It's been a long while since Applejack and her friends had a real night out, and Braeburn's newly-out cousin visiting town is a perfect excuse to get the girls back together and get rowdy at Ponyville's best (and only) gay/lesbian/non-denominationally-queer watering hole. There's just one problem: Braeburn wants to bring his new boyfriend along too. Also, his new boyfriend is a psychopathic dictator who tried to enslave the Crystal Empire twice and was extremely dead the last time Applejack saw him.
On second thought, that's two problems. Maybe more. Definitely a whole lot more.
My just-in-time entry for the M/M Shipping Contest III that got ever so slightly out of hand. Rated T for sexual themes, lots of booze, a couple of potty words, and Applejack being the disasteriest lesbian in Equestrian history.
I could say this story has a really good sense of setting, and that's true! But I could also say what makes the setting is the relationships between
~people~ponies, and that's true too!Someone reading over my shoulder might be saying right now, "Almost makes me want to go back to the bar."
Or they might be saying, "I love the people, but the alcohol does me no bucking good."
P.S. I like the chapter titles and the way they relate to the story, but really they're among the least important good things in this fic.
This was really sweet and cute. I really felt that bit at the beginning about bisexuals LOL. I really liked all the emotional drama and letting out of emotions. Very good character writing! I especially like what you did with Sombra, as he still feels like himself, yet you can also see how he might be capable of redemption now! thank you for writing this! :D
Genuinely a great story that tackles what relationships mean. Love how you write these characters, and Sombra in this is top tier.
whoever downvotes this comment sticks his dick in a whole raw chicken
I absolutely love this story, it's not only adorable in an odd way, but it's also an interesting insight into some aspects of life I've never really experienced! Stuff like dating and clubs and such, lol
It's hard to explain why I like it really, it's hard to write about emotions and make it not feel forced, but you did it! I really want to see more now though... how does it go for Rainbow and AJ? How and when does Twi have the introspective about herself and her orientation? What kind of adorable stuff do Brae and Sombra get up to? How's Candy doing?
....is it sad that I'm somewhat jealous of Brae and Sombra, but I'm not sure whether I would rather take Brae's place or Sombra's?
I'm sorry to tell you, your gay as fuck boy
What is Braeburn thinking on dating that tyrant.
Overall a nice little story. I didn't expect myself to read it, but here I am, and it is good.
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Homophobes and other bigots love downvoting stuff like this as if it does anything but cause a minor annoyance.
This was very well written, and was surprisingly good, but I have a major critique.
Applejack throughout this story is being played as the 'badpony,' first for being (rightly) concerned about her cousin, and then for her statement to Twilight. As to the first, yes, she didn't have all the information about Sombra, but she DID have knowledge about his background. If my cousin were to show up with Jeffery Dahmer, I would have a few concerns, but you have Applejack portrayed as overstepping her bounds when she tries to warn Braeburn.
And as for the business with Twilight, yes, she could have allowed her friend to see for herself how she felt, but to me, it seemed Applejack saw a friend suffering needlessly and did what she could to put an end to it.
Everything worked out, because OF COURSE IT DID, and yes, I did enjoy the story, but Applejack's treatment doesn't sit well with me.
This was a surprisingly deep story to what first seemed to just be a comedy, great job keep it up.
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The issue isn't that Applejack is concerned about Braeburn's choice of partner or extremely sure Twilight's bi and in denial about it, it's that she brings those concerns/thoughts up with both of them (or at least has implicitly brought it up in the past in Twilight's case), they both acknowledge her input and insist they're fine, and then Applejack doesn't let it go. She tries to force both Braeburn and Twilight to make choices they aren't ready for because she's convinced she knows them better than they know themselves --- and maybe she does, and maybe she only had good intentions, but as Rarity informs her in the Riot Act she reads her, that doesn't really matter in this kind of situation.
Applejack isn't the bad guy here, just embodying a grown-up friendship problem: having to decide when to shrug off social grace and forcibly save your friends from themselves, and when to just let them have agency as fellow adults and possibly do dumb things as a result --- and realizing, ultimately, that the right call in almost every scenario is the latter. Obviously, a friend literally dating a warlord who does dark magic and enslaved a whole country isn't something most of us will run into IRL, but the IRL equivalent of that is not liking your friend's new partner while also understanding that it's their choice to date them, not yours, and there's very likely elements of their relationship that you're not privy to as an outside observer.
Along the same lines, it can be frustrating as hell to watch someone struggle with their sexual and/or gender identity when it seems obvious to you what their deal is, but all the leading towards water in the world can't make a horse drink unless they want to. Like Rarity says, this stuff isn't a binary, and there can be a pretty big emotional and psychological gap between experiencing non-heteronormative attraction to other people and consciously identifying as queer in a positive way. Twilight probably would've gotten there eventually (hopefully), but just kicking her over the edge of that proverbial cliff is likely to lead to a much rougher landing at the "truth" than was necessary, and it may even backfire and push them further into denying themselves.
In short, adult relationships of all stripes are complicated, and this story is largely about Applejack painfully figuring that out and growing through that pain --- and that kind of growth, painful though it may be in the moment, is what her best intentions were driving her to deny her family and friend.
I really liked this! Such a fun yet mature exploration of how past baggage can carry into the trials of adult relationships. Your characterization of Applejack was really delightful; even at her most stubborn and graceless, I empathized with her the whole way through and loved witnessing the conclusion of her arc. Sombra and Braeburn were a great matchup for her to come to terms with. I like that there's some thematic tension around the concept of exclusion, of who belongs and who doesn't, represented through Sombra's presence in the story and that felt very natural to this narrative centered on queer identity and interpersonal drama -- which you captured with so much accuracy, good lord. I was cracking up! The comedy was on point and Applejack's neverending parade of exes was hysterically real. Great work!
From an inherently ridiculous premise, you produceed a story that's not just very funny, but also genuinely touching, and with an important message.
Damn good work, and good luck with the contest!
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You said it better than I could have! This genuinely made me laugh and re-read the funny moments.
oh my, so many down votes on the comments, the trolls are really biting lately.
better grab the good fishing gear.
Given the subject matter and when you were writing this, I thought for sure there would be a joke about how Sombra isn't as bad as Pony Henry Kissinger in there somewhere.
I saw this linked on tumblr and I haven't used fimfiction in so long I had to re log in and the sheer number of usernames I had to try until I remembered the right one. Absolutely worth it though, because oh my god this is magnificent.
It's written well enough but I just can't focus through blocks of text where a character or characters come across as preachy crybabies. Rarity's whole spiel just comes off as a "and then everyone clapped" speech and I was zoning out.
So for as well written as it was I'm going to have to give this one a down vote.
Aquaman has the midas touch of fimfic. Everything he writes is gold.
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Pretty sure the IRL equivalent would be finding out your friend is literally dating Hitler at which point elements that you aren't privy to don't matter because they are dating Hitler.
This was an odd mix of dramatic, funny, and wholesome. But it works really well and I love it.
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I only downvoted your comment because I love my chicken wife 🐔
As someone with severe cherophobia (fear of happiness), this exchange was really cathartic.
Excellent story, thank you for writing it!
So her great sins are telling her cousin that he's with a former slaving tyrant and shouldn't be with him, and telling her friend that she's bi?
That was lovely to read :)
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Fwd: 11766977
Was not expecting an emotional gut punch today.
"WTF!?!"
"WHATEVER SCREW IT! SMASH!"
I've seen enough anime to know where this is going.
This, uh. This hit well and hard right at home. Thanks for writing this. And amazing job. Fantastic, even.
dude this fic is amazing, but can we take a second to appreciate the cover art? its honestly SO good
I really enjoyed this, and I would love to see more about Sombra's and Braeburn's relationship from Sombra's point of view. Maybe going from just before they first met to later, after this interlude. I've always been a bit fascinated with the idea of Sombra's redemption, or at least his growth into someone more stable and penitent about his prior actions, and this is hitting that fascination pretty hard.
Plus, y'know, you just gotta love Braeburn. The idea of him taming a raging monster who wants to become a better person just scratches a literary itch.
This is so delightful so far. I love the setup, and the dialogue and pacing are superb. And this line had me actually-out-loud groaning in amusement.
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Yeah misgendering someone is a hatecrime did not you know that?
This was so, so, so good. Just a thorough delight to read, start to finish. Funny, emotional, and warm. The characterizations feel just right for everyone. Thanks for this fic. It feels like one I'll return to read several times.
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Why should Applejack let Sombra go? That'd be like if Hitler came back to life and got in a relationship with your relative, would that still be okay?
This and naming a gay bar "The Riding Crop" are gorgeous jokes, for the record.
Real quick, minor mistake here:
I think you meant something like "Or was that what she'd been doing?" Anyway...
Fun story! It has some good shipping, some adorkable Twilight moments, and a good character piece for Applejack. It's just this close to being a crackfic for its premise alone, but you do a good job making a solid actual story with it. And giant, hot piece of ass Sombra is genuinely more interesting as a character than super-camp Sombra that we got in Season 9, which is what I was afraid we'd get.
Nice job, man.
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I didn't catch that at first, that good
This made me feel things.
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Honestly
I don’t know where you could get that comparison, whether a joke or not why would you even compare the two. Considering one is fictional and the other is real life. Since comparing a fictional character to HITLER is not very... neccesary. Hitler was a real person who committed horrific crimes against humanity and caused World War II. Not only being the leader of the Nazi Party and the dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945 but being responsible for the genocide of six million Jewish people and millions of other victims during the Holocaust. There is nothing funny or amusing about him or his actions (which includes comparing him to KING SOMBRA)
Just in case you don’t know...In REAL LIFE: Hitler was an evil, murderous man who led the Nazi party (which promoted racism, fascism and totalitarianism), Murdered millions of Jewish people and other persecuted people in the Holocaust, enslaved 90% of the young boys that weren't Jewish to join the Hitler Youth Organization, stripped Jewish people of their citizenship and rights (which included banning marriage between them), killed millions more during World War II by invading Poland and other countries, then committed suicide after realizing he'd lost.
In the Show: Sombra enslaved the Crystal Empire and its inhabitants, cursed the Crystal Empire which made it disappear for a thousand years, corrupted the Crystal Ponies which led to them losing their memories and hope, tried to break Princess Cadances will, created Illusions to stall the Main 6 from finding the Crystal Heart.
In the Comics: Sombra kills Princess Amore by turning her into a Statue and shattering her.
Your stories make me feel like my emotions have been scooped out by a melon baller. Excuse me while I cry.
God damn this story was excellent.
I don't know how I feel about this. On one hand, there's some pretty good moments here and the prose isn't bad. On the other hand, I finished this feeling a resounding "meh". this sort of feels like a cast of characters who aren't necessarily distinguishable as the Mane 6 to me, a weird sombra, and a forced, rapid conclusion. I think, as a spotlight on a moment in someone's life this story is solid. As a proper short story? the structure is lacking. It isn't terrible, but it isn't great, and it entertained me for a while.
not bad, all in all.
I'm a budding brony who got into it recently and as soon as I saw this I registered on this and had to respond lol. This is a story I'm loving and really hope to see a prequel to this, expanding on how they met, first reactions with the mane 6 and all the like lol. Thank you again and hope the days treat you well!
ok i gotta hoof it to you for this one
Celestia forbid stallions do anything!
that is indeed Rainbow Dash
(sadly) topical!
aww i love that imagery and support it
that is certainly a way to lampshade this characterization dissonance
that is indeed AppleDash
sorry to hear that stallions in this Equestria are like human males, hate to see it
oof, the Element of Honesty strikes again
ha, this bit is great
this does explain how Sombra went from historical villain with the possibility of complexity in his past and motivations to one-note idiot guy who gets killed for plot reasons
aww, love how they reach this kind of rapport here
and that is a nice way of giving a serious justification to this ship
and i like that this could be read as how the AppleDash we see at the end of the canon began
thank you for writing!