Braeburn is getting old.
Not as old as he might behave, of course-- with all of his whining and wistfulness, you'd think he was nearing 80. For an athlete, of course, 50 may as well be 80.
His buckball days behind him, Braeburn has turned to coaching. It's only now that he's started to wonder what he may have missed out on during his many years in the rodeo and as a member of Appleloosa's buckball team. More than anything, he'd like to turn back the clock and spend his youth a little less occupied by work.
When he puts out an ad in the Equestrian Gazette, an anonymous stranger offers a rather literal solution to his problem.
It can't possibly be anything more than a clever joke... can it?
Written for Nailah's Shipping Contest! The pairing (Braeburn x Hondo Flanks) was randomly generated. Hope you all enjoy!
No, it was pretty heavily foreshadowed.
Interesting take, but uhm...doesn't feel like it solves anything. The first problem was Braeburn mid-life crisis, then it became Hondo's condition that affects they relationship and the shift of the protagonist of the story just threw the effect of the revelation out the window, didn't even give it a time to find if the first problem had a solution and then the consecuenses of the revelation just ended up in a scene that just add more questions without an answer.
I think it was a good story but it either needs to stay on track of what it wanted to be at the beggining or give it more story to explain where is it going.
I had no idea who Hondo was, haha! Still, very good job with this story -- the interactions between Braeburn and Hondo are heartfelt and feel very realistic. I enjoyed this one a whole lot!
oh, that was just so sweet. you made this pairing work. loved reading this
This is just begging for a sequel. I love it as it is, but oh my goodness, with how much there was going on here this hidden gem just screams for more. Good gay content is hardly common here, let alone with the vivid, lush prose you have. (I'm still waiting for more of Shining and Big Mac.) You've handled various unlikely romances with excellent introspection and chemistry for unlikely ships concerning polyamory and all kinds of other relationship topics handled seriously in the stories I've read by you. This wasn't an exception. I'd love to see more of how Hondo's secret being out to somepony impacted his thoughts on his separation, and what Rarity and Sweetie think of this.
Characters with mature conflicts at mature ages are rare stories, especially in a fandom that skews younger. Too often, the older characters are assumed to be boring or without meaningful things in their lives because of their age, and they're put out to pasture. The exception would be the immortal characters, but even immortality is often given such poor, one-sided treatment. Whether you have vampire Hondo as immortal or just eternally youthful, this story managed to subvert those tired tropes too. Seeing characters get new hobbies and grow together was a great surprise.
I’ve been rereading this story because it’s brilliant (duh). Loved the chemistry between Hondo and Braeburn.
I’d also like to second Ice Star’s opinions. They put it much more eloquently than I could’ve. Phenomenal gay content, and I’m always waiting for more :)
finally got around to reading this one and just… wow! absolutely phenomenal work as always, the chemistry between hondo and braeburn was excellent and the vampire reveal had me grinning like a hyena. You have such a talent for injecting a feeling of nostalgia/liminality/timelessness into your fics that i can’t quite articulate, but always elicits shrimp emotions from me!