• Published 29th Jan 2017
  • 2,435 Views, 82 Comments

Roots - Storm butt



Caramel and Big Macintosh have been dating for a little over two years now, and with the Apple Family Reunion approaching Big Macintosh struggles to decide if he's ready to invite Caramel and take their relationship to the next level.

  • ...
9
 82
 2,435

Chapter Seven: Western

It was past early morning. Well past it, in fact. Sunlight hit the curtains which were thin, causing the entire train cart to be cast in a warm evening glow. The few cracks of light that scattered hit Caramel and Big Mac’s lower halves that were messily entangled in a bundle of blankets and sheets that had been thrown around throughout the night. Mac’s scent filled Caramel’s nose as he drug his muzzle up from the tufts of the workhorse’s chest fluff and up against the base of his neck. It was one of the softest parts on Mac’s body, his neck, and Caramel took time to press his lips against it and then wiggle around until his large boyfriend let out a deep-toned giggle at the sensation.

Bundled in a mess of Mac’s hooves and blankets Caramel squirmed more intently against Mac’s jawline and kissed it harder, beginning to nibble as the workhorse’s giggling grew louder. Mac rolled over slightly onto Caramel to not exactly stop him, but prohibit the most sensitive areas of his neck from being tickled. Caramel still nuzzled his lover gently, loving the scent of applies and musk that coated his fur.

“I think whoever cleans these carts is gonna be mad at the smell,” Caramel mumbled, half embarrassed half tempted to giggle at the realization.

“I’m not,” Mac muttered back teasingly. He put his hoof to the small of Caramel’s back and let it drift down his flank. It probably hadn’t been more than a few days since Big Macintosh and Caramel had been jumbled up like this, the scent of their deed evident in the air. Yet early in the morning before the sun rose and even after they had woken up they had taken the time to become reacquainted with the touch of each other’s bodies. Mac’s hooves drifted to Caramel’s front and rubbed the chubby part of his belly and gave him a teasing squeeze while Caramel ran his hind leg between Mac’s own. They both giggled under their breath, quiet in fear that they might be heard. It was exciting and fun to be just a door slide away from being caught by total strangers. Caramel was scared at first, but now it was like a drug. Just smelling Mac right now and the scent of the air from their night of fun drove him to want more. He bit Mac’s neck and was met with a half playful half genuine yelp.

“You’re mean after you top,” Big Macintosh chuckled.

“Maybe,” Caramel giggled back.

Caramel giggled and hugged Mac close. His belly felt vacant, and he knew from the fact that the general scent of food had faded about an hour ago that the two of them had missed breakfast. He didn’t mind at the time, his mind obviously on other things than food back then, but now he was starting to envision hay bacon strips and his mouth was watering.

The morning had been a mess of cuddling, kissing, and fooling around in a mish mash of segments. It was tempting to constantly fall back asleep considering they hadn’t managed to until about five in the morning. Caramel felt safe again for the first time in days, and it was hard to tempt himself to leave the room in fear of losing that sensation.

Of course, they were on a train. That implied they had a destination, and their fun was bound to end. Sometime between rolling around a few more times and entirely abandoning the blankets by kicking them onto the floor it was noticeable that the train was slowing down. The two were mid-kiss when it was evident they were soon going to arrive.

They gathered their belongings from the top and threw back on the blankets as best they could, Mac making Caramel blush at one point when he buried his face in the blankets and confirmed Caramel’s theory that the cleaning staff would probably notice. He smiled when he said it, but Caramel still felt his heart speed up at that thought.

The first thing Caramel had realized was the air was hot and dry. He had grown up where it rained often and during the summers it was humid. Ponyville was somewhere inbetween with a good variation of seasons, but from the moment Caramel woke up he knew it was hot here. He couldn’t imagine what it was like in summer when it was difficult to cuddle next to Big Mac without sweating. The whole place outside the windows looked dusty and all life was cacti and mountains. Grass was rare and a strange shade of brownish yellow instead of bright green like in Ponyville. He paused a few times walking on the train because his legs wobbled uneasily on the slowing ground, and Mac bumped into him a few times when he kept slowing to assure he kept balance.

“Wow,” Caramel mumbled when he glanced out the window. He could see it approaching fast, a little town in the distance seemingly all made of wood with little hay like Ponyville itself had. In the distance, he could see trees all bunched together in a clearly forced and pony-made kind of way. He recognized it instantly as an apple tree forest. The town was small, very small, maybe less than half the size of Ponyville.

“Hey listen, Sugar,” Big Macintosh said when the train came to a complete stop at the station. They had stepped outside together, the train station itself small and creaky to step on. The whole town looked rustic and old, but all the wood was clearly new and well maintained. It was strange to look at.

“Yeah?” Caramel asked when he took a few steps forward. Not many ponies were getting off here, and they all seemed to know where they were going. They all had hats and vests and freckles, and Caramel looked nothing like them. He felt like he stuck out. His eyes glanced to the roads that he could see. They were dirt, and not a sign of green life except random shrubbery was in sight. The air was even hotter outside the train, and Caramel was thankful for the shade from the roof above them.

“My cousin is… well,” Big Macintosh trailed off now when he stepped forward and sighed. “Well, for one he don’t know we’re here this early. Two, he’s a little… eccentric.”

Caramel blinked. Eccentric was not a word in Big Macintosh’s vocabulary. He could see the strain on the workhorse’s face as he struggled to find the right word. He shrugged and looked down with a sigh.

“You mentioned he was kind of nosy,” Caramel said when he began to follow Mac.

“He’s a little loud,” Big Macintosh said. “Don’t let him scare you off, alright? He doesn’t think sometimes when he asks questions. He kinda talks without stoppin’ to think.”

“C’mon, I’m sure he can’t be that bad,” Caramel said, waiting to see Mac’s face grin in a joking manner. None came. Caramel frowned at that, and followed Mac out of the shade.

Big Macintosh led the way, but was walking noticeably slower than normal. Caramel could tell because he himself was taking time to look up at all the buildings and shops that they passed. It was structured so different from Ponyville and just looked like something Caramel might have imagined in a western book. He heard a few voices of locals shouting and joking back and forth around them and their voices were all dripping with a southern accent. This place was all farming, muscled earth ponies, the sort who liked to dance and sing and be happy. He smelled pie in the air of all things. He felt self-conscious suddenly, not helped by the fact that Big Macintosh had suddenly bumped into him.

“You look like a tourist,” The workhorse teased.

Back in Ponyville Big Macintosh and his family had stuck out, but now Caramel realized that he was the one who was sticking out.

“It’s just different,” Caramel said under his breath so only Mac could hear. He heard Mac chuckle again and his blush grew harsher. He looked back. He saw a group of stallions all seeming to come from the field where the apple trees were. They didn’t have anything with them, but they were all laughing and joking. He heard a few words about the upcoming harvest and how things looked set.

“I figured we’d head to Braeburn’s house first,” Big Macintosh said. “Find a hotel. Get some food.”

“Sounds good,” Caramel mumbled, slightly distracted by the group of ponies. He heard a voice louder than all the others. It stood out and caught his attention. Maybe that’s why he seemed to catch the attention of this pony as well, because nopony else stopped to stare at him like they were all used to it. Big Macintosh paused but didn’t look where Caramel was looking, just at him.

The stallion Caramel saw was bright yellow. His mane was long and golden and looked softer and less greasy than any of the working ponies around them. He was wearing a big cow-pony hat and brown vest and seemed to almost jump around because walking was too slow for him. He stopped only when he noticed Caramel was staring from the other end of the street. Their eyes met for a moment, and then Caramel thought he might be acting rude and glanced away. He blinked, and then saw movement when he looked back up. The stallion’s face changed but was too far away to tell what it changed to. All Caramel realized was that he was running.

“Sugar?” Big Macintosh asked.

“Um, Mac?” Caramel said, lifting his hoof. “That pony’s running at us.”

“Huh?” Big Macintosh asked, confused.

But it was too late. Caramel feared the worst when the pony came running up, as ponies normally charging full speed in his direction wasn’t the most calming thing, but at the last second this stallion changed trajectory and it was actually Big Mac he was charging towards. Caramel assumed he would stop, but no. This stallion jumped and projected himself full force at Big Macintosh’s body and slammed into his hard enough to knock Big Macintosh off of his hooves. Caramel yelled in shock and stepped back, fearing for a moment that his boyfriend was being attacked.

But what surprised Caramel was that he heard laughing. Loud, constant, and simply delighted laughing. The mess the two had made had kicked up a small cloud of dust from the dirt street and when it cleared Caramel saw that the yellow stallion was laying on Big Macintosh, and the workhorse looked particularly unfazed if not slightly annoyed as he whinnied to blow hair out of his eyes.

“Hahahaha!” The stallion was laughing. His voice was loud “Cousin Big Macintosh! Have my eyes deceived me or are you in my little old town here?”

“Hello, Braeburn,” Big Macintosh muttered. “I think you landed on my ribs.”

“Oh my gosh oh my gosh!” Braeburn was shouting now. Still, ponies weren’t looking at him despite the fact he had just tackled another stallion. Caramel stared at this whole thing dumbfounded from a distance. Braeburn was bouncing around when he let Big Macintosh off from the ground. His hooves were jittering on the ground and kicking up more dust because he just couldn’t seem to keep them still. His teeth were wide in a smile and almost alarmingly white. “I can’t believe you came here so early and didn’t warn me! What are you doing here? Oh my CELESTIA!”

Just when Big Macintosh got back to his hooves Braeburn tackled him again. This time it wasn’t enough to topple the workhorse to the ground, but it was only to hug him and squeeze his cousin tightly as he nuzzled his neck. Big Macintosh strangely enough looked less annoyed and more like he was smiling as he gave Braeburn a hug back, albeit less tight and less nuzzle-filled.

“Um,” Caramel finally found his voice when he stepped back into the chaos. His head was spinning. “H-Hi?”

“Caramel,” Big Macintosh said. It was clear he was going to continue, but was interrupted.

Braeburn whipped around, his long golden mane almost shockingly distracting to Caramel.

“Oh my Celestia!” Braeburn said. “You brought a friend? Oh that’s just great! Papa’s gonna be so happy to see you. Oh gosh! We gotta go! Have you two eaten? We have so much to talk about and just why are you he-”

BRAEBURN!” A voice boomed from the other side of the road where Braeburn had charged over from. Braeburn’s ears instantly flattened against his head and he began to blush a deep crimson all the way to the tips of his ears.

“S-Shoot, I’m still working,” Braeburn said in a quieter voice, which was just a normal speaking tone. He was stuttering, something strange considering he was just shouting in the middle of the street without embarrassment. “I’m still working. Crap, I wasn’t thinking. B-Big Mac, go home to Papa, you remember where it is? I’ll be home real soon I just gotta…”

“C’mon, Brae!” Another stallion from the same group jeered in a teasing way.

“Ugh, seeyoulaterImissedyoucatchuplaterloveyou BYE!” Braeburn shouted in such a mouthful that Caramel wasn’t sure he understood half of it.

Without even as much as knowing his name the stallion charged away from Caramel. Big Macintosh stared, and then looked to Caramel slowly.

“What the heck was that?” Caramel asked, not caring how blunt he sounded. Ponies around them just didn’t seem to be looking at all. He looked back to Mac and resisted the urge to look wide eyed and dumbfounded. “Did your cousin just tackle you?”

“That… was Braeburn,” Big Macintosh replied. “Told you he was eccentric.”