//------------------------------// // That Tingly Feeling // Story: Winding Roads // by Storm butt //------------------------------// Wow, I didn't expect so much positive feedback from you all, nor did I expect so many people over on DeviantART to CRY on the last chapter. I guess the DA people are more emotional than ya'll are on FiMfiction :P So here, early updates for the lot of ya! Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It belongs to The Hub, Hasbro, Studio B, and Lauren Faust. I do not own any of these characters in any way or how, nor do I claim ownership to the pony franchise. These characters are simply my toys. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Why couldn't we just stay friends?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Winding Roads Chapter 5: That Tingly Feeling "What are ya doin'?" Braeburn found himself screeching as bolts of fear rippled through his body. His high pitched scream was in no way manly nor colt-like, and it didn't help his current mood in the slightest. He pushed back the pegasi's head with his hooves as tears flowed from his eyes in great numbers. He felt cornered... trapped. His eyes scanned for an escape route, yet found none. His own breathing began to quicken at great speed. "Just shut up..." Soarin growled before he forcibly planted yet another kiss on the other's lips, this time his own tongue forcing its way into his mouth. Braeburn found himself moaning in horrible delight that he couldn't control, the tongue wrapping around his, tasting his mouth as it licked the inside. Braeburn's legs felt shaky, and his heart pounded. He finally snapped into his own senses. "Stop it!" He shouted as he yet again forced the others mouth away from his, a thin trail of saliva connecting them together before it snapped, Braeburn found his chest heaving in sobs "What are ya doin'?" He cried yet again, his voice on the verge of sobbing yet again "Ya damn coltcuddler, what do ya think ya doin'?" He had nothing else to say, the shock of it all gripped his emotions in tight claws as the wound in his heart began to bleed out and flood his entire body. His chest hurt... it hurt so damn much… "You liked it, didn't you?" Soarin asked, his tone serious, his eyes sincere. They were like daggers, glaring straight through Braeburn, piercing his heart. "No I d-didn't, ya idiot!" Braeburn cried, still pinned against the railing, both on their hind legs, Braeburn by force. He was breathing hard; his mouth still had the taste of Soarin's tongue in it, he was afraid to swallow. Soarin glared at him, eyes narrowing as they shot through him, seeing the simple truth. Braeburn could feel the tears escape his eyes as the river began to flow. "Don't look at me like that..." He said. He meant it to sound assertive, but it came out as pure begging. The eyes reminded him too much of the ponies in Appleloosa. "Please..." He begged, his voice not much more than a squeak of pity at this point. "Stop it..." "You moaned..." Soarin stated. Braeburn felt like he had just been stabbed in the chest, his hooves began to tremble as his lower jaw quivered. "You loved it; I could hear that your heart did." The pegasus said, reaching a hoof down circling it around the chest of the other. "What... what kind of horseapplin' crap is that?" Braeburn cried out, wailing at this point, a river inside him had a hurricane going on at the current moment "A-Anypony would... do that... if they were kissed by somepony they li" He stopped dead, realizing what he was about to say. "They li?" Soarin asked, his glare faded, and his hoof stroked the others cheek gently, but Braeburn was still trembling in fear "They... like?" He guessed out loud. It was an innocent little guess, but Braeburn let out a half sob as the words escaped Soarin’s mouth. "You like the way you feel when you're with me, you like the taste just a minute ago?" He mumbled, leaning forward as his teeth scraped against the other’s ears. "I didn't mean that..." Braeburn whimpered, trembling as his ears were played with by a playful tongue. "Yes you did." Soarin said, warm breath in Braeburn’s ears. "It's alright Buddy, I'm here, you don't have to be scared of good 'ol Soar, now do you?" He asked. He leaned in, lightly kissing the others neck. Braeburn winced, and held his breath as emotions piled on emotions. Teeth scraped on his neck, and a gentle moan escaped. The train slowed down, and Braeburn felt himself jerk as it stopped. Tears welled in his eyes, his neck being kissed and nibbled on. He hated it... he hated the fluttery feeling in his belly, he hated the way he began to feel dizzy, and he hated the moaning coming from his throat... he hated himself. "I’m not a damn coltcuddler!" Braeburn cried, using all of his strength to throw the other off of him. Soarin might be light on his hooves and speedy, but earth ponies were several times stronger than Unicorns or Pegasi. He heard Soarin grunt in pain as his head slammed against the metal floor. Braeburn didn't take a second to think and kicked the door to the cart open and began to gallop out of the train. He didn't think he had ever run faster in his life. Part of him craved that Soarin would follow him, but he still kept running. The faster he ran, the more his thoughts and feelings began to lie on. It was nighttime, and he could barely see which way he was going, but he didn't slow down until he reached his home. When the earth pony slammed his door to the apartment, only then did he let his sentiments take over. He began to weep. Braeburn had never cried so hard in his life, everything hurt, and everything inside of him bled. He tried to bite his lip, but it began to flow a thin trail of red. He was gasping for air from the running and sobbing. Images flew through his mind of several things. His father hitting him, all of the pain and blood. The 'whipping into shape' that he had endured for weeks upon weeks. The yellow stallion curled up on the floor, and let himself quietly cry his heart out. "I'm a-a-a g-g-good pony..." He whimpered "I-I-I a-a-ain't no Coltcuddler..." His tiny heart began to slowly crack. "I'll b-be good... d-d-daddy... I won't cuddle n-no colts..." The reciting of lines his father forced him to say wasn't helping, it only made things worse. The only thing he wanted right now was for Soarin to fly through the window, and cuddle him until he stopped crying. He wanted to be held next to a chest that cared for him and be told that he wasn't worthless and that he was loved. No pegasus appeared... and Braeburn cried himself to sleep, alone on the cold and unloving floorboards. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Braeburn found himself shifting awkwardly in place. The yelling was causing his ears to hurt; he was unable to look forward into the two sets of eyes staring at his disapprovingly. He felt awkward, on tension, as if he were skating on a lake of thin ice. "That's the tenth one this month, Braeburn." The stern, disproving voice flooded his ears. "You need to get your ass in gear and find somepony to settle down with!" Braeburn started to count backward from 100; it helped to calm him down at times like this, at times when yelling was the only thing filling the house. He glanced at his father, the brown coat and bright, fiery eyes stared down at him from across the room. "Pa, all of those mares... act like favorite colors and matching names are things to build a relationship on." He mumbled. It wasn't the first time he had had this talk, in fact it had happened so much that the yellow pony had lost count. "Honey, we just don't want you to end up as an old stallion without a wife." This time Braeburn turned to his mother and her orange coat. He blinked several times, but didn't respond to the comment. She was nice, but being nice was sometimes more annoying than Braeburn thought he should find it. His parents had taken it into their hooves to pick any of his dates and set him up with them. He wanted to find somepony he himself fell in love with... not this forced relationship thing his folks were trying to make him do. "Son, that's where relationships start, converse with them, act like you care." His father said, his voice growling in slight anger "For the sake of Celestia, you can't expect to live under our roof forever can you." Braeburn found himself wincing. He had in fact been looking into a way to save up enough money to support himself for the past year, and was expecting to move out within the next. If he told his father this however, he somehow knew it would fall upon deaf ears. He kept his mouth shut, and shrugged slightly, only to receive a glare of disapproval. “I just don’t know what we’re going to do with you.” His mother said. “We can try and find another mare, but he’s gone through half of the ones in Appleloosa alone by himself!” His father growled out, glaring at his son. Braeburn shifted uncomfortably one again. He wanted to be left alone, he wanted to go to sleep in his bed and deal with all of this the next morning. “Pa… Ma…” He mumbled. “I can’t see why he can’t connect with any of them.” “Neither do I… maybe we should start introducing him to pegasi or Unicorns…” Braeburn listened to their conversation that didn’t involve him in the slightest with tension in his shoulders. He bit his lip as it kept going back and forth, back and forth. He couldn’t get a single word in, and his chest was building with emotion of anger and sorrow. “I like colts!” He shouted. The next thing Braeburn felt, was a hoof slamming down on his head. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Has a blue pegasi been 'round here?" He felt the words escape his mouth as he entered the Salt Block. It seemed like a perfect place for Soarin to come, or at least in Braeburn's head it did, it was where they first met after all. He still wasn't sure why he was looking for the pegasi either... The owner glared at him, and so did several other stallions and mares. He brought a hoof up to his neck to cover up the bruise Soarin had given him. He was nervous, he knew that the rumors had spread fast around this tiny little down, and a wildfire called gossip had found its source at him. Rumors of him leaving town with a strange pegasi, how they had been gone overnight together. Everypony seemed to put two and two together and somehow their disgusted minds had come out with the worst. "We don't take your kind here..." The owner said, eyes narrowing as he looked disgusted at the earth pony. The murmurs of agreement rose from several of the customers. Braeburn felt himself wincing. It was him against the world now. It was his own fault... he should have never let Soarin's lies dig their way into his mind. Braeburn took in a deep breath "Please, just tell me if he..." Something smashed in front of him; Braeburn found himself jumping as the glass shattered. He couldn't see who threw it, nor did the owner make a single movement to throw him out. "Get out of here ya damn coltcuddler!" The owner didn't seem to care that one of his glasses was now broken, in fact he gave a nod of approval toward the crowd where it came from. The yellow pony did everything he could to contain his trembling. "Yeah, leave ya freak!" Another voice came. He bit his lip as the insults piled on top of one another. "Coltcuddler!" "We'll show him how things should be 'round here..." "Get the buck out!" "Where's yer coltfriend, coltcuddler!" "But has he been..." He trailed off. Braeburn wasn't stupid, nor did he have any intention of becoming an idiot tonight. He knew when he wasn't welcomed, and he also knew when it was smart to leave. He lowered his heads and heard the insults pile on. He was stupid to come to such a crowded place to ask. He gnawed on his lip for a few seconds before turning and beginning to walk out. Something slammed into his hind, he began to tumble and fell right down the steps, his face slamming down onto the earth. His mouth filled with dirt and dust which he proceeded to spit out at once. Cheering hit his ears; it came straight from the bar he had just exited. He trembled slightly, but still got to his legs and lowered his hat past his eyes, just as a tiny river began to flow down his cheeks. He silently walked forward. And didn't make a single sound. He hardly even breathed; afraid the horrible choking sounds would escape his throat. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Braeburn kicked the tree as hard as his hooves would let him. He could feel the weight on his back increase as apples fell into the basket with ease. He blinked several times and glanced up, seeing a bright red apple still in the tree . A growl escaped his throat as he kicked at the tree once more. It didn't fall... Braeburn breathed in deeply and kicked the tree again, and again. His hooves slammed into it time after time. He thought of how Soarin could easily just fly up to retrieve the fruit. It only caused him to kick harder. By the time he had finally satisfied himself, he glanced behind him to see deep hoof marks in the bark. He was silent for a few moments. Something fell and land and slammed onto the scalp of his head. He was silent for several minutes before biting his lip and lifted up his back hooves and smashed them into the trunk once again. He heard a loud slam and the ground under his hooves vibrated. He silently lowered his head, and began to drag the basket full of apples away from the fallen tree. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Braeburn looked toward the sky. The clouds were bothering him, they thickened in the darkness, and a bellowing of thunder erupted over the twilight sky. It mirrored the earth pony's mood for the past week quite well. He felt sympathy with the sky. Maybe one of the princesses was upset, and was currently ordering Cloudsdale to ship out random storms in dozens. The thought in itself was highly unlikely, but Braeburn still liked to think it was true. The first drop of rain sprinkled onto his nose. He blinked, just exiting the acres of trees for the day. It had been a long day, a long week in fact. He had been auto-piloting numbly, eating, sleeping, and working without thought. He had also tried to avoid the bar after the incident, knowing he might get hurt and that he might also drink himself to death in depression if he wasn't careful. "I'm right here, don't cry, you don't look as cute." Braeburn sighed as he began to trot back to the town, Soarin's words echoing in his mind. "Yeah right, and earth ponies can fly..." He grumbled. Another drop of rain hit his head. Braeburn swore under his breath as he began to pick up his speed as trotting became galloping. He realized his apartment was way on the other side of town, and he would become soaked either way. He exhaled out loud, grumbling and swearing under his breath. He had become much angrier in his few days away from Soarin; however he knew that it was only to hide his tender feelings at the moment hidden under the crust. Just as he had predicted, the rain picked up, and fast. It soon began to pour on his yellow coat as his mane and tail stuck to his body. He shivered as he became colder. He was going to catch a cold if he stayed out for much longer. He galloped harder, kicking up large puddles of water with every step. "Jus' where do ya' think ya' goin' coltcuddler?" Those words forced Braeburn to stop dead in his path. Not again... he wasn't sure how well he could hold up right now. Still, the yellow pony turned around, seeing a colt much larger than him in a bright red body look at him. His mane was black, his eyes green. He had on a large cowpony hat. "Home." Braeburn stated "In case ya' didn't notice, it's rainin'" "Oh look, a coltcuddler, and a smartass." Another voice came, Braeburn whipped around to see two more colts around his size, both brown "Maybe we should teach him a lesson or two about respecting us... whip him into shape." "We need to whip that boy into shape... the good ol' fashion way." The words of his father hit his head, and he began to tremble in fear. Braeburn quickly tried to gallop to the side, he didn't bother calling for help. He knew that the moment anypony realized it was him, they would cheer. The rain beat on his body the moment a head slammed into his side, almost taking him off of his hooves "Ho, Nelly, we got a feisty one here boys." The larger colt said. The yellow pony held his side with one of his hooves. When he brought it back, there was blood on it. It wasn't much, but it was still there. The rain caused it to sting; the bruise that would appear would cover his entire flank tomorrow. Teeth sank into his tail. Braeburn yelped out in pain as it was yanked on, he turned to try and smack the holder of it, however a hoof met his face first as he stumped back, losing a clump of his tail. He sniffled up blood. It wasn't a fair fight, his only hope of making it was to run, run as fast as he could. "Where's your boyfriend coltcuddler, out buyin' your wedding dress?" One of them teased. Braeburn stopped listening; his head glanced from right to left. He hated this rain; he couldn't see a bucking thing in it! He licked his lips, tasting iron from where the stallion had hit him. If Soarin were here... what would he do? "Hey cutie, get ya ass over here and show me what ya got!" Braeburn shouted. The words felt strange on his tongue. He somehow felt like Soarin would tease the enemy to provoke him. Whatever sense this made in helping him run away, he still didn't figure that part out yet. If Soarin was really smart, he would just fly away... "Why you..." The larger colt said, charging forward before Braeburn did a one-eighty and slammed his hooves into the others face with all of his might. He could hear loud swearing, but he didn't stick around to hear the rest. He began to charge with all of his might. He could heart hooves behind him, and close. "Keep running, don't stop, keep running, and don’t stop!" He chanted quietly to himself, gasping in air as the fear began to take root in his belly. The splashing of puddles slowly got closer. They were gaining on him. Braeburn began to see it, his apartment, in the distance. He leaned his head down and began to charge. He was so close, he was right there! Something smashed into him that took him straight off of his hooves. He felt his body slide straight into a puddle. His head was held down by a pair of hooves. As he tried to gasp for air, he coughed up mouthfuls of water. He attempted to move, but another set of hooves held him down, and he found himself trapped. "Piece of horseshit." An angry voice growled before slamming a hoof down onto Braeburn's hind leg. The yellow pony bit back a whimper of pain as he began to struggle even more. He was scared; he was scared he had just ended his life by kicking that colt. Rain poured onto his body, causing him to tremble with both fear and simply freezing. He missed Soarin's welcoming wings. A hoof slammed into his belly, knocking the air out of him. He tried to gasp, but was greeted with a mouthful of water when the rough hoof hit again. His eyes welled in tears of pain. He wanted Soarin to tease him, and somehow find a way to make it up in the same sentence. Braeburn coughed up blood this time. The hoof slammed down onto his rib cage, to which he winced and trembled at. Pain kept erupting, again and again. He wasn't able to get in a single gasp of air, he had never felt so helpless in his entire life. He wanted Soarin to make him feel safe. "Please..." He begged. His jaw wobbled as tears flowed from his eyes, mixing in with the rain. He let out a sob that he wasn't able to muffle. "Please just stop!" He wailed, now openly crying. "Hey look, the kids beggin'" One of the colts holding him chuckled "I think he's cryin' too, damn coltcuddler is sensitive as buck!" Braeburn found himself letting out another sob. Something slammed on his head, as Braeburn felt his hat come off. His vest ripped the more he struggled. A hoof slammed right over his eye, and this time Braeburn couldn't hold back his scream of pain. He sobbed more, and wished the three would leave him alone. The weight on top of his body lightened all at once, and Braeburn could feel the ground vibrate underneath his trembling and hurt body. He bit his lip down hard; keeping his eyes squeezed shut as he gently cried. It took him a moment to realize something. The rain had stopped... no... That wasn't right, he could still hear it, and the thunder in the background was obvious! But the rain had stopped pouring on him. He dared to lift his head slightly to catch a glimpse of light blue feathers above him. Front legs suddenly wrapped around him, and lifted his body out of the water, forcing him to sit up as lips smashed onto his forehead. "I leave for a week and come back to this?" Soarin said. He sounded like he was joking, but his voice was on the verge of tears. "Soarin..." Braeburn whimpered, his eyes far too blurry to see the figure holding him clearly. He had to feel the others chest and poke around to make sure it was him. "S-Stohohop it, that tickles." Soarin chuckled as Braeburn's hooves felt the others belly. The earth pony was in shock. He threw his arms around the other, sobbing in pain and joy at once. Soarin was so warm... Braeburn felt safe, Braeburn felt warm, Braeburn felt loved. The rain went silent, and there was nopony else in Equestria other than him and Soarin. The earth pony began to openly sob, not caring if all of Equestria was watching him. He sniffled, words tripped over words and any time he attempted to speak it came out as more crying. Warm wings wrapped around him like a blanket, and something was pressed onto his head. His cowpony hat. Hooves rubbed his back through the wings and comforting words were whispered in his ears. "Why you piece of..." The voice came from several feet away. "Say Brae... can you give me thirty seconds?" Soarin asked. His voice seemed normal at first sound, but the closer Braeburn listened, the more and more he could sense the deep, pure anger boiling deep inside, a volcano ready to erupt. Braeburn glanced up, tightening his grip as he whimpered. "B-But I..." Braeburn whimpered. He wanted to feel the warmth... for a tiny bit longer. "Only thirty seconds... I'm not leaving." Soarin said, petting the others soaking wet mane several times before leaning down and kissing the others cheek. Braeburn didn't even wince. The sound of hooves drew closer. Braeburn nodded slowly. "You buckin' coltcuddlers..." Braeburn was set down gently, a kiss was planted between his eyes. A muzzle nuzzled against his, and he smiled, very weakly. Soarin's warmth left him, but he somehow knew it wouldn't be long before it returned. He closed his eyes, and began to count to thirty.