Vinyl's eyes kept glued onto you. You weren't sure what the expression on her face was but if you had to guess, it would be somewhere along the lines of shock and disbelief, with a little frustration thrown into the mix. You had nopony to blame but yourself. Vinyl was the pony who needed to hear about your predicament most. Even though it was because of circumstances that were out of your reach, you still felt a bit of guilt for keeping the choice you had to make to yourself. You had to guess that her disappointment was multiplied as she sat there listening to everypony tell her about the conversations they had with you about the subject while she was not-so-conveniently left out.

You felt guilty beyond reason. Here was the only pony you could ever have a love interest in, and you kept her ignorant of something that had the importance of changing both of your lives forever. You tried to explain yourself, but no words came out. There was no excuse you could brainstorm to make up for what you had done, and the realization of it hit you right at this moment. It was right when you saw the twinkle in her eye fade when you told her what she needed to hear weeks ago. Everypony else in the room could only nervously shift their eyes to the corner, fearful of the newly-bred conflict between you and Vinyl; a conflict magnified by the fact that you chose not to stay.

"Why...? You could've told me this whole time, but you didn't. I just... I don't understand."

You couldn't possibly say anything. Making excuses was useless at this point. You just stood there, eyes glued to the floor in guilt as you waited for Vinyl to snap and begin yelling at you; but she didn't.

"Your highnesses, girls, could you give us a second or two? I'm sorry..." They left without a sound. You could only imagine how disappointed they were in you for your carelessness.

The door gently clapped behind them and you were left alone with Vinyl. "You could hear a pin drop" was an understatement. She let out a sigh as she continued to take it all in and took a seat on the bed next to you.

"I'm....I'm not mad at you, okay?" That certainly surprised you.

She continued after pinching her temples. "I just wish you would've told me sooner... I didn't think you'd be going back to your world so soon. Even after we..."

You thought she would begin crying at this point, but she didn't. She instead drifted her eyes away from you and downwards as she fiddled with the bed sheets in between her hooves. You couldn't bear her looking like this anymore. With compassionate eyes, you sat down next to her and wrapped your arm around her waist. To your surprise, she didn't shove your arm away.

"Vinyl... I'm sorry. I know I should've told you. I was planning on staying here at first, so I guess I thought it wasn't too important. But I've been doing a lot of thinking and-"

"I know." She said with a half faked smile on her face. "It's your home. Not just your home, your home world. I mean, I can't imagine how hard it would be to leave that all behind."

You could sense some truth in her tone, but you could also sense that she was keeping her real feelings from you. After a while of watching her face become more and more depressed, you pulled her tightly against you.

"I really like you, Vinyl. I do. You've always been the one pony I could ever see myself with... But only being able to go home once a year... I don't think I could do tha-"

"What about me?!" She suddenly shut her eyes and yelled out of anger confusion and sadness. You tried to respond, but you were too afraid to.

"I'm going to sit here by myself for the rest of my life wishing that things would've been different, but nothing will change... Do you understand what that will feel like, Alex?!"

You were surprised both by her outburst and her sudden dramatic emotions. Vinyl struck you as being relaxed and cool-headed, but her fondness of you had obviously changed her. Again, you didn't dare respond in fear of making yourself look stupid. However, before you gave up the effort to reason with her, she grasped your hand with her hoof.

"I'm sorry Alex. I...I really love you. Being around you makes me feel so safe and I just feel like I can do anything with you and you'll always like me. Nopony has ever made me feel that way. But..." She sniffed. "It would be selfish to take you from your home."

It pained you to agree with her. Even if it was once a year, it would still be as if you never existed. How could you possibly explain to your parents? Or the few number of friends you had? Your life on planet Earth would be over and even though it was far from perfect, it was still your home. You envisioned yourself fifty years in the future in Equestria aching to go back home for a week, or even a month instead of just one day.

Nopony there could disagree with you. From their reaction to your answer, you knew that they were thinking the same way you were.

"Vinyl, I'm sorry... I-"

She shook her head and looked at you. You could see a true sadness in her magenta eyes that made your heart ache to its core. "Don't be. You have your home and... Well, I have mine. I knew this whole time that you'd have to go eventually, anyways."

She continued after a half-efforted laugh. "It was fun while it lasted, wasn't it?"

You opened your mouth to answer, but no words came out. You couldn't remind her how you truly felt about her, how it wasn't just "fun" for you, how it was something else entirely that made your heart melt for her. You couldn't say. It would just make the inevitable goodbye worse.

"So when are you leaving?" She asked after a sigh through her nostrils.

"Tonight, probably. That's what Luna said, after all."

"Alright." She got up and headed for the door. Every ounce of life in your body wanted to stop her and hold on to her and never let go, but you grit your teeth hard as you just stood there, not sure what to do.

"W-wait..." You looked away foolishly hoping it would change her mind.

She cut you off by turning around and showing a somewhat reassuring yet seemingly fake smile. "Don't worry, I'll be there." You wanted to smile with her, but you couldn't. You walked briskly with your head hanging low and picked her up, embracing her in a emotional hug that lasted several seconds.

"I'm so sorry..." Your voice was muffled by your sobbing and her fur pressing against your mouth.

The door opened and everypony else, apparently hearing what was going on, came in and joined in the hug. It was a warm and unbelievably lovely one. You tried to speak through your tears.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to let everyone down... I-" You were too emotional to bother saying "everypony".

Luna interrupted you. "Alex, your actions do not let us down. We would feel terrible to pull you from your home against your will, and we all understand what you must do."

Celestia, as sympathetically stalwart as ever, put her hoof on your shoulder. "The fault belongs to nopony. Your home is your home, Alex, and we cannot change that. Nopony here resents you for the decision you made, including me."

"And me." Vinyl tucked her head under your chin and smiled. "Sorry if I made you feel guilty..."

You looked down at her and smiled. It took less than a moment to forgive her, even though you thought she wasn't at fault to begin with. A smile slowly grew back on your face, but it was stopped short by your entire left arm becoming blurred as a dense numbness shot up your side. You couldn't help but wince and grit your teeth.

"Come." Celesta pulled back from the hug and gave you a concerned yet stern look. "We must get ready."

Vinyl's front door slammed shut. The vibration made plates clatter in the nearby kitchen and made Octavia, who was practicing her cello in the living room, jump and yelp.

"Goodness Vinyl, is that really necessary?"

She gave her roommate a disgruntled look that soon turned into a look of concern as Vinyl trotted past her, completely ignoring her, and went straight to her room. She didn't decide to go after her until she saw a slight stain on the carpet where a freshly produced tear had fallen from Vinyl's cheek.

"Vinyl?" She put down the instrument and slowly made her way to her room. To her surprise, the door was slightly cracked. Her head pushed back the door a little and she turned on the light in the room to reveal Vinyl laying on her side away from her on her bed. She wasn't sure how emotionally unstable she was, so she kept her distance and stayed within the doorway.

"What's wrong?"

"It...It's Alex." She peeked over her shoulder in bed and looked over at Octavia. Her voice was a little wobbly from crying. Octavia let down her guard and slowly came to Vinyl's bedside before sitting down next to her and putting a hoof on her.

"He decided not to stay, didn't he?"

Vinyl nodded her head sadly and Octavia laid down with her, holding her tight as tears formed in her eyes as well. For reasons she couldn't dare tell anypony else, she desperately wanted Alex to stay just as much as Vinyl did. They both knew, however, that he would have to go someday and that neither of them could stop him from returning to his home. The reality that the two had been pushing back in their minds for so long had finally surfaced, and it took everything the two mares had to not break down in an emotional wreck.

"Vinyl, come on now. You can always find another pony." Octavia wasn't talking to Vinyl as much as she was talking to herself.

"I k-know" Vinyl replied with a *sniff*. "He was just...He was so..." This was the most Octavia had seen Vinyl cry. She tucked her head close to hers and tried not to sob.

"I know, Vinyl. I know."

They lied in bed for several sober and heartfelt moments before Octavia slowly got back up.

She held out her hoof to Vinyl. "Come on. The least we can do is see him off."

Vinyl wiped her eyes several times and looked up at her as if wondering whether or not to stay in bed and avoid having to see Alex go. She took a deep yet unstable breath before strengthening herself and taking the hoof.

"Alex, I said only one book!" Twilight giggled to herself as she caught you trying to stuff four Daring Doo books into a backpack she lent you.

You smiled apologetically and put everything back except for the copy that caught your eye the most: "Daring Doo and The Amethyst Amulet".

Twilight didn't seem as distraught about you leaving as most of the others did. It was as if the thought of you leaving hadn't quite hit her yet. Nonetheless, you were glad to see a smile on her face. Doing anything to make anypony here sad was the last thing you wanted to do. It made you think of how happy everypony would be if you stayed, how sad they would be of you left, and the parallel reaction you would have received from your family and friends if the same had happened to them. Something in your gut kept you from being able to see your family or friends act as excited as all your pony friends if the same happened to them.

You got up and flung the sack that Twilight had given you over your back. However, as you began to walk towards the door, your feet went on auto-pilot and your eyes looked past everything as your mind recreated a memory from years ago.

The image that flooded your mind was of you standing in the living room much like the room you were in now and watching the front door close with cold and distant eyes as your parents left without so much as a “goodbye”. They ended up calling you a day later, but the feeling of loneliness and abandonment that you felt in that moment stuck with you like super glue. Ever since that fleeting moment in your life, you felt the security of your parents love and affection slowly drift away. Sure they might have had their own troubles, but was it really that much of a chore to say goodbye to your son before sending him off to college for four years and then moving five hundred miles away?

Suddenly, your mind fluidly went back to your living room. However, instead of your parents leaving the house and leaving you by yourself, you were surrounded by the mane six and Vinyl Scratch. They didn’t coldly leave you in a dark seclusion. They were all crowded around you and talking to you with cheery faces and wide smiles. The room seemed a bit brighter and more colorful as well with a warm fire roaring in the background.

Your eyelids fluttered and your head jerked back as you noticed that Twilight was waving her hoof in front of you.

“Hello? Alex? You still there?” She gave you a silly yet concerned stare.

“O-oh! Yeah, I’m fine!” You buckled the flap over your bag and headed out the door with her.

You took a deep breath of Equestrian air and you could tell without having to look at the thick puddles of water on the ground that it had rained. The fresh moist smell of a rainy day was one of your favorite scents. As you exhaled and opened your eyes, another object caught your attention and your head started to drift off once more.

It was just a simple wooden bench that was outside of Twilight's tree house. However, it reminded you of high school. It was after school one rainy day and you and your friend were both huddled under a single umbrella waiting for the bus. It was your first time meeting him, so it was somewhat awkward. However, he seemed like a cool guy so you invited him over to your house that night. The night was the most fun you ever had. The two of you played video games for hours and stayed up late to watch tv against your mothers' wishes. He seemed to like everything you liked and related to you on so many levels. However, the only thing your head kept coming back to were the countless weeks that went by afterwards. He didn't even look in your direction and even though you shared a desk right next to his in one of your classes, he never acknowledge you in a friendly manner. After a while, he began to hang out with the “cool” group and completely ignored your requests to have another sleepover or just hang out in general. It was another feeling of abandonment and rejection that plagued you ever since it happened. An image of yourself sitting in the rain alone on that bench seeped into your conscience. The boy never came back to sit with you on the bench and wait for the bus, probably in fear of an awkward situation with you, and you were always left sitting by yourself with nothing to do but stare at your own feet. You realized that it was the last time he had ever spoken to you.

Then, then same thing happened again. The memory of you sitting on the bench in the rain re-played. It was as dark and cloudy as you remembered, but instead of your friend sitting with you, it was Vinyl Scratch. She was clasping on to your arm and humming a tune you didn't recognize. She was unbelievably warm and her presence made you feel a sort of companionship that went beyond simple friendship. She looked up at you lovingly and nuzzled her muzzle in between your arm and your side in that way that told you subliminally that she would never leave you.

"Alex, come on! We have a train to- Hey, are you okay? You're crying..." Twilight levitated a small tissue and blotted it underneath your eyes, which brought you back to reality.

"Don't be sad, Alex. You're going back home! Isn't that what you wanted?" She tried to encourage you, but it had an opposite effect.

"Yeah... I guess I am."

"Don't worry, everypony will be there to see you off. I made sure of it! Right, Spike?"

You failed to notice that Spike had been following the two of you up to this point. He pulled out an enormously long checklist and tapped his claw against each checked box as he went down, mumbling to himself.

"Yep, that's everypony on the checklist."

"Good." Twilight trotted alongside you, proud that she had everything in order. You couldn't help but to let a faint smile crawl onto your face as you temporarily tried to push back what had just happened.

The streets of Canterlot were overflowed. You had figured that the ponies there would take much more notice of your earlier heroism, but not this much notice. Mares, stallions, colts and little fillies crowded around you the second you left the train. Your dampened mood told you to ignore them all and walk straight to the castle without any distractions. The little fillies and colts ruined your ability to do that, though. You always had a soft spot for kids and that spot multiplied when those kids were ponies. You felt a tug at your pants and you looked down to find a little pegasus filly looking up at you with large disconcerting eyes.

"Mister Awex? Are you weally going aweady?

You wanted to pick her up and nuzzle her cheek because of how adorable she was. You knelt down on one knee, but it wasn't enough to meet her at eye level. She had beautiful amber eyes and a mane that reminded you of Derpy a little.

"I'm sorry, little one. This place is great, but I miss my home and my family is probably really worried about me. I'll come back some day if I can." The answer didn't truly reflect how you really felt. A hurricane of mixed feelings was still stirring in your stomach. You gave her a smile and ruffled her hair teasingly, making her disconcerted face melt slowly into a small grin before getting back up and making your way towards the castle.

It was like a going-away party in the streets. In fact, that's exactly what it was. There were streamers and decorations strung as high as you could see; all of which had your face on them. Some had "Good-bye, Alex!" painted on them, which lowered your spirits slightly. Others had "Thank You!" and "You're Awesome!" and other miscelanious encouragements.

You suddenly received a not so gentle tap on the shoulder from your right followed by a deep voice that shook your core.

"Sir Alex, please follow me."

You turned to see a full squadron of guards waiting in formation to escort you to the doors. From their appearance, they looked like Luna's guards. You joined in the middle of their formation, both glad that your journey was quickened and disappointed that you didn't get to talk to say goodbye to anypony around you. Even though most of the guards weren't as tall as you, their black plate armor and thick bulging muscles in their legs and torso intimidated you slightly. The huge polished halberds didn't exactly help, either.

The guards eventually led you to the huge castle steps where the four princesses stood waiting for you. Twilight had apparently used the diversion of the crowd to teleport ahead. You gave them a smile but they simply turned around and gestured you to come inside. You looked nervously to the side as you climbed up to keep yourself from looking at the princess's behinds, but you couldn't help but steal a peek or two. You began to wonder how stallions were able to keep their desires at bay with the mares' bodies being fully exposed like that. Despite there being four plots almost right in your face, the only one that drew your attention was Luna's. You quickly snapped out of your daydream as the main doors closed loudly behind you and you looked up to see all your friends standing in a semicircle around the princesses.

You found Vinyl among them and hoped so dearly to see her smiling, but she wasn't. Then again, it was hard to imagine why she would be happy. Octavia was right next to her, and even though she had the same look on her face as Vinyl, she managed to make eye contact with you. Vinyl's eyes, on the other hand, seemed glued to the floor in front of her. Before you had a chance to go over to her, Celestia grabbed your attention.

"I apologize, Alex, but there is no time to delay. The window between our worlds will only be open for a few moments. Take a short while to say farewell to your friends, and then you must go."

You walked over to the semicircle of ponies with your head hung low. After thinking of what to say for a few moments, you tried your best not to get emotional.

"I'm sorry girls, I'm not really good at good-byes..."

You hadn't but a second to look up before everypony circled around you and embraced you in a tight hug. Vinyl and Octavia were clumped up right next to you and they both looked up at you with eyes that would have made you break down and cry if you stared at them for too long.

"We hope you enjoyed staying here with us." Fluttershy miraculously made herself audible from the back of the crowd.

"Yes, we certainly enjoyed having you!" Rarity used that voluptuous accent that made her seem sexually suggestive even if she wasn't.

You felt just like you thought Vinyl was feeling. You wanted to badly to tell everypony how much you enjoyed staying and how amazing everything was, but you kept yourself from speaking in fear of breaking down in front of them. Their warm bodies and silky fur pressed against you cozily and you felt like you could stay like this forever and not utter a single complaint.

"Alex, we must hurry." Celestia called to you with urgency in her tone.

You gave Vinyl one last kiss. It wasn't anything special. Actually, you wished it would've been something more, but it would have made the good-bye that much more unbearable and heartbreaking. You turned around to see that Luna was holding out the mysterious doorknob that was used to transport you here. You took a deep breath and then walked forward.

A pin dropping in the main halls could have caused hearing damage. It was a nervous silence that you had not experienced in a very long time. Your soft shoes made a muffled yet very distinguishable *thud* with every step and as you got closer, and you could hear the whisps of magic emanating from the doorknob. You turned back one last time and tried your hardest to force a smile for everypony and then turned around to take the doorknob in your hand from the small pillow being held up by Luna.

You held and admired it for a few moments before grasping it and presenting it forward into the air just as Luna did in the past. You nearly jumped when thin blue lines protruded from it and spread to form a large dark blue wooden door. Your heart beat fast and you prepared yourself for the big jump, but before you turned the doorknob, you heard a faint whisper in your right ear.

"Alex, your future is with us. You know this."

By it's tone, you could tell that it was Luna. You could barely understand the words that came from her, but they hit your conscience like a freight train. You knew from the strange visions earlier that your life would be happier here. None of your friends or family back home would have welcomed you, kept you, and said goodbye to you like anypony here had. You knew that with each memory that surfaced earlier that you would be treated like a true friend here and you wouldn't be taken for granted in a million years, which is what you truly wanted more than anything else. Now that you thought about it, you began to question why those visions came to you and started to wonder whether or not Luna had something to do with them. She had already entered your dreams once, it wasn't out of the question that she could enter daydreams as well. Your hand that was on the doorknob froze in place and you stared at it for several seconds as your mind stirred.

"Alex, there is no time! The connection to your world is fading, so you must go now!"

You closed your eyes and concentrated hard, trying to work past the stressful situation. However, your hand did not budge the knob one bit.

"Alex!" Celestia's voice lost its commanding tone and she began to sound nervous, almost panicked.

You let go of the knob.

Before anypony could say anything, you turned around and walked briskly right towards Vinyl, who was looking at you very oddly with tears rolling down her face. She looked speechless as you knelt down on one knee and planted the most romantic and sensual kiss you had ever given right onto her soft white lips. It lasted several seconds, and you could hear Celestia and Twilight trying to form words behind you to express their shock in what just happened. You could hear the magic from the door slowly diminish, which was followed by a loud *tink* from the doorknob hitting the floor.

You pulled back from Vinyl's lips and stared right into her heart-melting magenta eyes, giving her a sincere smile.

She finally began to stumble for words. "A-Alex, what are you doing? Your home..."

You embraced her with a passionate hug and you could feel her tears trickle down your shoulder, dampening your shirt.

"I am home."

Author's Notes:

If there are any grammatical or spelling errors, please PM me and let me know so that I can fix them asap. Thanks for reading! <3
~Canadianbrony91