//------------------------------// // Suspended // Story: Horseshoes // by Peter Yellowhammer //------------------------------// Caramel stopped. Time and existence stopped. All his rage, all his grief, all his self-loathing froze at the hot, wet touch of Macintosh's tongue. His cheek burned with nonsense, dripped with insanity. Big Macintosh...had just licked him. That sentence defied logic as he had come to know it. “B-Big Mac?” The strange red pony had also stopped. He had to remind himself to breathe. “Y-yeah?” “You just...but you wouldn't have...you couldn't have...?” His comforter, beyond all reason, bowed his head forward and rested against Caramel's neck. He heard him moan and was frightened at the sound. He felt hooves pull him in tighter, refusing to yield. “Ah'm sorry,” began the strange red pony, “really Ah am. But Ah cain't help it anymore. It's just...Caramel...” He didn't want to hear what came next. He wanted to die right then and there, if it meant he could forget the entire day. But he was still feeling the champion breathe in and out unsteadily...He was still feeling so many dreams come back to him all at once. “Y-yeah?”, he squeaked. “Ah...Ah'll make it up t'you. Ah swear. We'll find you somethin' you can do t'make a livin'; Ah'll look until mah eyes fall out. Jus' please don't give up. It's yer best quality...” The universe was further insulted when Macintosh pulled his head back up and planted lips to his. Caramel was lost for what to think as he was held there, feeling the pressure that was denied to him for so long. It couldn't have been real; there was no way. Dreams must have become wet and sticky when he wasn't looking. “Ah'm not giving up on you...and Ah'll be damned t'all six hells if Ah'm gonna let you do it either. You never gave up before. That's...that's why Ah fell in love with you, Mel...” As the strange red pony relaxed his crushing hug, Caramel tried to compute what he had just heard. Big Macintosh loved him? He just said that? And he wasn't dreaming? So all the training to 'win' at the Cup and maybe the occasional date, trying to find a mare to help him forget...that was all completely pointless?! He could have just told the truth and everything...well, one thing would have been fine?! The scandalized pony felt his bizarre lover nuzzle him again. It was hard to be mad when he was being so affectionate, like scolding a shower for being too wet. He loves me...he fell in love with me. And he told me. Dear skies above, so much has changed. “Even as bad as it got fer you workin', you never complained, never quit in th' middle. You just smiled an' tried again. Ah kept thinkin', “Why does he keep doing it when it never works?” an' then...Ah thought o' mahself.” Caramel didn't know what else to do but keep listening. It was starting to get colder outside, not that he felt remotely chilly. Big Macintosh was very warm...and he was beginning to crave that warmth again. "...It's like you said: Ah'm a flawless dolt. Ah never had t'worry 'bout not bein' able t'work. Ah wondered what it might've been like if Ah wuz helpless, and it scared th' hells outta me. Cuz, Ah mean, there's not much else to me than workin' an' helpin' everypony, or at least nothin' else Ah care t'know.” Suddenly, the strange red pony wasn't so strange anymore. He was different, but it was like... they understood each other in a way. They had the same fear. Caramel almost made an effort to nuzzle him back, but decided against it until he was done talking. “An' then Ah jus' looked at you. No matter how frustrated you got with yer strugglin', no matter how helpless you really were, you never showed it. You were stubbornly happy with a pretty smile," he continued with a reverent tone. Caramel thought about his smile. He never considered what other ponies thought about it, not really. After all, he smiled to make himself feel better and to look like he never felt bad; so he didn't truthfully have others in mind. But it was clear now that he should have paid attention. “Ah wanted that strength. Ah wanted t'be able t'keep tryin' even if my blessin's dried up. Ah...Ah respect you as much as any family Ah've ever had.” Caramel's chest fluttered as he saw his admirer tear up again. He never thought he would hear those words, any of them. He didn't think his old crush would feel the same way; never dared to ask it, barely dared to think it. Why would a stud like Big Mac look at a pony like him, whether he was gay or not? But here the stud was, embracing him and bearing his soul. Caramel inhaled more steadily, feeling a real smile stretch his lips. He offered a hoof to wipe Big Mac's tears. His comforter sniffed, clearing his throat. The smelly pony really wished he smelled better, even just a little. “Yer th' sweetest, too. Always were. Ah...Ah swear Ah didn't know it wuz this bad. Ah jus' thought you were a klutz...!” Tremors shook both of them as Macintosh started to tremble again. Caramel rubbed the big lug's back; he just wasn't supposed to be sad, not him. It was one of the constants in his life...in fact, it was the only constant he had. He had to return the favor, soothe the soother. “Mac...it's okay. I don't blame anypony for this, really. It just...it just stinks, that's all. It really, really stinks...” This didn't seem to help. “I-If only we knew, we all woulda helped you. Why...why didn't you say anything?! Ah woulda bent over backwards to...!” He instantly regretted letting Big Macintosh in the barn. All his outpouring emotion wasn't worth this amazing stallion fretting over him. The champion should have been celebrating, not suddenly bearing his burden. It just wasn't right. “It's...it's not that bad, really...” “Not that bad?!", a tearful Macintosh rebutted. "Yer homeless! Yer jobless! Yer daddy prolly abandoned you! Yer stuck livin' in our old barn that got stolen from us! Yer...yer cryin' again, Ah'm sorry. Oh, Mel...” Caramel finished recoiling from the reminders. If anything, it felt good to hear somepony else say them. “No, it's...it's all true. Don't feel bad. A-after all, it's not like feeling bad will change anything, right?”, he offered meekly. He never imagined that between the two of them, Big Macintosh would have been the emotional one. The pony wasn't what he believed him to be at all...but it was clear that this was the real deal. He would accept it no matter how this situation ended; he was not going to let go of what was just given to him unconditionally. Mac seemed to be calming down, the pony's heartbeat slowing to normal. Mel wiped Mac's eyes again. “Ah...well, that's true," the champion conceded with a hint of a smile. Mel chuckled through what sounded like a throat. “Heh...Ah've never talked this much in mah life. It's kinda exhausting. It all jus' came gushin' out, haha!” Mel felt the babbling farm pony's deep laughter reverberate against him as he was nuzzled again. Caramel giggled stupidly at the sensation, nuzzling him back this time. Why did he wait until now to do it? He was so flighty sometimes...so he decided to make it undeniable. He licked the left side of Macintosh's thickly muscled neck. Mac suddenly stopped nuzzling him. The two met eyes and stared at each other, both short of breath. They heard the water in the bucket splash softly as a single drop fell inside. “...Mel?” “Mac?” “You weren't...jus' humoring me, were you?” His crush's eyes were wide and lips were quivering. But Mel grinned that grin he saw before. “Nnope!” It seemed like Mac was the one who's existence locked up this time. Just for a few seconds, it was as if he had died and left a mindless shell behind. But then time started moving again...and accelerated as Mel only had a split second to register Mac pulling him into an overeager tongue bath. It was rushed, it was inexperienced, the stallion almost made him choke a few times...but he closed his eyes and relished every caress his partner made as it flooded him with a joy he didn't want to believe existed. Even as his mind still fought against the concept of the one pony he yearned for actually kissing him and returning his feelings, their frenzied dance became calmer...and he lost all focus but that toward the magnificent creature bound to him by flesh. He was gone. He was in love again. The kiss slowed further and grew deeper over time, the two hopelessly entangled in each other...everything else forgotten but the warmth of their bodies, the adoration of their tongues. They both fell to their sides as they explored each other greedily. In those few minutes, everything had changed. In those few minutes, Paradise was reborn. --- Ten minutes later, Macintosh broke their kiss and frantically got up from laying on his side. Caramel had to squirm to avoid getting stepped on. “Whoa whoa, what happened? Somepony lay down some kibble for ya, Spot?” Without missing a beat, Spot replied: “Ah gotta go, Ah'm late for supper and...oh, crud, Ah'm sorry, Ah'm a moron. Ah'll bring somethin' back here. Th' point is, Ah need t'go home. But this,” he added with a peck, “wuz wonderful. Ah'll talk t'you t'morrow 'bout getting' you out o' this barn. In th' meantime...” Caramel tried to cut in, but was silenced by a longer, more tender kiss. His partner was getting better at that already. “Yer welcome t'stay," the Apple offered breathlessly. "Be back in two bits.” Caramel finally caught his breath when he said: “Wh-whoa, wait!” Mac stopped just before the doors and turned his head, eyes as wild as his dirty blonde hair. “Whut?!” The barn dweller cantered up to his stud. He smiled with deliberate charm and half-lidded eyes. “Y'know...when you bring the meal back here – and you're just too nice to do so, thank you so much – you could...stay the night if you like. Or I could...oh, forget it, I'm being ridiculous.” The other barn dweller scratched his chin, eyes darting from Mel to the great outdoors. Then his eyes lit up, as if sparkling with his mind's solution. “Ah have a much better idea,” Macintosh teased as he played with Mel's mane. “Would you like t'have supper with us tonight? Ah cain't git ya a room too easily, but we can surely try.” Caramel felt his knees give out. He hadn't had a meal with flavor since...he didn't even want to think about it. And sleeping in an actual bed...with a blanket and pillows and windows and everything. And maybe he could finally have a bath that wasn't in a river! He never thought he would get something that wonderful after what happened earlier that day. The saved pony looked at Macintosh, who was smiling a little smugly. He looked so different to him now. He looked like a perfect gentlecolt when he was a colt himself; then the pinnacle of masculinity when they were both grown; then an infuriatingly charming blowhard at the stadium; and now as if he were a gift from the heavens, meant to redeem him from his cursed life. Caramel nodded his head emphatically. Then he felt fear grip his heart as he remembered. “W-wait, that would mean...!” Mac kept his face stern, but warm. Just looking at that face made Mel wonder why he convinced himself that trying to snagging the stud was pointless. He had no reason to be afraid...certainly not now. Well, at least not of that. “They would find out eventually. Ah'm sure they'll take pity on you once we explain it t'them. They're good ponies an' you know it.” But Caramel wasn't swayed. He was already trying to imagining what might happen if they were unprepared: every outcome seemed bleak. “I know your family would forgive me, but what about--” “CRUD.” “Exactly!” Mac looked as worried as Caramel felt. Both of them fixated on the other side of the acreage. “Well...”, he stalled as he paced before the doors. “They don' need much work on “their” land, they don' know you at all...and you'd be staying with us anyway...” “Yeah, yeah?!” “...So we'll jus' tell those three Ah hired you t'work on th' outer fields and leave it at that. They shouldn't care.” Caramel brushed against Macintosh's left side. He was sure the stud thought it was mischievous, and maybe it was a little...but he craved the tangible security Mac's hide brushed onto him. That, and it was getting colder outside, like it did every night for so many nights by himself. Burying himself in hay during the winter, part of it even covered in snow...he was sure as every hell leaving that behind now if he could. “Are you sure?” “Well...no. But either way, we hafta move it!” Mac tore away from Mel and bolted away from the barn. "H-HEY, WATCH IT! I CAN'T REALLY RUN, YOU KNOW! JERK!" The two stallions galloped hectically (one haphazardly) toward the Apple-Orange Homestead. In spite of all the uncertainty, Caramel was looking forward to some good food and a place to sleep. Maybe...maybe things were about to get better.