unexplained feeling of dread overcome her, Rarity walked away from the table and towards the door. She saw her friends watch her from the corners of her eyes but she could only think about what Clyde wanted to tell her. It had to be something awful if even he was upset about it. Clyde only showed tears around her, joyful and sad ones.

Rarity soon found herself in the Sweet Shoppe's main lobby. She briskly walked past the counter and out of the store. She looked to her left and right down the street and didn't see Clyde's car anywhere. She took out her phone from her boot to text him, but stopped when she saw his car turn into the road. He pulled along the curb and opened the door for her. She climbed in and looked at him.

"Please tell me soon, Clyde. You're making me feel sick worrying about you."

Clyde gave her a nod and drove off. Rarity wanted to ask him where he was going, but she knew he wouldn't listen. The radio was off and Rarity nervously looked over at him. The radio was always on, usually low volume, but still loud enough to faintly hear songs when they traveled in the car together. After going down a few blocks, Clyde turned into a small parking lot behind some stores and restaurants and put the car in park in a stall. He gave a long sigh.

"I honestly don't know why I chose to park here," he laughed but Rarity knew it was fake. "I guess I can't think straight right now and it's the best I could do."

"Why? Whatever is the matter, darling?" Rarity adjusted herself in the leather seat and leaned closer to him. "Did something happen to Shale? Are you sick? Are bounty hunters after you? Please tell me so I can help you." She grabbed his hand trying to comfort him.

"No, it's none of that. It's about you and me."

Rarity's heart dropped. "I-I don't understand." Clyde looked straight at her, causing her to feel paralyzed. She didn't know what to do, say, or think, but something was wrong. He tried giving a smile, but stopped and looked out the car's windshield.

"I wanted to tell you that I'm not joining you in Manehattan."

"W-What?" asked Rarity in shock. "I thought we talked about it a few months ago... You promised you would!"

"I had a change of heart."

The way he said it bothered Rarity. He acted like he didn't care about suddenly leaving her in the big city alone. "Why would you lie about wanting to go with me then!"

Clyde shook his head. "I didn't lie. I did want to go with you because I knew how much you wanted me to help support your choice for living there for a year. That's the problem." He looked at her cautiously. "I feel like I would be a distraction to you in Manehattan so I decided to go against your wishes for once."

"Clyde, I still don't understand what you're saying–"

"I'm not sure how to say this, but we have to go our separate ways–"

Rarity's heart crashed straight into the deep hole of despair and tears began to form as she heard those words. Her mind completely broke down and she tuned out Clyde's next few words. Never in her whole life did she think her darling Clyde would be the one to break her heart. She gently and nervously touched the diamond pendant from the necklace he gave her for Christmas."Y-Y-You're breaking up with me?" she stuttered in disbelief to cut him off.

Clyde's eyes widened and he quickly shot down that tearful response. "What? No, no." He leaned over and tried to hug her, but she pushed him away. "Listen, Rarity, please don't think that. I–"

"I gave you my heart, Clyde! I even helped fixed yours, or so I thought... Maybe you are just like all the other boys and only cared about one thing. I loved you more than anything in the world, and this is how I'm repaid! I should of known that there was no such thing as a fairy tale ending..." Rarity's voice was a mix of sorrow, anger, shock, and despair and her mind was spinning out of control. Tears were now rushing down her face at a pace of a waterfall and all she wanted to do was get as far away from everyone in the world as soon as possible and cry forever. She opened the car door and got out of it, quickly turning to run away.

"Rarity, stop!" called Clyde from behind her. Rarity heard the car door open and she began running away from him before he had time to get out of the car. She wiped her face as she ran, but since she was continuingly bawling, her attempts to wipe her tears away was in vain. She almost reached the end of one of the parking lots before a hand grabbed her arm and tried to catch her. "Rarity–"

"Let go of me!" she cried, turning around to face Clyde. "I never want to see your face again!" She quickly struck his face with her hand and broke free from his grasp. It took a moment to realize what she had done, but when she saw Clyde hold his hand to his cheek, she felt more sadness overcome her and she dropped to the ground. Her hand and body was trembling uncontrollably and she bawled some more, feeling scared and alone. "C-Clyde... I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to! I-I can't think, I can't..."

Clyde dropped to the ground to look at her and he suddenly pulled her into a hug. He put his head atop hers and let her cry. "I deserved that," he said softly, "but listen to me, Rarity. You don't understand how much I worried at night thinking of how you would react for the past few weeks, but you have to trust me." Rarity looked up at him with her tearful eyes to see Clyde with the same. "If you love me like I love you, then please... just trust me."

Rarity lowered her wailing into a steady cry and looked up at him. She saw his eyes were just as hurt as hers. Rarity knew Clyde as well as herself and deep down inside, she knew she had to trust him. She loved him too much and she knew he felt the same. They shared so many special memories together and wanted to continue doing so. Rarity slowly nodded and rubbed her hand along his cheek, specifically the spot she struck. "I'm so sorry, Clyde..."

"Don't apologize. I shouldn't have worded it that way." Clyde gave her a teary smile. "I really did want to go with you to the city. I know it means so much to you to design there and have someone you love be with you to support and encourage you everyday, but I have to do something for myself for once."

"What's that?" asked Rarity weakly. Her voice and mind was still recovering from her collapse.

Clyde gave a long sigh and Rarity felt him hug her tighter. "I decided that I'm going to play basketball overseas for a year. I leave the first week of June, which unfortunately is next week."

Rarity's eye widened and she felt sadness in her eyes once more. "N-Next week? We had so many plans to do in June because I leave early July..."

"I know, but since I'm leaving now, unless we do them within the next few days, I won't be able to go with you." Clyde frowned. "Like I was trying to say, all year I watched our friends plan for their future and set dreams to accomplish, but I never found mine. Coach told me today that he had sources for teams overseas. I need to see if this is mine as they can get me into the professional league here. Plus, they pay more overseas compared to the development league in this country." Clyde looked up at the sky and rested his head on hers. "I knew you probably would have been sad, so I tried wording it differently and that didn't turn out so well, did it?" He gave a laugh and looked down into Rarity's now almost-wet-instead-of flooded-eyes. "I hope you forgive me and can understand. I never wanted to hurt you. You know that."

Rarity smiled. She didn't smile just to comfort him, she smiled because she was correct to think Clyde wanted to be with her. While they would be apart from each other for a long time, she knew she still had someone to keep her happy. "While I'm still recovering from a complete overreaction meltdown and extremely sad I won't see you for a long time, I respect your mature decision. Since I've met you, you had always helped me and let me get anything I wanted because you love me and care more about me being happy than you being happy. It's only fair that I finally reciprocate your passion and show you how much I love you. You deserve to follow your dream like anyone else and I shouldn't be the one to stop you. I just hope we can still keep in touch."

Clyde rubbed her back. "I'll find time to talk to you, even if I'm a few hours ahead of this time zone. The contract should only be for one season so I'll be home sometime next summer. I'd reckon the middle of July."

"Fabulous." By this point, her crying stopped and she wiped her ruined makeup off her face. After she was done, Rarity nuzzled her head into him and Clyde responded by hugging her tighter. She realized while being completely smothered by his warm body in their hug that they were literally sitting in the middle of an empty parking lot. She was glad no cars from the roads could see them as they drove by because they were behind buildings, but she found the whole setting amusing. She looked up at him and kissed his cheek. "I feel so terrible for hitting you, Clyde. I lost control of my emotions and took it out on you for no reason..."

Clyde rubbed his cheek and chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I made you upset and I know you didn't mean it." He helped her off the pavement and led her back to his car. "Would you like to spend the rest of the day together or should I just drop you off at your home?"

"Of course I want to spend time together since we are on a short countdown, but could we hang out at my house? I'm simply exhausted from all that running and crying."

Clyde smiled and gave her a nod. "Sure thing, Miss Rarity." He helped her into the passenger seat before running around the car to get in his seat.

Both of them remained silent on the drive back, but Clyde had the radio on for them to listen to on the way to her house. Rarity, however, stared out the window the whole time. Her year at Manehattan was surely going to be harder for her now to focus on without the daily support from Clyde, but she knew he had faith in her to do an excellent job by herself. She had to make him proud to show him that she could achieve her dream mostly by herself. However, she wasn't thinking about that for long as only one thought remained in her mind.

Clyde and her only had one week together before he left for a year so she had to think of ways to make that last week absolutely fabulous for them both before they couldn't see each other in person for a long time.

Author's Note:

Seems this was the longest chapter so far in the AF series. You all should know why now.

Comments

[axl bishop]

im not gonna cry....not gonna...i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr289/axlthehedgehog_2008/responses/over%20reacted.gif i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr289/axlthehedgehog_2008/responses/Throwing%20A%20Fit%20Crying.gif .........i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr289/axlthehedgehog_2008/responses/the%20feels/werst%20possible%20thing.gif
i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr289/axlthehedgehog_2008/responses/the%20feels/full.jpg

stayclassy

[BRyeMC]

6010563 don't cry! Everything will work out, I promise.

[BlueSun52]

Dang, it really got out of hand near the end but I'm glad to see the two are still staying together Too bad that they'll be thousands of miles from each other

[BRyeMC]

6010719 To be specific, they will be roughly 3,625 miles apart.

But don't worry, Clyde's plan will be revealed eventually.

[beastlybiscuit]

I'm super excited to see how this is resolved.

[BRyeMC]

6012425 I hope you will be pleased then with the future chapters.

[Light Spark]

Both stories are written beautifully and were written to perfection i hope you continue this series into the future you're an amazing writer.

[BRyeMC]

6029163 Thank you very much for the kind words. I really appreciate it.

I plan to keep updating this story for some time, so I hope you stay around and continute reading.

[RaritySimper44]

I love the eqg Clarity saga, it should have been longer. I know this is not the last chapter.