Author's Notes:

I had hoped to have more than this ready by now, but this is all I was able to finish.

I kinda miss you guys.

Chapter 95

The next morning, Rarity left for home at about 5:00am to get ready for work, and Fluttershy started to get ready to leave about an hour after that. We hadn’t done much during the night, aside from lay together on the couch. The girls had suggested going out to Riverfield, but I wasn’t really feeling it, and it was fairly cold out—not that it was harmful to us, but spending time on a soft couch under a warm blanket with two lovely ladies was far more preferable than being outside in the middle of the night during the month of November, especially with the mood I was in.

I made Fluttershy a simple breakfast while she was getting ready. She blushed, cooed and purred over it like always when I did something nice for her, which is one of the reasons she was so loveable, and why I absolutely would have wandered the desert for a hundred years looking for her, with or without Sunset at my side.

Before I knew it, she had her shoes on and was headed out the door after a quick kiss goodbye, leaving me alone in an empty house with nothing to do, and no one to talk to.

I hated it.

It had only been a few minutes since she left, but I already missed her. Rarity too.

I decided to busy myself to keep my mind occupied. There’s gotta be some shit to do around here, I thought, spying the mess I had made while cooking Fluttershy’s breakfast. Ah-ha!

So I set about cleaning the dishes and the stove, and the table. And the counter. And the fridge.

After that was looked after, I swept the floor and vacuumed the living room carpet and the couch. Then I moved onto doing laundry.

Since Fluttershy’s house was so small, it was without a utility room of any kind, so the washer and dryer were right in her bedroom—in a closet with folding doors, standing opposite from the bathroom. To be honest, it was actually unbelievably convenient having them right there; although back when she was an ordinary human, she couldn’t run them at night as they would keep her awake, but now, it obviously didn’t matter.

Once I had a load of laundry going, I went out to the front room and sat on the couch, checking the time on the satellite box.

9:31am.

“Ugh…” I groaned, letting my head fall back. I stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, wondering what else there was to do. Damn, I wish I had a phone. I could text Pinkie; I bet she’d be free today, and I’m sure she’d want to hang out since her family drives her nuts. I frowned, staring aimlessly at Fluttershy’s wooden ceiling, memorizing the shape and path of every single grain, the position of every knothole. Are all of her sisters seriously home all day, every day?…god damn, that would drive me nuts...FUCK! I sat forward suddenly with a frustrated grunt. Folding my hands, I looked down at the floor between my feet. I can’t believe Gord wanted to keep that little dreadlocked retard over me; I mean…seriously? THAT’S who he’d rather have?

I felt something come to rest on the cushion to my right, and I looked over to find Link sitting there, watching me inquisitively. He was not quite half-grown by that point, but he was sure becoming a handsome animal. I couldn’t help but smirk at him, sitting patiently with his big, furry paws on the cushion, twitching his ears with those long, black tufts protruding from the tips. Although I couldn’t communicate with him like my girlfriend could, this cat and I shared a special bond nevertheless. Fluttershy had made it clear to him early on that I was the one who rescued him from certain doom, and that it was me who brought him home to her. This animal understood exactly who I was and what I meant to him, and although this may have been an ordinary thing for Fluttershy, for me, it was quite a profound understanding to share with an animal.

Link dipped his head finally, and lifted his foreleg to paw at my thigh.

“Yeah-yeah,” I replied, reaching over to scratch behind his ear. He responded by tilting his head and driving it into my palm as a low purr began to emanate from his throat. I continued to stroke him idly, running my fingers through the thick shag under his jowls; my eyes focused on nothing but the air in front of them as the time passed me by—wasted, unproductive and dull.

Downright fucking wretched, in actuality.

Eventually, my thoughts returned to my lost job. Who does that little fucker think he is, calling ME washed up? What, just because I couldn’t rescue Flutters by mysel-

My mind screeched to a halt. With furrowed brows, I stared at the floor as the realisation slowly trickled in. Then another memory came to me, from the night I stayed with Fluttershy after her head injury: I promised to take care of her that night, that I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her.

And then she got captured.

I broke my promise, and I couldn’t even fix it on my own.

I needed help to bring her back.

More memories began to come back to me; my wife, crushed to death in the rubble beside me all those centuries ago, the family in the Wild West, murdered while I was away, and then of course, there was Fluttershy. Failure after failure, more than I cared to admit.

As I sat there, stewing in my own self-loathing, I could feel myself filling with a dank emptiness, stricken by a stark, cruel truth: I was no longer the alpha here in this vast world. I had been surpassed by technology and, of all things, by magic.

“Huh...” I shook my head. I can’t even hold down a job anymore...

I felt unneeded, unnecessary, and worst of all, outdated.

But I had momentarily forgotten about one thing: the girls loved me.

I rubbed my forehead, scrunching my face. Damn it Golds, shut up! Quit being a douche to yourself! What would Flutters and Rare say if they knew you were thinking like this?

Sighing, I let my hands drop and I stared at the floor. Maybe Twilight and the others were right: sitting around like this really was bad for me. Bad for my mind; bad for my spirit. On the other hand, though, I felt like I’d already had more than enough excitement for one year. To be fair, some of the excitement was good, like meeting these women: so lovely and kind, brave and passionate, and now, like me, inextinguishable and everlasting.

In actuality, there weren’t just like me, they were better than me. They had magic!

“Hm…” I mumbled quietly, turning to look at Link, whose eyes were closed, his throat vibrating like the water at the base of those grand falls that Fluttershy and I had recklessly dove into. “What do you think?” I asked the cat.

There was no reply.

“Is this where I end up? Me: the oldest living person on the planet; an ancient artifact, a gladiator, an amazing pipe-layer...” I chuckled at myself, but the levity soon faded. “Is this really me? Reduced to a fucking housewife?”

I glanced over at Link again, who was giving me a wooden stare. I snickered to myself and shook my head. “Yeah, you’re right. I am being a bit dramatic, aren’t I?”

I gave him one final pat on the head and stood. “I’ve been hanging around Rare too much,” I quipped. “I just need something to do. Sitting around here, thinking about all this existential nonsense is just gonna drive me mental.”

I paced back and forth in front of the couch, rubbing my chin as I tried to think of something to do.

With a snap of my finger, I stopped and looked at Link. “A new phone! I could go to town and get…” My shoulders slumped suddenly. “Shit…I can’t drive anywhere.” I placed my hands on my hips and stood there, staring into the fabric of the couch. “I could fix the shower at my shop…if I could drive to Hoof Hardware to get new tiles, a tap and a new shower stall.”

Fuck.

I REALLY wish I didn’t take the plates off the Diplomat and cut them in half now…

After getting my truck back, I had removed and destroyed the rancher’s plates from the old car to remove the temptation of driving it any more, although I wasn’t expecting to lose my job and therefore the ability to drive my own vehicle; if I’d known this was going to happen, I would have kept the Diplomat handy for the time being.

I paused suddenly. The Diplomat…

I quickly made my way to the door and threw my jacket and boots on, then I went outside. My shop wasn’t that far away, in fact I had made the trip on foot before, on that fateful night when the girls learned of my true identity. I ventured a small distance up the road until I found the spot where I emerged from the woods that night; it was still fairly noticeable where I had broken through the brush, especially with the fall season in full swing, leaving the trees —save for the evergreens— completely barren of leaves.

It took quite a while to get there, especially having to climb that rock-face that surrounded the area where my shop sat; it was definitely a lot easier going the other way that night, when all it took was a simple jump down.

To be honest, I didn’t know why I was going to the shop. The thought of the Diplomat made me, for some reason, think I could find something to do there. Maybe give it a tune-up? Clean the carburetor? I wasn’t quite certain. All I knew was that I didn’t want to sit at Fluttershy’s house all day with my thumb up my ass.

Even when I found myself standing in the shop, staring at the old car, I still didn’t know what I was doing there. Finally, I popped the hood and took a moment to look the engine over in all its dusty, grimy glory. With a sigh, I thought about how far this car had actually taken us at a moment’s notice, after sitting for several months amongst the tall grass and weeds on that ranch in California. It was a good runner, and it had been faithful to Sunset, Fluttershy and me—heck, it even went through a battle with us.

I hated the idea of scrapping it, even though the thought had crossed my mind, but it was still in too good a shape.

And…this car brought Fluttershy home. It had sentimental value. That, and I paid fifteen-thousand dollars for it.

Maybe a little tune-up was the least it deserved, so I started by removing the sparks plugs to inspect them. After that, everything became a blur. I removed the carburetor next and tore it down, then the valve covers came off…

One thing led to another and a couple hours later, the Diplomat was on the hoist with a gaping engine bay, and the engine and transmission were sitting on the ground.

I stood over the greasy old motor, rubbing my chin as I pondered to myself.

Why the hell did I do this?

I sighed and shook my head at myself. Chewing the inside of my cheek, I glanced around the shop until my eyes landed on the cutting mill, sitting in the corner. I stared at it for a moment, then I glanced at the car, then the engine, then back at the mill again.

An idea was forming, as was the smirk on my face.

Nothing was to materialise of it that day, however; I suddenly realised I had no idea what time it was, so I decided to begin the long walk back to Fluttershy’s house.

It was about 4:30pm when I returned. Fluttershy wouldn’t be home for another hour, so I decided to have a shower to clean the grime from my hands and arms—mostly. Then, after drying off and getting dressed, I started making supper.

Fluttershy arrived home a few minutes before 6:00pm like usual. She stepped inside and paused when she saw me standing by the stove, stirring a pot of spaghetti with her pink apron on. We locked gazes somewhat awkwardly for a moment—my eyes darted from hers down to the pot, then back to her.

“Don’t laugh.”

Fluttershy smiled, then rolled her eyes as she slipped out of her coat and kicked her shoes off. “Oh Goldie, I would never laugh at you for making me supper.” She squatted down to greet Link and Angel, who had both sprinted to meet her as soon as she entered.

I set the spoon down and turned the burner off. “So? How was your day?”

“Oh, it was…um, OK.” The shy girl stood and made her way to the table. She set her leather briefcase on the adjacent chair, then took a seat. She sighed wearily —though not actually weary— letting the exhale blow noisily through her lips as she swept a pink lock from in front of her eye and hooked it behind her ear. “It’s noisy there right now,” she said absentmindedly, staring at the tabletop. “The guys doing the renovations are really loud, with all the banging and the power-sawing all day long. The animals don’t like it. They’ve been complaining about it ever since I got back. They just want the noisy people to go away.”

“Hm,” I replied, setting out a couple glasses of juice on the table. “What did you tell them?”

Fluttershy shrugged. “I just tell them those men are here to help, and they’re making our home a nicer place to live, but it’s going to be a little bit noisy while they’re here.”

"Hm." I smiled at her. “You’re a good mama, Flutters,” I said, slapping a pile of pasta on a plate before setting it on the table for her.

“Thanks Goldie,” she said, smiling as she twirled her fork into the pile of spaghetti. Dipping her head a bit, she popped the forkful into her mouth and chewed while I sat across from her with a plate of my own. “MM!” Her eyes opened suddenly when she remembered something. She raised her finger, signalling me to wait while she gulped her food down. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“Someone almost adopted Tyler, Skyler, Kyler, Mr. Pickles and Beelzebub today!”

These names, of course, belonged the five kittens she’d brought home from the ‘Us’ base. One of them was a bit of a troublemaker.

“No shit! All five of them?”

“Mm-hm,” she replied, licking some tomato sauce from her lips. “That would have been amazing; I’d really like to see all five of them stay together if possible, especially after all they’ve been through.”

I nodded. “Yeah. So what happened? He change his mind or…?”

She shook her head, swallowing another mouthful. “He’s gonna think about it, so he might still go for it.”

“Hm.” I sighed, scooping up a pile of noodles with my fork. “Well, fingers crossed.”

She smiled, but remained silent and continued to eat.

I swallowed my first bite and cleared my throat. “Which one was it that pissed in Cody’s mouth?”

“Mm...” She sucked a noodle up between her lips. “That was Mr. Pickles.”

I nodded, pointing my fork at her. “I liked him. I wish we coulda kept him.”

“I know; me too, but like I said, I don’t want to break them up if I don't have to.”

“Yeah,” I sighed, returning my attention to the dinner.

A moment later, Fluttershy reached across the table and touched my hand with her fingertips. “What’s that?” she asked, squinting at by blackened knuckles.

“Oh,” I raised my hand to study it, “just some grime from the Diplomat. I was working on it a bit today.”

“At the shop?” she asked softly.

I nodded.

“You didn’t…drive there, did you?”

“No. I walked through the woods.”

“Oh. So what was wrong with it?” she asked, plunging her fork into the pasta again.

“Nothing.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Nothing?”

My mouth was full, so I just shook my head.

“So then…what were you doing to it?”

I swallowed my food. “I took the engine and tranny out.”

Fluttershy paused, surprised. “Um…why did you do that?”

I shrugged. “Bored.”

She stuck her bottom lip out. “Aww, you poor guy. It must have been such a long day out here for you, all alone; I felt bad about it all day.”

“Well, it was pretty boring, but I was fine,” I lied.

“Hm. So, what are you gonna do tomorrow? Put the engine back in?”

I shook my head. “No. I have some ideas for it. I’ll probably just stick around here tomorrow though; there’s not much else I can do with it for now.”

“What kind of ideas?”

“You’ll see. I have to do a bit of research first to figure some things out though.”

“Hm…” Fluttershy nodded and went back to enjoying her dinner.

When she was finally finished, she set the fork on the plate and pushed it away, folding her arms on the tabletop. “That was good. Um, thanks for making me supper.”

“No problem. Anything for you, Flutters.”

“I love it when you cook for me,” she continued. “You’re actually a really good cook—which I guess makes sense, I mean…you’ve had lots of time to learn how.”

I nodded, swallowing another bite. “The secret ingredient is love…juice.”

Fluttershy giggled, and then leaned forward with a suspicious smirk. “Goldie…did you cum in the spaghetti?”

I gave her a wink.

“I thought that tasted familiar.” She let out a snicker and gave me a wink in return. “It could have used a bit more though, to be honest.”

“I didn’t have time.”

Fluttershy tittered some more and then gradually went quiet, staring blankly as I scraped up the last few bites on my plate.

“Um…Goldie?”

“Hm?”

“You didn’t…really cum in the spaghetti, did you?”

I snorted and then swallowed. “You think I’d be eating it if I did?”

Her eyebrows went up. “Hm, well,” she giggled. “That’s what I was kind of thinking, but...I don’t know. Good point.”

A moment later, my plate was cleaned, so I pushed it aside and leaned back, folding my arms. We stared at each other for a moment, and then I cleared my throat.

“Is Rare coming out tonight?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, she said she's gonna go out and do a patrol. She’s been neglecting that lately.”

“Oh.” I looked down at the table top.

“Um, she really wants someone to go out with her.”

“Well, where’s Sunny?” I asked. “Still up in the city with Twi and her brother?”

She nodded. “Mm-hm. They must be having a lot of fun.”

“It’s a good sign. I assume that means she got the job if she’s still up there.”

“You’re probably right.”

“So it’s just you and me tonight, eh?” I said, smirking at her.

She giggled. “Yeah. What do you wanna do?”

I shrugged, then paused, raising a brow at her. “Hey, I just realised something…”

“What’s that?”

“The last person I had sex with is AJ...like, four days ago.”

“Hmm.” Fluttershy stroked her chin thoughtfully. “You’re right, Goldie. That’s kind of funny, actually.”

“Yeah. I mean, the closest I’ve been since then was when Rare offered me butt-sex last night—not too sure what the deal was there.”

Fluttershy smirked. “She’s funny.” She then raised a brow at me. “Would you do it?”

“Uh,” I looked at the ceiling. “I guess, if she really wanted me to. It’s not the first time she’s offered, actually.”

“Isn’t it, like…tighter?” Fluttershy asked inquisitively.

I cocked my head. “Um…yes and no. Like, at the entrance it is, but further in, not so much...usually.” I shrugged. “I don’t know; I like pussy a lot better, personally.”

“Mm-hm,” she replied as a sly smirk grew across her lips. “You wanna, um…have a go at mine?”

“What, right now?”

She nodded enthusiastically.

“Sounds like a plan,” I said quickly, and we bolted for the bedroom.

*****

The next day was much the same. Once the sunrise began, Fluttershy went out to feed the animals and then came back in for a shower while I made her breakfast. She emerged from the hallway all prettied-up as usual, ready to head to work once her meal was gone.

Once again, after a kiss goodbye —a longer one this time— she was out the door, gone again until evening.

“Dammit,” I whispered, placing my hands on my hips. I sighed, looking around the empty house, terrified of the prospect of trudging through another day like the one before. What the hell is wrong with me? Why can’t I deal with this? I’ve been through way worse shit before…

Deciding it wasn’t going to do me any good just standing there thinking about it, I proceeded to clean the kitchen and then afterwards, found a spot on the couch. After I considered watching a bit of TV for a spell, I spied the Wii sitting off to the side and my mind immediately went back to the first night I met the girls, when we played Mega Man 9.

Maybe I should take another crack at that game, I thought. If there was ever a good time to waste on such a thing, now would be it.

So on the game went, and I chose the first enemy, which happened to be the same one I chose that first night. When I beat him that time, the girls were so impressed by it, and I was enthusiastic to do it again, hoping it would bring back that feeling of pride and make me feel a bit less lonely.

That feeling was nowhere to be found, however, when the boss of that level beat me, and by a fairly significant margin at that.

“Huh.” I furrowed my brow and glanced over at Link, who was lying on the chaise lounge, keeping it warm in Fluttershy’s absence as usual. “Lucky shot,” I snorted as the screen refreshed and Mega Man stood ready outside of the boss’ chamber.

I lost again.

And again.

The next thing I knew, I was staring at the ‘Game Over’ screen, chewing my lip with the Wiimote sitting on the cushion beside me.

“What the fuck, man…” I whispered. Am I going soft? Or was it actually fluke that I won that night…?

I glanced at the clock.

8:02am.

“FUUUUCK!” I let my head fall back and stared at the ceiling, recognising the same details in the wood from the day before. “I bet Pinks is free again today. I need a fuckin phone. This is bullshit.” I closed my eyes and groaned, realising a missed opportunity. I should have went to town with Flutters. She could have dropped me off somewhere before going to work, and I could’ve got a new phone and walked around and stuff…it would have been better than this, plus I would’ve had the whole ride to town to spend with her.

With a sigh, I shook my head, picked the Wiimote up again and started over, choosing a different robot master to pursue.

I kept at it, but it was a struggle. I wasn’t sure why though; I thought I was pretty good at that game, but for the life of me, I just couldn’t handle it that day. Perhaps it was because I didn’t actually want to play it, but I knew if I stopped, there’d be nothing left to do.

Hours later, I had defeated all eight of the robot bosses—and invented some new cuss words. After collecting the maximum capacity of E-tanks, I took a deep breath and contemplated venturing into the castle.

A deep sigh came next. My ambition had dwindled severely by then, and I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to begin a new leg of the game. Ugh…do I really wanna do this now?

I glanced at the satellite box.

11:55am.

“Shit.” I shook my head. “Well, I guess I’ve got nothing better to do.”

So, I selected the big ‘W’ in the middle of the screen and pressed the button to begin the next stage. Fortunately, the castle didn’t go much worse than the earlier levels, although it wasn’t much better, either. Eventually, I did make it through to the final boss of the game and was actually doing quite well, but as fate soon dictated, a victory for me was simply not to be, and I was defeated.

“Son of a cunt’s ass!” I slapped the cushion beside me, rousing Link’s attention. I looked over at the cat, noticing he’d lifted his head and was now watching me intently. “Did you see that!?” I asked aggressively, gesturing to the TV. “You believe that shit? I was like…literally two shots away from winning! Now I used up all my goddamn E-tanks, so if I want more I have to go into a level to collect the little screw thingys to buy more, but if I do that, I’ll have to go through the ENTIRE FUCKING CASTLE TO GET TO DR. WILY AGAIN!”

Link stared blankly at me, making me feel like a fucking idiot for having an outburst like that over a video game…to a cat.

I sighed and rubbed my face, exhaling with puffed cheeks.

Dammit, Mega Man, why'd you have to go and get yourself into trouble like this?

I chewed the inside of my cheek and glowered at the TV, on which the blue bomber was standing idle, just outside the final boss' chamber—out of E-tanks, out of weapon energy, ready to be sent into a suicide mission.

Why even bother trying? Even if I win, Dr. Wily just gets away every time and comes back in the next game. Honestly, is Mega Man not just wasting his time?

If I was Mega Man, I'd say 'fuck that old asshole,' and then I'd totally stay home and bend Roll over the bathroom sink. I grimaced suddenly, feeling like I may have missed something. Unless Roll is his sister...is she his sister? I don't know...

Incest or not, however, what kind of hero would he be if he did that? I sat, drumming my fingers on the cushion as I stared at the little blue figure on the screen, who was waiting patiently to see if I would pick the controller up and lead him to certain doom, or if I would simply turn off the console and imprison him inside a limbo of wires and semiconductors.

Eventually, my mind flip-flopped yet again: it didn't matter whether or not he went out to be a hero or if he stayed home to fuck his sister; Dr. Wily always came back. Mega Man was definitely wasting his time. Hm...circular logic is circular. I cocked my head. Wait...would that be circular logic? No, that's more like...boomerang logic. Yeah...because the same reasoning keeps coming back, just like a boomerang. Or maybe...the boomerang stays still...and everything else moves-

I growled out loud and sat forward suddenly, shaking my head. "God dammit, Golds. That has got to be the stupidest fuckin thing you've ever said. Maybe."

The jury was out on that. In the meantime, I took a deep breath and let my eyes drift around the room, landing on the big, shaggy cat first, then the shy girl's worn out lounge cushion, then the TV, then finally, my own feet.

Was Mega Man wasting his time? After all, he does manage to thwart the old doctor’s evil plans every time; but how long will it be until Wily succeeds?

It wasn’t long before my mind began to wander elsewhere.

What about Rarity? And Sunset? Were they wasting their time?

Indeed, the suits and the vigilante thing sure threw me for a loop when I learned of it after coming home. All I told her was to look after Canterlot. Why would she take it to such extreme? And why would she make a suit for everyone? The other girls weren't even turned yet!

Not that I thought what she was doing was bad, or a waste of time—on an individual level. Helping people is indeed good, but Rarity's thoughts about 'changing the world' and 'making it a better place?' It was a pipe dream, if you asked me. Why? Because I know how humans work. I've seen it so many times, I could practically set my watch to it: the greed, the plotting, the breakdown of society, and eventually, the fall of humanity.

Not all humans are like this —an obvious fact— but unfortunately, it only takes a few people, or even just one, to spread their bad ideas like a virus and spawn a cataclysmic event that changes everything.

And how many times was I a part of it? More than I cared to admit.

The girls hadn't lived through this, and therein lies the reason for their naïveté.

I've been through it over and over: I saw the wars, witnessed the vain loss of life, watched in horror as history was forgotten and then repeated itself time and time again. Maybe it wouldn't happen if everyone was like me and had the ability to remember the mistakes of the past, but sadly, they aren't. Every new generation brings with it a fresh crop of assholes, hungry for power, wealth, resources, and more recently, energy; ignorant to the fact that countless people have tried it before them, only to end up dead and buried—if not by revenge at the hands of someone they've wronged, then by father time himself.

Granted, Rarity's ideals were lovely —I couldn't dispute that— but she was wasting her time striving for something so...intangible; so unachievable. You can't control the masses, and you can't change the world. I had said this to them ad nauseam, and none of them would listen, save for one timid little sweetheart.

The only one who seemed to understand was Fluttershy. She’d had a taste of it; she knew what it was like, she knew what dark depths human beings could sink to. It was she —and only she— who understood the futility of it all, the utter pointlessness in fighting the current. She knew, like me, that the best way to survive was to find a rock and get behind it; hide from the flow, stay away from the pull, and life can carry on in peace.

Unless that rock happens to wash away, which does occasionally happen. Then —and only then— is when you must fight the current, until you find the next rock.

This is how it must be...when you’re in a river that never ends.

Now...would I ever tell Rarity —or Sunset, for that matter— that this was how I felt about their ambitions?

Never. Mostly because it was highly unlikely that they would listen. Some beliefs cannot be taught, they can only be learned—through direct experience. Surely Rarity would do little more than turn her nose up and wave me off if I were to share these thoughts with her, saying that 'I am just a negative-nelly,' and that I am far too cynical for my own good. Almost guaranteed, she would fold her arms, raise that smart-assed eyebrow and ask: 'why train us to fight then, darling? What was the point if it's so hopeless?'

The answer was simple: because the world ISN'T perfect.There are dangers everywhere—nasty characters with bad intentions lurking in the shadows, and being able to protect oneself and the ones they hold close is paramount to survival—which means so much more than just staying alive. I stayed alive buried under a castle for an entire lifetime, but I was alone, I couldn't move, trapped in that black limbo for what seemed like eons. I wouldn't even consider that 'surviving,' and it was certainly not living. My entire existence consisted of nothing more than my memories, my thoughts, and the colour black. It was akin to a death sentence, an eternity in hell.

Don't get me wrong, if I could make the world a perfect place, I'd have done it centuries ago. But I can't, so this how it has to be, something I had hoped the girls would learn before it was too late.

I glanced up at the TV, suddenly realising the music was still playing and the blue bomber was still waiting. Rubbing my hands together, I looked down at the Wiimote for a moment; my ambition was all but gone, and I didn't really want to try again, knowing how badly the odds were stacked against me. My eyes crept across the couch until they landed on Link, who was sitting with his eyes closed, lazily wasting away the day.

I began to wonder if I should take him outside for a walk. Some fresh air and exercise would be good for him —not to mention I needed a break from my messed-up thoughts— and I was about to look away when I noticed his ears perk up. He looked towards the front door, evidently interested in something.

Wondering what it might have been, I listened along with the lynx, letting my eyes explore the ceiling mindlessly as I waited to see if I could hear something.

Oddly enough, there was a sound coming from out front, in the driveway; something metallic, but light, sounding like it had been dropped on the ground.

I glanced at the clock.

3:30pm.

“Hmm...” I set the controller down and headed for the front door. What the hell’s going on here? I wondered as I slipped my boots on.

When I opened the door and peered out, my eyes beheld something I didn’t expect: Fluttershy’s car was parked there, and the shy girl herself was kneeling down in front of my truck, cussing quietly to herself as she fidgeted around with something; her body was blocking my view, so I couldn’t see exactly what she was doing.

“Flutters?”

She turned to look over her shoulder, unaware that she was being observed. “Oh!” She stood and faced me suddenly, making sure to keep what she was doing blocked from my view. “Um…hi, G-Goldie.”

“Why are you home so soon?” I asked, closing the door behind me before approaching her. “What are you doing out here?”

“N-nothing,” she replied quickly, keeping her hands behind her back.

“Doesn’t look like nothing,” I said, leaning to the side to see past her, noticing her eyes wandering nervously along the ground. “Flutters?”

She sighed finally, giving up on hiding what she was up to, and she brought her hands in front of her, revealing three screws and a screwdriver.

I raised an eyebrow when I saw them, and she stepped aside, allowing me to see the front of my truck.

There was a new license plate partially mounted on the bracket, hanging crooked with a single screw started on one side.

“Hey…” I said quietly. “What’s this?”

“Um…a licence plate.”

I shook my head. “Yeah, I know it’s a licence plate. Where did you get it?”

“It’s new. I got them for you today,” she replied, failing at containing a smile.

“How?” I asked, placing my hands on my hips, confused. “I can’t…I mean, I-“

“Here.” She handed me the tools and then headed for her car, where she pulled her leather briefcase out and produced a thin file folder. “Um…because you never put this truck in your name, the signature on the old ownership from the guy you bought it from was still valid, so…um, I left the shelter at noon and went to the ministry to…well, look.”

She held a new ownership out for me to see. It was complete with all the truck’s information, but the thing that really caught my eye was the owner’s name:

“Hold the phone,” I said, squinting at the document to make sure I read it right. “You put it…in your name?”

“Mm-hm.” She nodded. “I hope that’s OK. Um, it’s still your truck, Goldie; we both know that, but this was the only way we could make it so you could drive it again.”

“Wow…” I said, rubbing the back of my neck, unsure of how to react. “I don’t know what to say…” —I paused for a second— “wait, you got insurance on it too?”

Fluttershy shrugged. “I called them yesterday and had them add it to my policy.” She gave the truck a quick glance. “It’s actually wasn’t that expensive because of its age. Oh! Actually,” she perked up, ”um, at first, they said they wouldn’t cover it at all because it’s so old, and, so um…I told them that if they wouldn’t, then I would find another insurance company who would. And do you know what?”

“What?”

“They did it!” she cheered softly, pressing the heels of her hands to her cheeks.

“Whaaaat? You stood up to them?”

With bright eyes and a wide smile, she nodded excitedly, causing her hair to ripple gracefully around her face.

“Flutters, that’s…that’s amazing!” I jammed the tools in my pocket and grabbed her by the waist, picked her up and spun her around once before setting her back down. “I mean, you hate dealing with sales people! I can’t believe you di-“

My words stalled out suddenly. I gazed in disbelief at my girlfriend, watching her eyes gleam with pride, her cheeks glowing as a soft, pink lock of hair slipped in front of her right eye.

“Flutters…you did all this…for me?”

“Mm-hm.” She nodded, smiling.

Lost for words, I stood there, staring at the beautiful sweetheart before me, my hands still on her waist. After a moment, I became unable to control myself and I pulled her into a tight hug. “Thank you, Flutters,” I whispered. “Thank you SO much. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you; I just...I can’t believe you did this.”

“Oh Goldie,” she sighed, returning the embrace. “I told you before: you’re my best boy. When your happiness is at stake, I’m not afraid of anything! Plus…you deserve it, because you’re you, and you’ve made me the happiest girl ever.”

I swallowed, trying to keep myself in check as the shy girl’s words tugged ruthlessly at my heartstrings. “Damn it…you’re the best, Flutters! You know that?”

“Nah,” she giggled softly. “I just love you a lot, that’s all.”

“I love you too,” I said, unwrapping my arms from her to look down, realising I was feeling the tools in my pocket get pinned between us when we hugged, so I took them out to look at them.

“Um…d-do you mind putting them on for me? I’m…not very good at screwing.”

“Ha! I beg to differ,” I chuckled, kneeling down to fasten the plate on the front of the truck.

Fluttershy watched me for a moment and then quietly cleared her throat. “Um…I-I was going to get personalized plates for you, but then I…didn’t.”

“Oh?”

“Mm-hm. I was gonna get them to make it ‘Fluttershy And Goldie,’ but, um, that's obviously way too long, so I said maybe we could make it just the initials, but...the um, ministry lady wouldn’t do it.”

I was listening only half-intently to her as I turned the screwdriver, but after giving some brief thought to what she was saying, I paused and furrowed my brows, then I glanced over my shoulder at her. “Uh…well, you know what that spells, right?”

The shy girl nodded and looked at the ground. “I know. I-I realised after she said she wouldn't do it. It was, um, pretty embarrassing…actually.”

“Yyyyyyeah...” I replied slowly as I resumed tightening the screws. “Well I'm glad they caught it, I guess.”

Fluttershy put her hands behind her back and looked down, drilling her toe into the gravel, letting her knee swing back and forth as she did. “Well…and also, you have to order personalised plates, so I wouldn’t have been able to get them for you today.”

“Yeah,” I replied absentmindedly as I moved on to the next screw. “It was for the best, I’d say.”

Fluttershy nodded and watched silently.

As I worked, I could hear a quiet giggle growing behind me, so I turned to look at Fluttershy. She was smirking and looking at the ground with crimson cheeks, holding the folder behind her back; her shoulders quaked with a quiet laughter that grew steadily the more she thought about the offending plates.

A smirk quickly forced itself onto my face, so I turned back to what I was doing to try to hide it, but the mental image of me driving the truck through town with those tags on it caused me to snicker even more. I was able to keep it quiet at first, but eventually my shoulders began to bounce and I had no choice but to let it out.

Fluttershy’s laughter grew louder when she heard mine. Placing her hand over her mouth, she broke into a full belly laugh when she saw me hang my head and give it a shake.

Eventually, I pulled myself together and finished tightening the last screw. I stood when I was finished and, still chortling, I approached Fluttershy to wrap her up in another hug.

“Oh goodness, I'm so sorry! I almost made a mess of everything,” she snickered, wrapping her long, graceful arms around the back of my neck. "I wasn't thinking; I almost made your plates a mean word!"

“Never. It was an innocent mistake. You, Flutters, are the sweetest thing ever,” I replied, rubbing the small of her back. Closing my eyes, I inhaled a noseful of her calming scent. “God I love you.”

“Me too,” she replied softly, her laughter subsiding finally.

“No, really…like, I can’t thank you enough for this. This is just…I mean…”

“Well, save some for Rare,” Fluttershy said, “she did her part, too.”

My eyes opened and I paused, then backed up to look at her. “What did Rare do?”

“She got the, um…safety certificate for you.”

I hadn’t even thought about that: all vehicles are required to be inspected and certified whenever they change owners. “Wait…how did she do that?” I asked, confused. “The truck’s been here with me this whole time. It hasn’t gone anywhere.”

“Oh…well, um, she went to your work with her deadly, um…”

She paused a little longer than usual, which inevitably made me fear the worst. “Oh god, don’t tell me she threatened them…”

“Let me finish, Goldie!” she giggled, gently swatting my shoulder. “I was gonna say she went in there with her deadly good looks, and she convinced your boss to write an inspection certificate for us. I mean, he knows, just like us, that you take really good care of your truck, and that it would pass no problem, so he was happy to write one up for Rare.”

“Huh…” I said, staring over Fluttershy at the house, trying to picture the fashionista in that grimy, smelly place. “Wow…Rare actually went in there to get that for me?”

“Of course she did! You know how she is: she just goes in there with her ‘va-va-va-voom!’ ...and she knows she’s gonna get exactly what she wants.”

I chuckled and shook my head as the shy girl came in once more to rest her head on my shoulder.

“She loves you very much, Goldie, just like me. She hated seeing you so sad the other night, and she felt bad about all those speeding tickets. She just had to do something to make it up to you, so we came up with the idea of putting the truck in my name so you can drive it again. Remember what we said the other night?”

“What’s that?”

“Well, um, we said that we weren’t going to stop until we made things right for you, so that’s what we did.”

“You guys…” I shook my head and sighed, looking at the front of her house as I held her close. “Is…is she coming out tonight?”

Fluttershy nodded against my shoulder. “Mm-hm. She’s coming. She’ll be here after supper, so when she gets here, you can be sure to thank her.”

*****

It was well after dark when Rarity arrived. She stepped in through the front door to find me and Fluttershy on the couch.

“Good evening, darlings!”

“Hey Rare,” Fluttershy replied softly, waving over the back of the couch.

I didn’t reply. Instead, I had an idea for a practical joke forming in my head. “Hey,” I whispered to Fluttershy. ”You wanna see Rare get really upset?”

“Um…no.”

“Too bad.”

We could hear the fashionista approaching us behind the couch. “I say, Golds; those are some lovely new licence plates you have out there, where ever did you get them?”

I intentionally waited a few seconds, then forced out an exasperated sigh. “Actually, those aren’t my plates.”

Silence.

“Turns out,” I continued, “I have a couple of girlfriends that I thought I could trust, but instead they go behind my back and steal my truck out from under me so they could put it in their name.”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes, rubbing her forehead. “Oh Goldie…” she whispered.

“Shh!”

Behind us, Rarity had drawn in a nervous gasp. “Oh…I…no, that…that wasn’t what we meant-“

She stopped suddenly.

Fluttershy and I glanced at one another, wondering what Rarity was thinking.

We soon found out.

“HA!” She chuckled smugly. “You!…You almost had me there, darling; t’was a nice try, and I’m glad to see you back to your old self, however if you must know, I’ve been getting wise to your antics as of late, so I’m afraid your little jokes will no longer work on me.”

Shit…

Fluttershy giggled silently when she saw the defeated look on my face, then she covered her mouth and turned away when I narrowed my eyes at her.

A dainty, white hand came over the back of the couch to pat my shoulder. “There-there, my love,” Rarity teased. “Better luck next time.”

“Hm,” I grunted. Time for plan B. I turned slightly to look at her hand and then gave my head a shake. “No Rare…I’m dead serious. I think you need to be punished.”

Rarity promptly broke into an amused cackle, after which I felt her head come to rest on the back of the couch. “Oh Darling, you are such a card! If only I had- AAAHHHH!”

As she spoke, I grabbed her hand from my shoulder and yanked her over the back of the couch and onto my lap. She landed face down, caught completely off-guard; that purple skirt of hers flipped onto her back when she landed, exposing the lacy, black thong she wore, leaving her pure, white backside visible to me and a very shocked Fluttershy.

“GAAH! Darling, what the fuck!?”

Eyes wide, Fluttershy covered her mouth as I slipped my hands inside Rarity’s shirt next, tickling the sides of her ribs with my fingertips.

She screeched and squirmed violently, squeezing her arms against her sides to try pinning my hands in place. “EEEK! N-no! Golds…hehe! Don’t t-tickle me, I- haha! I hate being tickled- AAAAH!”

“I told you, Rare! You need punishing, and just cuz you can’t feel pain anymore don’t mean you can’t be tortured.”

“No! Hehe! You mustn’t…you-AAH! Unhand me, you mongoloid!” She spun around to lay face-up and brought her legs up to protect herself, using her knees to try pushing my arms away. Her hands pawed helplessly at my shoulders as I slid my fingertips higher, passing over her bra and burying them into her armpits, drawing the shrillest of squeals from her. “EEEEK! Stop it, dar-...ah! Hehehe! Don’t make me piss on you! HAHA!”

I bit my lip and smirked, watching her face, contorted with laughter and anguish; her eyes were squeezed shut, pressing her thick, black lashes together. Her nose was scrunched up, her mouth open as she giggled feebly, showing off her clean, perfect teeth, between which passed one pleading squeal after another while fighting valiantly against the playful torture.

It struck me suddenly however, just how beautiful she looked that night. I wasn’t sure if she’d gone the extra mile in doing her makeup, or if it was just the way I saw her after realising the things she and Fluttershy had done for me over the past couple days, but either way; her cuteness, her utter sweetness took hold of me, and quite suddenly, all I wanted was to have her close.

The joke was over. I wanted to show her how I really felt. My fingers stopped their attack and I slid my hands around her back, feeling her warm, smooth skin against my palms as I pulled her into a firm hug, leaning forward to meet her halfway.

“Oh…” she panted softly, her arms hanging limp at her sides as she stared lifelessly at the ceiling, that perfectly sculpted coiffure splayed and ragged, hanging loose around her face. “I…I’m afraid I…don’t quite understand…what just happened here,” she mumbled softly.

I responded by burying my face into the crook of her neck, inhaling a deep whiff of her delectable scent. “Thanks, Rare.”

Her breathing stopped, and she brought her eyes down from the ceiling onto my shoulder, unable to see my face with it nuzzled against her.

“For what you did for me,” I continued, my voice muffled by her soft skin. “After the two days I just had, this is just…perfect. I can’t even think of the last time someone’s done anything like this for me.”

Rarity’s eyes began to gleam as she listened, and an affectionate smile appeared on her lips. “Aww,” she cooed, wrapping her arms around my shoulders in return. “Well you’re perfectly welcome, darling. T’was the least could do; we know how much you enjoyed working there and how much you love your truck, and we simply couldn’t bear the thought of you being so despondent about what happened. You deserve better, and although I was unable to convince him to hire you back, I did get him to sign the inspection form so Fluttershy could get the plates for you.”

Some of this was news to me. She tried to get me my job back? Learning this triggered a wild fluttering in my chest, making me tighten my grip on the fashionista without even realising it. I said nothing in reply; instead, I planted a soft kiss on her neck, just below her earlobe, earning a soft giggle from her.

After a lick of her bottom lip, Rarity continued. “Fluttershy and I…we love you so much, and after all the wonderful things you’ve done for us, we knew this was our chance to take care of you for once—and we weren’t about to pass it up!” She paused and tightened the hug, closing her eyes. “Mmmm...you said it yourself, darling: we all have to look after one another, and you were absolutely right. That’s what people do when they love and care for each other, and everyone needs help sometimes, even someone like you, my dear Mr. Arrow.”

I let out a sigh, the air from my nostrils tickling Rarity’s throat. Soon after, we released one another, and I placed a kiss on her cheek before leaning back into the couch, letting the fashionista lay comfortably across my lap. “Where have you ladies been all my life?” I asked with a smirk.

“Regrettably, we simply did not exist, darling. But we’re here now.”

“Mm-hm,” Fluttershy joined in, “And we’re here to stay, Goldie. I promise.” She leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek, then rested her head on my shoulder with a sigh.

For a short, but lovely time, we sat there in silence, enjoying the warmth of each other, the sound of our breathing—and the moment itself.

“Well, my darlings,” Rarity finally said, “what shall we do tonight?”

Fluttershy shrugged and then sighed, humming softly as she did so.

I looked down at Rarity, who returned the gaze with those lovely sapphire eyes of hers. “I might have an idea…”

She raised a brow. “Oh? Do tell.”

“Something that I’m sure the three of us can have a lot of fun with…”

This got Fluttershy’s attention. “Mm-hmmmm,” she said softly, letting her fingertips rest on Rarity’s shin as I continued.

“Something that will get our hearts pumping; something that will have you two screaming for mercy…”

“Ooh…I like the sound of this,” Fluttershy said seductively, walking her fingers up Rarity’s thigh like a tiny pair of legs.

Rarity’s eyes widened with excitement. “Oh darling…are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

“Let’s go out in the truck and do burnouts!” I shouted.

Rarity giggled ecstatically, pressing the heels of her hands to her cheeks. “YES!” she squealed, giggling with delight.

“Huh?” Fluttershy’s eyes widened as well, but her expression didn’t quite synch up with Rarity’s. In truth, this was not...exactly what she was thinking.