It seems I have managed to make my entire fanbase want to slaughter an entire town!
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.
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"Just give me a taste tonight."
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Winding Roads
Chapter 6: Acceptance
A whimper escaped the throat of the yellow earth pony as his hind leg was lightly wrapped in a roll of bandages. He quickly blocked off the horrible sounds by smashing his hooves to his mouth, afraid to let out a squeak. He wanted to seem like he hadn't been broken back there in the rain, but he somehow knew his friend didn't have enough heart to make fun of him for crying so much.
He looked down at the pair of hooves fixing him up, and then let his eyes slowly trail up to the face of the other. Soarin had a long gash on his cheek that trailed down to his neck. It was still red with blood and looked like it seriously hurt, but the pegasus was focused on Braeburn. His eyes didn't come up to meet the earth pony's, they focused on their work intently.
Braeburn's apartment wasn't exactly glamorous, nor was it meant for two colts... the earth pony was almost afraid when he was carried in by Soarin what the landpony would think, but luckily it seemed she had gone to bed early. The place only had one room, and Braeburn hardly spent any time in it other than sleeping.
Braeburn shifted, the bandages around his waist making it difficult for him to breathe. They were already red, and would need to be replaced soon so the wounds wouldn't become infected. He shifted uncomfortably as Soarin's hoof rubbed his hidden cutie mark in circles. The feeling was gentle, and caring, but Braeburn still couldn't feel like it was right...
"Was it right... to just leave em' in the street?" Braeburn mumbled. He moved his upper leg over the other, trying to comfort himself slightly. His eyes seemed sad, defeated in some ways.
Soarin glanced up for the first time to look into Braeburn's eyes "You gotta stop being so kind, y'know that Brae?" He asked, forcing out a chuckle. He reached up and rubbed the others bare side with his hoof. "Ponies like that... just be glad I didn't do worse to them, alright?"
Braeburn nodded silently. He glanced to the floor at the tattered and soaking wet vest. He felt naked without it, and feeling naked in front of Soarin still sent of signals of alarm in his mind. He tried to fight them off, but they simply kept attacking his mind, which was already as torn and tattered as the vest on the floor from the previous week. He started trembling as his mind recalled the experiences, it scared him beyond anything he had ever felt.
"Brae, calm down, its over." Soarin said, somehow knowing just how much Braeburn had been shaken up this night. The yellow pony glanced down at Soarin with teary eyes, blinking them several times to rid them of the tears.
Braeburn's mouth remained dry as he attempted to find the correct choice of words for the moment. He wasn't exactly sure what to feel at the moment, he lowered his head as Soarin began to walk away. Braeburn glanced at him, wincing at the sharp movement in his neck that caused a rippling pain to shoot to his head. He couldn't help but glance at the bruises on the others body.
Three on one wasn't a fair fight... but the colts he took on were more stupid than not, and Soarin simply took them out in the promised time, thirty seconds, with a few flaps of his wings and a kick or two.
Soarin returned "You must be cold as buck." He grumbled, putting a towel on the others head and lightly rubbing his mane. Braeburn found himself wincing as the towel brushed over his swollen eye and bleeding forehead. Soarin's hooves ran the warm towel up and down his freezing body. Braeburn shifted in slight pleasure.
"Soarin?" The earth pony mumbled just as the towel came back to his damp mane. He dared to look innocently enough into the others eyes, which held a simple and soft glow that welcomed Braeburn to become lost in them.
"Yeah buddy, what's up?" Soarin asked, pausing his drying for a few moments.
Braeburn glanced down, trying to find the words that he desperately wanted to express. He wanted Soarin to know he cared, even though he was scared. His eyes watered, and Soarin opened his mouth to say something before the other beat him to the punch. "B-Brae, it's alright, please d-don't cry, I'll cuddle you, I'm r-right here." He echoed Soarin's words, his eyes watering and ready to overflow.
Soarin paused. He looked down as if feeling a strike of guilt "Yeah... yeah buddy, I'm right here." He mumbled. He glanced up before getting on his hind legs to meet the others eyes. A body was leaning on Braeburn, he felt slight pain but didn't dare to make any movement. Soarin chuckled gently "I'll cuddle you whenever you want, please stop crying... you don't look as cute..." He said, echoing the rest of his words before wrapping his hooves around the others head and bringing his head in, lips colliding with his own.
Every alarm in Braeburn's head went off at once as muzzle connected with muzzle. Things were being screamed at him to run, push the other off of him, do anything in his power to stop this! He forced the thoughts to the back of his mind, telling them to simply shut up.
His entire body tensed and relaxed at once, a warm feeling flushed over his freezing body as Soarin's hooves stroked his mane gently. He was so focused on this that the thing to snap him back to reality was something brushing against his lips. He somehow knew what to do and opened his own mouth, letting the others tongue slide in and wrestle with his own. Braeburn let himself moan between his gasp for air. Nothing mattered to him at this moment, the alarms slowly died as he wrapped his upper legs around the others body, trying to feel every inch of him. He slowly fell backward, taking Soarin with him as he lay on his back. Finally he was forced to break away to gasp for air, a thin trail of saliva connecting them before Soarin started to kiss his cheeks and forehead. Braeburn breathed in Soarin's scent deeply, simply enjoying the moment.
He was on cloud nine. There was no other way to describe it.
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"You sure you're ready for this, Braeburn?" Soarin asked, his hooves gently stroking the yellow pony's bare sides. His wings were wrapped up and holding the yellow pony above him. He couldn't help but notice the others darting, nervous eyes. Nor could he ignore the way he was breathing unusually fast, his heart was pounding in slight fear.
"Y-Yeah... course." Braeburn mumbled. His eyes betrayed him.
"Y'know... this isn't something that you're supposed to be forced into." Soarin mumbled "I don't want you to feel like you have to. If you're scared, or think it'll hurt you... you really don't have to do this."
Braeburn bit his lower lip and gnawed for several moments. "I'm just... nervous..." He mumbled "I want you to feel like I mean it... I don't want to half ass this buckin' thing!" He seemed frightened, his voice was rising and his eyes welled in tears. "I'm scared, I'm scared that if ya don't think I mean it ya'll..." He paused.
"I'm not abandoning you." Soarin mumbled. "If you have any doubts, I won't protest."
Braeburn closed his eyes and sniffled gently. He had never done or thought about anything like this before. He was shy, he was beyond nervous, and even slightly trembling as he sat on Soarin's belly. "Everything... I've been taught told me this is wrong." He mumbled. "I know it's stupid... but I'm afraid I'll explode, or die or get some fatal disease if I do this..."
"You're folks are the stupid ones for making you think that." Soarin mumbled. "I think I'm living proof that bucking crap won't happen. But I'm not going to push you."
Braeburn whimpered gently and wiped his eyes with his hoof. "I want to..." He protested, anger deep inside of him for being so weak and not being able to do something as simple as this. "I just... I just need a minute..."
Soarin was silent for several moments as he studied the other closely. His upper legs lowered themselves to his chest as he folded them and thought for a moment. "Say Brae... do you love me?" He asked. He cocked up a brow as he looked up, the words must have taken the other by surprise by the way he jumped.
"W-What do you mean?" Braeburn said. His cheeks blushed deeply and so did his ears. Soarin gave a cocky little smile that seemed warm and loving. The yellow pony lowered his head as he thought for several moments. He ran a hoof over his chest to feel his thumping heart. He closed his eyes a moment "Yeah... I do." He mumbled. The words were strange on his tongue, as if they didn't belong, yet somehow felt right at the same time.
"If you love me... I know you'll be safe..." He mumbled.
Braeburn was silent for several moments. He took in a deep breath and nodded slowly "Okay... I'm ready..."
Things were never going to be the same after that night.
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Braeburn felt the warm upper legs tighten around his body. He nuzzled his face into the fuzzy chest that he now laid on, the fuzzy coat tickling his nose. Soarin was soft, amazingly soft. He was as curled up as he could possibly get, the bed might as well not be there considering Soarin had turned into his mattress. A tongue was gently licking his cheek, it soothed his blushing face. His body was covered in sweat, and so was Soarin's.
"It didn't hurt, did it, buddy?" Soarin asked, gently kissing the others cheek, holding him tightly with both arms and wings. His muzzle breathed in the apply scent of the other deeply.
Braeburn shrugged "Yeah, but I think I might be bleedin'" He mumbled, blushing a deeper red.
"That happens the first few times, you get used to it." Soarin mumbled reassuringly. It was so easy for Soarin to talk about things like this, Braeburn felt his chest tighten the more he even thought about it. "I'm glad you can trust me enough though..." The pegasus mumbled, kissing the younger's neck before nibbling lightly.
Braeburn both giggled and squirmed in pleasure at Soarin's nibbling. He cracked open his eyes to kiss Soarin's chest lightly several times. "It's strange..." He mumbled. It paused his kissing, noticing Soarin had stopped his nibbling,
"Hmmm?"
Braeburn was silent for several moments "I mean... I know it sounds stupid an' all, but I 'aven't felt like I've been loved... I mean really loved... for a really long time." He was silent for several moments before blinking slowly to rid his eyes of the wallowing tears. He was glad that Soarin didn't respond, only cuddled him tighter. He wasn't sure how he would hold up if they delved deep into this topic.
"Guess things are different now." Soarin mumbled, nuzzling the others head lightly.
"Why did you... come back?" Braeburn finally mumbled. This seemed to catch the pegasi's attention as he paused for a long time without saying anything. Soarin's grip loosened, but quickly tightened again.
"I didn't plan on coming back." He confessed. Braeburn winced, and sniffled loudly. He couldn't help it, it just happened. "Calm down Brae, things changed." He mumbled, rubbing the others back gently under the feathery wings. He was silent for several moments "I... I think I have a confession to make." He mumbled.
Braeburn glanced up, his eyes looking deep into Soarin's. He didn't like the guilt he saw in them, in fact he hated it more than anything. The silence filled the room and the pitter patter of rain on the roof filled it. "What?" He asked, afraid of the answer.
"For a long time now," Soarin mumbled "I've tried my best to try and help everypony I've met who was like you... I tried to stay away from Earth ponies since they were hard to convince..." Braeburn didn't say anything, only listened. "I take them on a few dates, tease them, and eventually get them to confess what they really feel. I always thought that it was the right thing to do, so many of them were in denial..." Soarin said.
Braeburn sat up, breaking away from the wings, his eyes suddenly watered "D-Does that m-mean I've been nothin' but a t-test?" He asked. He felt like something was about to break in him, his heart cracked.
"No, no buddy." Soarin quickly said, sitting up "Calm down, let me explain, please." He whispered soothingly as he wrapped his upper legs around the other and brought him to his warm chest. Braeburn sniffled loudly, and Soarin could feel something wet on his chest. It was a bad idea to tell him on this night... after everything that happened, he wasn't sure just how much the other was able to take before he broke.
"Like I said, let me explain." Soarin whispered into his ear. He waited a few moments for Braeburn to calm down before continuing. "Lately... I've been trying to stop doing that," Soarin mumbled "Because sometimes I get too attached to some of them, and then they act like you did back on the train, some of them have even gotten violent." The pegasus nuzzled the other gently. Braeburn didn't say a single word.
"Anyways... when I heard that bartender call you a coltcuddler... I seriously considered just ignoring you, and moving on with my life. But... I looked at you and you just seemed so sad to me, like you had been defeated."
Braeburn glanced up "I... I used to be friends with a lot of the people in town." He suddenly said, "I used to be a lot more friendly, and didn't cry this easily." He whimpered out, gripping the other tightly. "But... afta' the rumors got out... when nopony talked to me anymore, and I start'd to get b-b-bullied for no reason... I just shut myself d-down, I couldn't take it."
"I thought that." Soarin mumbled. "I just... I just couldn't let you stay like that for some reason."
Braeburn glanced up "Why?"
"No idea." Soarin mumbled. "But I did the same routine as always, flirt, ask you out, bother you endlessly, the same as always... but you were different from the others." He mumbled, letting that part sink in for quite a long time before starting up again. "You didn't hate me for no reason, yet were just irritated by me and my goofiness, and only lost your temper when I pushed you too far. When we went to the show, you just talked for hours about how amazing I was, it made my chest feel all warm and tingly for some reason." Soarin let the other get off of his chest for a moment, looking into Braeburn's eyes before kissing his forehead lightly, as if he had to. "When I pretended to be drunk and pass out, a lot of the times I do that, most of the ponies just let me fall. But you caught me and held me even though we were in public, you even cuddled me and drug me to that room through that giant crowd!"
"A-Anypony would..." Braeburn mumbled, his cheeks tinting.
"No, they seriously wouldn't." Soarin chuckled "But even when I practically harassed you the next morning, you still took care of me even though you were seriously hung over... you were just so nice, and amazing..." Soarin was silent for a long time "When I kissed you... after hearing you tell me what your father did... I did it more for making you feel better than for helping you decide who you were... you were so sad, I couldn't stand it."
Braeburn glanced up, his eyes wide with shock. "I... I just..." Soarin put a hoof over his mouth and shook his head, as if to force the other not to say anything.
"You let me kiss you for so long... and a lot of the time when the other ponies throw me on the ground, they try and attack me more..." Soarin was silent for a long time after that. "I stayed on the train a long time, wondering what to do. I thought about chasing you, but I decided against it."
Braeburn opened his mouth, and without thinking said "I cried... for a long time after that." He realized this would make Soarin feel worse rather than better, but by the time it dawned on him, it was too late.
"Yeah... I'm sorry, Brae." Soarin said. "B-But, when I went back to my squad, I couldn't stop thinking about you, you kept popping up in my mind, no matter how much I tried to push you away... Tonight I had a show... and I decided to try and find you, just to say goodbye, or something." Soarin snuggled closer to Braeburn "But... when I saw those three hurting you... I seriously thought I was going to kill them... When I saw you crying, I wanted nothing more than to swoop you up, and save you and make you stop..." Soarin's voice was cracking. Braeburn glanced up and saw his eyes welling in tears before the other closed them.
It took Soarin a few minutes to calm down "If you... if you decided you liked colts on the train back there... I'm not sure what I would do." He mumbled "Most of the time, I just date them for a month, and then break it off because I have to travel so much. Most of the time it hurts them more than me..." He mumbled "But if they were like you, I let them go and live their lives, letting the seed of truth I planted just spread until they finally accepted it... but you were so different."
Braeburn glanced up. He winced as he tried to sit up, he was going to have a hard time with that for a few days. He broke away from Soarin's tight embrace and looked into his eyes. Soarin's own eyes glistened in tears. It didn't seem right for the pegasus to cry, not when Soarin was so strong. He leaned in and kissed the other's muzzle. "I love you, Soarin." He mumbled, smiling softly at the pegasus "I... I'm glad you decided to talk to me."
Soarin was silent for several moments before weakly smiling "Love you too... Brae..." He leaned forward and wrapped his upper legs around the other, giving him the biggest hug of his life.
"I won't abandon you, I promise."
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No, this is not the end.