A Long Winding Road

Chapter 11

~Helloooo sry I'm gonna start posting stuff around this time cause lately I don't have time to do so at my usual time, thanks and enjoy :)~

"Hey, AJ."

She looks up. She still looks as beautiful as ever since the last time we met. She hasn't become older, age has become her. The white streaks in her hair make her look as radiant as ever, the spark in her eyes just as bright as the day I set eyes on her.

She smiles. I walk over and give her a peck on the cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"Aww, just a bit sore, sugarcube. Don't worry." She kisses me on the lips. I pull back a bit, shocked, but I go in and kiss her back again. God, I've missed her.

"You two done?" I hear a familiar voice. I've heard that phrase way too many times than needed.

I pull away and smile at her. She smiles back.

"Hey, AJ. You good?" Sunset asks her.

"How many times must I tell y'all, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Speakin' of which, why are you and Twilight so close?" 

They're just holding hands, typical SciSet stuff.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asks, confused.

I forgot. They only told us of their relationship later that year, despite it being blatantly obvious.

"Didn't they tell you? They're a couple now." Pinkie says, confused.

"Really? I don't remember." She frowns. "Can't really remember anything really. Lately my memory's been foggy..."

I start to panic.

"It's okay, babe. Probably just a side effect of the accident. Just rest, don't worry."

She laughs and leans back, more relaxed.

"Okay, okay. You're so cute when you worry." She looks at the "new" couple. "Good job, you two. Y'all been showing signs that you like each other for years but never acting on it. Finally." She smiles. "Anything else changed since I was out?"

"Fluttershy got with Discord." Pinkie blurts out.

Shy blushes. I don't know why she's so shy, she's literally married to him now and they have a kid.

"The bad boy bug got her." I add.

She laughs. "Good for you, Fluttershy. Bet he'll teach you more about confidence, seeing how big his ego is."

"Discord may be a bit, proud, but he's a sweetheart inside." Fluttershy replies.

"The love bug got her too. Hasn't hit me yet, though." Rarity says.

"It'll come soon, don't you worry. Pinkie, still going strong with Cheese?"

"Yup! We...erm...we... went on a date this...Monday!" She says. She's a horrible liar. Hopefully AJ doesn't notice.

"Good for you, sugarcube. Any homework I should worry about?" We go on, making stuff up as we go along. It's fun actually, with a few inconsistencies, but otherwise okay. Soon, we say goodbye to AJ and go for lunch.

"Rainbow? Can you stay for a bit? I needa tell you something."

I nod. "See y'all at the food place?"

They nod and walk out.

I turn to AJ. The girl I haven't seen in almost 18 years. The love of my life. The one I let down. The one I almost spent my whole life with, but didn't. Because of a stupid mistake.

"What did you want to talk about?" I ask, sitting on her bed.

"Come closer."

I move closer to her. She cups my face in her hands and kisses me. I kiss back. We enjoy a few minutes of this before she pulls away.

"I love you, sugarcube. Now go get your lunch."

"I love you too." I kiss her once and go to the door. When I open it, my friends fall down like dominoes. I give them a look.

"Well, we didn't really hear anything, so that means you were..."

"No! God, no. We're in a hospital. We were...we were making out." I mumble the last part in embarrassment.

They start laughing all the way to the food place. We order and sit down at a table.

"I have a question for you Dashie." Pinkie says.

"Fire away." I say, not looking up.

"Why did you start panicking when she said she couldn't really remember?"

I freeze and look up. "I...I...erm...I didn't want her to stress herself out...?" The last part sounds more like a question than an answer.

"Come on, Dash. Something's up. Look, I've known you since we were 7. I know you. Come on, spill." Sunset says.

I sigh. "Fine. I just...I don't really want her to remember. Because, that would bring back everything that happened. And when we were in that room, it felt...good again, you know? Like, we hardly see each other anymore, and even that's a stretch. And I miss her. I missed her so bad every single day of my life. And I don't want to lose that, not again."

"Hey." 

"Hey." I look up. They all look at me. "Maybe she's changed her mind after all these years, maybe-"

"You know AJ. You really believe that?"

"She's not one to hold grudges. If anything, I think she'll at least let you visit. We'll sort it out, okay? Together. No more friendship breaks. We're friends for life. We've been through so much together, and it will stay like that. We're here for you."

I smile at them, tears in my eyes. "Thanks."