High school graduation... the end of one life and the beginning of another. The night where four years of hard work, perseverance, good grades, and counting down the days pay off. Where longtime friends soak up their high school memories before taking on the world as young adults. The night where dreams come true with every necessary bit of pomp and circumstance.... graduation.

Julio became a combination of excited, anxious, and terrified at the thought of graduation. The intoxication of every one of these emotions shook him to the core.
...because not only would Rainbow Dash go back to Equestria to attend basic training at the Wonderbolts Academy, it also meant that Julio would have to stay home to attend college. This would evidently place strain on their tight relationship that would be difficult to reconcile. This would require some serious thought.

~~~

In the weeks and days leading up to graduation, Rainbow Dash, Julio, and the rest of the gang went hog-wild - cutting afternoon classes, having lunches and picnics, and going to various restaurants, bars and pubs with Spitfire, Lightning Dust, and their friends as well as Julio's band friends. Other times, the two would go to a random place for the sole purpose of having hot, rough, and steamy sex for a time.

In the week leading up to graduation, Rainbow Dash and Julio had dinner at a café downtown, went to see a soccer game in Sheffield, went to the zoo, and going places with friends of theirs.

But the night just before graduation, the collective Edison-Armstrong's high school senior population threw a party that would rival May Day or even New Year's. The alcohol flowed freely throughout town; the stores all ran out of condoms, lighters, and fireworks; an exhilarating ambience circulated throughout the hollows and hills of coal country.

Most of the seniors went to a house party at a house just outside of Gaston, in the hills, but Rainbow insisted that Julio stay in town with the herd and some of their closest friends and have a party of their own, so they did. And by seven o'clock, the gang was all there. There was an arrangement set up on the counter, with vegetable and meat platters from the store and pizzas from Tony's. The guests would have to bring their own drinks, with the exception of the sizable stash of wine and liquor stored on the very tops of the cupboards retrieved only for special occasions.

Once the platters and pizza were, for the most part, cleaned off, and rounds of ginger ale and mugs of root beer were thoroughly imbibed, it was time to sit back, relax, and take a look back on their high school years. Rainbow put on some music to enhance the mood.

The story-telling and memory banking continued for about an hour and a half while the more rowdy celebrations went on outside.

Julio followed Rainbow Dash to the window facing the street. The pair made memories while standing at that window that would last a lifetime... from their first kiss when the place was still an attic, to Julio's many calm-down sessions, especially during his junior year when a girl in his class claimed that she got pregnant with his baby... This one spot held them all. The mare moved his muzzle towards his lips and kissed them.

"Looking forward to graduation?" Rainbow asked.

"Yea, I sure am," Julio replied. The pair went back to kissing. Rainbow maneuvered her hoof behind her human stallion's head and stroked up and down his neck.

"You know I'll have to go back home after graduation sometime, right?"

"Back to Equestria?"

"Yep, and I think Spitfire as well..."

"Damn..." Julio grumbled under his breath. "At least we still have all of June and July..."

"I might be leaving June 26," Rainbow said, causing Julio to back off a bit. He backed into the corner.

"Was it something I said?"

Julio said nothing.

A minute or so later, Spitfire showed up at his side and nuzzled him.

"What's wrong?"

"You're going back to Equestria, are you? Like the rest of them," Julio said forlornly.

"I don't have to go back until sometime in August," Spitfire said.

A smidgen of relief washed over him. "What about LD?"

"I don't know if she's going back or not."

"So why do you go back to Equestria then?!"

"Calm down, and I'll explain..."

Julio listened intently.

"We only came to Equestria on a study-abroad program. We come over here as exchange students, go to school just like you, then go to college or wherever once we graduate. For example, a friend of mine graduated in the class above you, and is now going to Canterlot University.

"Most of us either come here starting in the eighth or ninth grade. We study throughout high school, then after we graduate, we can either go back to Equestria or obtain citizenship to stay here. Rainbow Dash is planning on joining the Wonderbolts back in Equestria, so she'll be going back. I'm a member of the Wonderbolts, but I can go back in August, since we're not needed until then. I think Lightning Dust is planning on joining the Equestrian RAF, but she has to get a college degree first. She may not go back until the fall..."

"So where does that leave me?" Julio asked.

"RD, come here for a minute."

Rainbow Dash trotted over to the pair. "What's wrong?"

"He's just a bit disappointed that we're all leaving him."

"Aww..." Rainbow cooed softly. "You're gonna miss everybody?"

Julio continued to say nothing as she nuzzled his side.

"You're all leaving without me. Are you insane?"

"You can always go to college with us, if that's what you want."

Julio stared. "Really?"

"I'm serious. We can start applying as soon as you graduate... to Canterlot Academy, Canterlot University, Manehattan Institute, Clydesville Institute, Fillydelphia Arts, Morin IU, Eberly IU, Berkshire IU, Everest IU, Goff, any of the polytechnics... as soon as you graduate," Rainbow Dash pleaded with him.

"Do this... for me. For all of us," Spitfire insisted.

After contemplating for what seemed like an eternity and a half, Julio made a decision.

"I'll consider it."

"You will? You mean it?" Rainbow asked.

"Yes." Resounding cheers all around.

"I swear, this will be a wonderful opportunity to expand your horizons. Just think about what you can accomplish..." said an exuberant Spitfire.

"Yes... my accomplishments."

Happy with the decision, the gang went back to their couch, thirsty for more to drink. Rainbow was the first to inquire.

"Hey, remember that little get-together we had just before Hearth's Warming [Christmas]?"

"I still have that bottle of mulled wine that we saved, or I might have some beer in the fridge."

"Know where it is?"

"While we're on the subject of drinks here, I'm in the mood for a martini," Spitfire said with an exaggerated upper-crust accent.

"A martini?"

"A martini."

"Well, you'll just have to look somewhere else, because I don't have any martinis to speak of," Julio replied, to which Spitfire 'sulked'.

"So, are there any good schools you may want to go to?" Lightning Dust asked.

"Definitely somewhere small," Julio said. "I don't want to get lost, especially if it's a place I've never been."

This conversation continued for an hour until the last few slow songs played over Julio's speakers, signaling that it was almost time to leave.

The mood winded down, and with every attendant tuckered out, the members of the senior class gathered inside said their last goodbyes, for this was the next-to-last time that they would be seeing each other as a class.

~~~

Once the party mess was all cleaned up and taken to the curb for the rubbish men to pick up, Rainbow Dash and Julio were in the living room, snuggling and partaking in mulled wine.

"Hard to believe it's already here," Rainbow said, flabbergasted. "Where did all that time go?"

"Beats me... it really flies when you're having fun."

"It sure does." Rainbow Dash said.

After taking a sip of his wine, Julio entertained another thought.

"What do you remember most about these past few years?"

"The picnic on the hill," Rainbow recalled. "I'll never forget that. What about you, Jules?"

"Let's see..." Julio started, diving headfirst into his memory bank. "My freshman year, it had to be the blue Buick incident as well as having to lecture the school cooks about my G.I. issue. Sophomore year, definitely had to be the time someone drew a dick on my locker."

Rainbow laughed at that memory. "You literally insisted on grabbing a sponge and soap from the janitors' closet because you were so furious."

"Junior year," Julio continued, "was when I took my mom's necklace by mistake instead of the one we bought for prom..."

"That one you bought from the flea market... yeah, I remember it..."

"But when it comes to senior year, my biggest memory will probably be going all the way with you."

"Why, you tease!"

"It's true," Julio said with finality in his voice. "Going all the way with you is a milestone that I will remember most about high school... when I look back and remember your name fifty years from now."

"Maybe when you remember my name fifty years from now, it'll be because I am your very, very special somepony," Rainbow Dash said.

"Or my spouse - one of the two," Julio retorted playfully.

The pair finished their wine, put the glasses in the sink, brushed their teeth, performed their specific nighttime rituals, and retired to bed.

"Night," said Julio.

"Night," Rainbow said back.

~~~

At 6 a.m. sharp, the mare was already out of bed, raring to get to breakfast.

"Up and at 'em, Jules!" Rainbow Dash said, waking her buddy. "We don't want to be late for senior breakfast."

Julio simply rolled out of bed, stood up, and stumbled towards the bathroom.

"Let's get dressed, preferably in something decent, but not so much that it's as though we're going to meet the governor and such," Rainbow continued.

"Alright, fine, I'll dig out one of my polo shirts and a pair of cargo shorts," Julio mumbled, still half-asleep.

"Well, hurry it up, we still have to brush our teeth, shower, and all that other stuff."

"Can we at least get a cup of coffee on the way there?" Julio asked.

"Fine," Rainbow exasperatedly replied.

Thirty-five minutes later, the pair were, by all means, ready to make tracks. The only thing left was to get dressed - Julio in a polo shirt and cargo pants, his signature outfit, and Rainbow in a white short-cut dress and one of the sun hats that her mate had bought for her - then flip out the lights, lock the door, and set off for senior breakfast.

The breakfast was held in the local Chez Mondo's banquet room. Once they got there, the doors into the large room were opened for them. The room was trimmed in pink, white, and blue - the school's colors - and tables were set for them.

Once the pair retrieved their breakfasts, the employee graciously pulled their chairs out for them. The pair each got one stack of pancakes with some delicious (albeit a bit sticky) maple syrup, but that's where the similarities ended. Rainbow had a generous bowl of fruit and some pastries, while Julio helped himself to a pile of various breads, such as croissants, pieces of toast, danishes, bagels, and sweet cakes teamed up with a mug of piping hot breakfast tea with a pinch of sugar - all gratis.

Julio picked up a few pieces of pancake and crammed them into his mouth. "Mmm, it's good," he complimented of the light and fluffy texture. He sent a swig of the tea down his throat to chase it.

Once breakfast was done, Julio and Rainbow tossed their dishes into a suds bucket to be sent off to the kitchen. He was just about to grab his hat when Mr. Flores walked up beside him and said hello.

"Hey there, Mr. Flores...!" replied Julio.

"Wow, it seems like it was yesterday that you walked through the front doors and now you're graduating high school, getting ready to go to college... do you know where you're going to?"

"I sent applications to over thirty schools - I'm sure that I'll get accepted into at least one of them."

"Thirty schools? Oh my!"

"I know - I was surprised too!..." Julio exclaimed, "especially because some of these schools only want the cream of the crop in their ranks."

It was then that Mr. Flores clasped Julio in a fond farewell to give some last minute advice.

"Julio, the principals are about to make a speech, so I think we need to make our way back. But I just want you to know that no matter where you end up going, don't live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable.."(Wendy Wasserstein)

"I certainly will, Mr. Flores."

"That's good to know, because I know you can do amazing things. I've seen you truly stand up for yourself and really break out of your shell since you've been at the high school. You are a remarkable young man. Never forget it."

Julio's eyes began to well up, not with tears, but with liquid pride.

"Thanks, Mr. Flores. I can say the same thing about you..."

The pair split and went their separate ways. Then all of a sudden, Julio started to feel a bit ragged.

"Are you okay there, bud?" Rainbow asked of him as he walked up.

"I'm worked up... already."

"Maybe we need to get some fresh air, to get the edge off."

"I still need more tea."

"You've already had two or three mugs, and that alone should be enough."

"But I'm not even close to 'cooled off' yet, it's only my first mug..." Julio continued.

"After graduation practice," Rainbow assured calmly. "And look on the bright side here, we're graduating tonight, and after that, we're set for life..."

Author's Note

And so we come into the home stretch...

Also, so you won't be alarmed, I am thinking about putting this story to the aside for the time being. The reason is that I have a few story lines that I am itching to develop...

One is a Shining Armor - Princess Cadence - Flash Sentry - "Great Leader" storyline that was inspired by "They're Hanging Me Tonight" by BRBrony9 and expanded from there.
Another line is Cadence/Luna/Celestia/Twilight being pleasured by a human "caregiver" (that is, if you catch my drift) in that order. I don't want to spoil anything... but with Twilight, a spot of coaxing is in order...
I'm also considering the Flitter/Cloudchaser romp as well...

At the moment, I'm trying to figure out which one would be best but I don't know at this point...
Oh well. Whatever happens, I hope you enjoyed Over a Rainbow so far!

~ Sparkle Fire ~