//------------------------------//
// Chapter 26 - The End 
// Story: Roads of Life 
// by PonyWrites 
//------------------------------//

	Scooter had just turned twenty-one. Rainbow Dash and Applejack took him on a pub crawl. Scooter knocked back shots like candy, moving on to cocktails and finally swill-beer. He danced with five...ly seven girls. Of course, in those clubs, “dancing” really meant “grinding hips and other sexy things” At first he felt guilty, and drank to drown that awful feeling. Why did he feel it anyway? Sweetie approved. She had loosened back up after that whole mess when they were sophomores. And it’s not like they were married. 
They were on their third club now, his sisters having a good time grinding on the dance floor while some remix they heard three times by now played, a rainbow of electric lights shining and flashing overhead. Applejack would occasionally stop and take a bet with some poor unsuspecting man and proceed to drink him under the table. Alcohol, not… anyway.
Scooter met a friend from school, and it was actually a pleasant reunion. Twist, the nerdy redhead, had developed quite well. Yeah, compare her to a wine. Anyway, braces fixed her teeth which fixed her lisp, and she had a niiiice body. Or maybe that was booze goggles. Regardless, her jugs were massive. Scooter would put money, if Applejack hadn't taken his wallet, on Double Ds, so big and soft… 
Scooter found himself making out with the former nerd and then a retreat to the bathroom… together… where they shared a stall. Scooter licked his lips and walked up to the bar. Wow, he could still walk. He slapped a five on the counter “white russian.” Anything to get that taste out of his mouth. It sure wasn’t Sweetie. Maybe he should have ordered something with sugar cookie flavor. Did they even have that? Oh well, a white russian was sweet enough and it tasted like coffee. Surely that would cleanse the pallet. 
Rainbow sat down. “Was that Twist? Damn.”
“Shut up.” Scooter groaned.
“Just drink until you forget the entire night and puke your guts out. By the way, be sure to drink water.”
“Yes mom.” In this state, Scooter was eternally thirsty. He must have drank a gallon of water and soda, and that was without alcohol mixed in. He really liked Rum and Coke. He had like three before he was urged to order something else. He must have tried the entire bar menu in the city by now. 
“How long have we been at this?”
“We’re working on nine hours. Nearly five am right now.”
Scooter vaguely recalled eating at least three different footlongs. And a kiloton of popcorn. And twice that many pretzels. “I wish Sweetie were here,” he grumbled as he took a sip of the coffee-like thing.
“Aww, look who’s heartsick.” Applejack waltzed up and and tapped the bar. She only seemed to drink Old Fashioneds, hard cider and dark beer. She seemed to alternate between bars, like she knew which ones served the best. She took a sip of her whiskey. “Ain’t no amount of drinking gonna cure that now. You at least have a good time?”
“I did until about ten minutes ago when I gave a friend from highschool--” Applejack slapped a hand over his mouth.
“I don’t wanna hear about none of that. We have all done shit we regret when we’re drunk off our asses. I.... well shoot I can’t remember any right now.”
Rainbow drank in the exact opposite the rest of them did. She started out with beers and then went to fruity cocktails. The waiter handed her an appletini. There was a low effort joke there, but everyone was too drunk to make it. They crawled back to the farmhouse and slept. 

Scooter awoke the day after his twenty-first birthday with a whimper. The sun itself was burning inside his head. He looked around for a clock. Five Pm. He remembered regretting something, but not what that was. He also remembered vomiting. A lot. At least Rainbow and Applejack’s couch was comfortable. He looked to the coffee table and found a bottle of migraine relief and an energy drink in a tub of ice. His sisters were very considerate. There was a note that said “help yourself to anything in the fridge.” After slugging back half the energy drink and two pills, he got up and checked. Day old bacon, yum. Almond butter, sounds good, get some… rye bread? Is that all they had? How was he supposed to make an almond butter and jelly sandwich with bacon with RYE bread? Scooter noted that he was hungry enough that it still sounded like a good idea. Oh what the hell. He made the sandwich and grabbed a banana and apple from the fruit basket. 
Thank the God that doesn’t exist that he was off today. Scooter had just finished breakfast and started texting Sweetie. I’m still alive. I’m sure you’re overjoyed.
Oh Damn, I thought I’d be rid of you =p
;-;
I’m kidding, don’t cry. It makes me sad when you cry ;-;
I know hun. I’d just haunt you anyway =p
have a good party?
        Scooter pinched his forehead. Of course he remembered what he did now. Oh for heaven’s sake. I did, but I hooked up with Twist.
        Her????
        In all fairness, she’s hot now. Like, Dayum.
        Don’t feel guilty. That’s the whole point, you only turn twenty-one once. It’s not like we’re married. I mean, let's be real here. I’m 1000 miles from you. We both have needs... 
        Hangovers suck btw. I promise to keep the cheating to a minimum. 
        Cinnamon Rolls are my favorite, doesn’t mean I wouldn’t get bored if I ate it all the time ;)
        Applejack and Rainbow came from their bedroom. Oh, and while you were drunk off your ass, Rumble proposed to Bloom. Scooter wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Weren’t they all a little young? Sure they had known each other for years, and have been in a constant, non-exclusive relationship for five, but…
        “Morning sunshine,” Applejack said, as though she didn’t drink three kegs of alcohol. “Hangover?”
        “I did, but caffeine.” It finally registered what the two other girls were wearing, which is to say, a bra and pajama pants. “Do you fuckers ever wear clothes?”
        “What, it’s our house?” Rainbow shrugged. Scooter sighed. Some things never change.
        “Can I ask y’all something?” He had been hanging around with Bloom too much, but with Sweetie off to college out of state, what was a boy to do? 
        “We are yer sisters, that’s what we’re here for.” 
        “Why do people get married?”
        “Oh, I got this one!” Rainbow said a bit too loudly. “Oh, right. Sorry. I was the one that proposed to Applejack, you know. We talked about it a lot before hand. Always talk about it. The proposal isn’t the surprise, just how it happens. It can be as elaborate or as simple as you want. I proposed under that big Apple tree on the farm. Kneeled and everything. Anyway. Remember waaay back when I said sex is sometimes for a bond?” Scooter nodded. “Well, marriage is that bond codified. We love each other, and support each other. We made decisions together. You can do all of that and live together, but there’s just something about having that certificate that means something. I was your age. I’m prone to diving head first into dumb situations, and I was worried that’s what I was doing. Marriage is something old people do. Rainbow Dash refuses to be tied down with a ball and chain!”
        “Easy sugar cube.” Her wife gently reminded.
        “Marriage should never feel that way. I realised I didn’t feel that way. Marrying her was going to be my life, shared with her, and hers with me. We didn’t tie each other down, we… We...”
        “We gave each other stable footing. What were Rarity’s exact words on this subject? ‘Marriage is a, dare I say it, holy, covenant between you and your partner.’”
        “I still remember our vows. ‘Applejack, I promise to look out for you, make you let your hair down once in awhile, hold your hair back after that, and be there for you to lean on. I’ll give you chicken soup when you get sick, I’ll rub your back after a hard day’s work, and I’ll clean up after myself. I promise, as long as I breathe, I’ll stay right where I am, by your side.’” The couple looked in each other’s eyes tenderly. 
        “Rainbow Dash, I promise I won’t tie you to the ground, but I will keep your head from getting too high in the clouds. I’ll hold you close, I’ll give you space. I’ll patch your wounds. (This was back when she was always getting banged up doing something.) I’ll give you a backrub just because I feel like it. I’ll kiss you on your way to work, and when you get back. I’ll hold your hand through life’s turmoil. As long as I draw breath, I’ll stay right where I am; by your side.”
        Scooter wiped his eyes on his shirt.  “Oh, by the way, Apple Bloom’s engaged.”
        “She WHAT? I swear on the deed to the farm, if that girl quits college to start a family I will personally skin her alive, tan her, then make her into a purse!” Applejack rushed to the front door
        “Woah woah woah, simmer down, babe, I’m sure it’s fine.” The door slammed “Let me guess, you’re thinking about Sweetie?”
        “Yeah, kinda.”
        “The best advice I can give you is this: talk to her about it. She may want to wait to even get engaged until she finishes school. Hell, you already have those adorable promise rings, I wouldn’t worry about her running off with some sorostitute. Of course, this is one of the few times I would recommend going into the nonfiction section of the library. Check out Christian books on marriage, new age, islamic, jewish if you can find it, non-religious. Or if you want to dive right in like I did; that works too. One last bit, since I have to stop Applejack from sharpening her axe, Marriage is not a band-aid to fix a relationship, not that yours really needs one. It’s an elevation of what you currently have. A deep, personal commitment. OK, I have to chase down Applejack, make yourself at home, lock the door behind you. I don’t know why she doesn’t just call her...” Rainbow rushed out the door. 

        Scooter debated if he wanted to go back to his cold, lonely apartment. Not that it was much better here, but it was his sisters’ house, which was a little more comfortable. He decided to stick around a little. He made another sandwich a few hours later. Since his girlfriend was on college time, she didn’t sleep well either. Scooter would call or be called at any time. It was around nine when she called.
        “What’s up baby?” Sweetie greeted.
        “I want to ask you something. Don’t get excited just yet, but if I proposed?”
        “If you got down on your knees and showed me a ring, right now, what would I do?”
        “Yeah.”
        “I’d say no. Not right now. I’m so busy I can hardly think straight. Even if you just put the ring on my finger and waited until I graduate… That’s not fair to you. You might find someone hotter than me, who you love just as much. Of course we could always handle that like we did Apple Bloom… anyway. I’m not going to tie you down. It’s not that I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with you. If I could just snuggle up to you forever I’d be pretty happy, but I have my own desires, and you have yours.”
        “Oh, I know, I was just wondering. And considering I’m poor as fuck right now that’s not fair to either of us. And the last thing I want is to cage you, my little songbird.”
        “I’ll wait for you, if you’ll be there when I get back.”
        “Promise. I love you.”
        “Even though you aren't here, and I miss you so much my dear, I'll love you forever and ever, I'll always love you my far away lover.” Sweetie was always writing lines for songs. Scooter smiled, knowing how much of an inspiration he served.  “Don’t be afraid to visit AB if you need to let out some tension.”
        “I have been, Sweetie. I love you both just as much. You having fun at college?”
        “Well of course. I’m FWB with this cute baritone. He may be getting sick of hearing about how great you are though. No girls though.”
        “Can’t find a bitch or you just don’t want to?”
        “They have a GSA here, I attend regularly. The lesbians are a nuclear catfight waiting to happen. I’m pretty sure they’ve all slept with each other. They aren’t as sexy or as beautiful as you either.”
        “Well if you do find a hot babe with a great personality, bang her for me, OK.” Sweetie giggled. 
        “Alright. Love you babe.”
        “Love you too, honeydew.” Scooter kissed over the phone. 

        “Life takes many roads,” the speaker at Scooter’s trade school graduation spoke, “That degree you hold in your hand is a map. Along the way you may find a fork in the road that leads to something more interesting. A few of you might decide to write a book instead, become a singer, become an air condition service-person. We have a great program for that by the way.” The audience chuckled. “Life isn’t a straight line. That certificate doesn’t make it straight either. It simply helps you take the next step. Thank you.” The audience clapped, final roll was called, and Scooter found his family and friends and had his picture taken, flexing his biceps like a World War Two propaganda poster. The next photo, the one he would hang on his wall, Sweetie pulled him in for a kiss. She had a year of college left, and Scooter was growing restless. They still loved each other, deeply. They would talk for hours on the phone, sometimes while the other one was having sex with someone else. There was just one thing Scooter needed to do, but the time wasn’t right. He already had the ring. He hated it. It was a cheap thing from when he was working fast-food. He couldn’t replace it. It became a symbol of the idea, something bigger than itself. Bigger than it’s microscopic pink topaz gem, heavier than the ten-karat gold. 
        He knew what Sweetie would say, regardless of what the ring looked like. But the time wasn’t right. A few more steps down that winding road of life and it would be, but now it just wouldn’t be fair to either of them. 

        Scooter’s road led him to Ponyville. So named because they used to raise horses there, or something. It was a quiet town, where wild ponies roamed. He had to get out of the city. He knew that much. Air was too thick. He bought a house on the outskirts of town, two whole acres surrounded by trees. Whoever lived there before had built a  small pond that didn’t have fish. Something to think about later. Rainbow and Applejack helped him move in. The house right now was hollow, a piece of it missing. He knew exactly what, and had waited patiently all these years. Four years of high school, another three for mechanic training, and another year to figure out he wanted to be here. Sweetie was taking her sweet time at college, but would graduate this year. She only has like fifteen hours left, she said. Twenty-three years old, Scooter was about to have it all. The local mechanic was old, near retirement. Scooter had already made arrangements to come in tomorrow morning. He didn’t sound impressed over the phone at his qualifications, but said to come in anyway. Scooter went to bed, exhausted from hauling his worldly possessions down here. He dreamed about what his house might look like in three years. 

        Scooter’s first impression of the mechanic could have gone better. He was an old man, about seventy, with a white beard and mustache that went a full six inches under his chin. He did look good for seventy, years of mechanical work keeping him in shape. His eyes seemed to be physically displeased with everything. His voice was deep, but had a jollity that implied he knew something about the universe you didn’t. He would chuckle and cackle after nearly every sentence. He shook from either parkinson's or built in energy. He walked around the shop just fine but every time he bent his knees to pick something up, he would struggle and shake as though someone had built his knees wrong and they couldn’t support his weight after they bent like that. He wore a quartz crystal about the size of Scooter’s little finger around his neck, and mismatched plaid button up and shorts. 
        Scooter looked at the Chevy Nova. “Wouldn’t it just be cheaper to buy a new car?”
        “Well yes but I have to test you somehow.” The old man, Gearbox, cackled. He was probably crazy. Too much oil fumes. “You have until sunset. You can use anything in the shop. Have fun.” 
        Three energy drinks, ten hours, an engine rebuild (among a countless list which Scooter documented) and Several wrenches, bent out of shape and thrown like darts into the wall, later, he turned the key. The ignition sputtered a bit, but it finally turned over. He decided to do a few donuts in the parking lot. Quitting while he was ahead, he killed the engine and heard Gearbox crackling again. “That damn thing’s been sitting there twenty years. It’s yours if you want but I’d personally drive it down to the dump.” He unclipped the keys from his belt and tossed the hefty ring to him. “Shop is yours. Now, If you’ll excuse me, I hear my 401k calling.” 
        Well. That was easy.

        Sweetie had finally graduated and moved in with him for six months now. Scooter’s resolve only strengthened. Scooter was nearing twenty-five in a few months. He had read you should live with your significant other for a while before you propose. Life had pulled them elsewhere for the nine plus years of their relationship. And now his songbird had come home to nest. It was a lovely spring day. Scooter took every Saturday off so he could rest. Really he needed about three days but that doesn’t fill the coffers. They went on a date to a secluded spot not far from the house where Scooter found a spring and had a picnic.
        “So, do you like the town?”
        “What would you do if I said no?”
        “Pack up and move until you’re happy.”
        Sweetie giggled. “I love it here. Everyone treats us like neighbors they’ve known all their life.”        
“Weird, isn’t it?”
        “The best kind. Kinda like you.” Sweetie pinched her boyfriend’s cheek. 
        “Hey, how am I weird?” 
        “Because after all these years, and all those times we talked and cried, I still can’t figure you out. But I love you for it.”
        Dinner was interrupted by a bodacious fox that decided to steal the whole damn basket. Scooter chased it down to the river which wasn’t far off. He could step across the water easily, but what was the point? She had a much better idea anyway. Sweetie followed close behind. “Well, it was fun while it lasted.” She said, out of breath. Scooter was panting as well, but he wasn’t winded. “I… I gotta take a knee.” Scooter kneeled, facing Sweetie. The woman with the bouncy curls cocked her head. Scooter tried his best to keep from grinning.
        “That fox may have stolen our lunch, but a songbird stole my heart. Scooter reached into his back pocket and pulled out a black velvet box. “Sweetie Belle, would you do me the honor of marrying me?” Sweetie sniffled, trying her best not to cry. She failed.
        “Of course. Yes, yes yes.” Scooter put the cheap ring on her finger, and Sweetie Belle sealed it with a kiss. They lost themselves in the other’s embrace. Before they knew it they were both making sweet, delicate love on the muddy ground. They got dressed, not that it did much good, covered in mud. The couple held hands as they walked toward the sunset. Roads of life take many forks, but now, they would share them, as a couple.
        “Hey, wait a second.” Sweetie said, stopping along the path. “I practically handed you a great proposal line about how much of a mystery you are, and you could have said something about how mysterious I am. But no. You go for the corniest line possible. ‘A fox stole dinner, a songbird stole my heart?’ Really?”
        “Just another mystery of me, isn’t it?” Scooter quickly kissed his fiance’s cheek.