Chapter Five
SOCIAL STANDARDS
By RadaVonVon
Chapter Five
I had woken up at least twenty minutes ago, but I had no desire to leave the couch. Light filtered in through the windows, casting itself on the dark brown flooring. I rolled over onto my side, leaning toward the back of the couch and buried my face in my hooves, trying to shield my face.
I silently prayed to Celestia that Soarin would never, ever, ever talk to AJ of his suspicions about me. Damn it, damn it, damn it. I was beginning to doubt myself, just slightly. Was he right? Was that the reason I never liked mares? Was it possible that I just liked stallions, instead?
Ever since the incident with Caramel, I’d only focused on my work. That was all I had to focus on. I felt sick. Sick, and miserable. My eyes burned and I felt a familiar pressure behind them, but I held it back. I was not a coltcuddler!
Suddenly, and with surprising force, I threw my hoof forward. It sunk into the plush backing of the couch and sent dust floating through the air in billows. I sneezed and groaned, doubling over and curling up under my quilt. It smelled of Granny Smith. No doubt she’d made this one.
I thought about all the time I’d spent as a foal, happily playing and yelling and bounding about, and tears sprung to my eyes again.
I wanted to be a foal again. I noticed a piercing ache in my shoulder and sighed. I’d never stressed out so much. I dragged my hoof up and began to rub my neck and shoulder, burying my face in the couch.
I wanted to go home. I wanted to go home, and I wanted to be a foal. I scrunched up my face as my eyes continued to burn. My face reddened and my sinuses hurt behind the bridge of my nose.
Involuntarily, I let out a quiet sob. I was normal. I was normal. I was normal! Why did everypony else think otherwise? My chest began to tremor as I held my breath in an attempt to hide the tears I was holding back. Glancing down at my chest, it was still that same, ugly, worthless shade of yellow; I could even see my own heartbeat. I brushed a hoof through my mane and tried to pull myself together. Why was I making such a big deal about something this dumb?
I pulled myself together and didn’t get up from the couch. A loud knock came from the door. I wiped my face with the rough, itchy blanket, swung my back legs over so that they rested off the side of the couch, and got to my hooves.
I was still a little groggy, and I didn’t think to check to see who it was, I merely swung the door open. A biting wind swept in through the doorway, making each of my hairs stand on end and I shivered, suddenly feeling a little more collected. I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision of the blur of colors and blinked a few times.
A blue Pegasus stood on the porch. His cutie mark was a yellow lightning bolt with wings, and his mane and tail gave the illusion that a hard breeze was blowing it back. When I saw his eyes, which were peering into the farmhouse, I recognized him. “Soarin?” I glared; my voice rose a bit and frowned.
“Hey, bud. Listen, uh, bro. I’m really sorry about yesterday.” He poked his head into the house. “I know I was kind of a mule.” Raising a hoof, he scratched the back of his head. “So,” he glanced at the floorboards. “Ya wanna try again, man?” He tilted his head to the side and extended a hoof in my direction.
What in the hay? I stared at him and blinked. Why? He’d been such a hoss last night. I frowned and narrowed my eyes. What did he want from me…? “Why?” I took a suspicious step backward and nearly tripped.
“Come on, I want to get to know you!” Soarin grinned widely. I was still suspicious judging by how he had acted last time. He’d pretty much revealed what I’d said to the entire restaurant yesterday. “You seem cool! Come on, you can’t tell me you never wanted a second chance?”
He seemed almost… embarrassed. Like he felt bad and didn’t want to admit he’d done something wrong. I opened my mouth to deny him. “N-“
“He’d love to.” I heard Applejack from behind me and sighing heavily and frowning, I flattening my ears against my head. “Where ya wanna take him, Soarin?” My cousin continued.
Soarin smiled, oddly enough. Somehow, it didn’t come off as though he had some kind of other motive. I groaned. “AJ-“
“No,” Applejack snapped and smiled to Soarin. “Where do you wanna take him?” she repeated.
Soarin grinned and threw his foreleg around my neck. My frown deepened as he grinned. “I think my little pony here could use a trip to Cloudsdale!” He reached his other hoof over and dug it into my scalp, and I backed out of his headlock, shaking my head vigorously. My mane was now tangled even more than it had been when I woke up. A portion hung in front of my eyes, and I blew it out of my face with exasperation and violently shook my head at Applejack, mouthing ‘no!’
Applejack glared at me and smiled. “Sure, Soarin. Ah’m sure Brae could use a bit of a vacation.” She paused. “Isn’t that right, Braeburn?” Her words came out forced as she spoke through her teeth.
“Suuure,” I glared right back at Applejack. “But, uh, how exactly do I get to Cloudsdale?” I countered, recalling the conversation I’d had with Rainbow Dash. Soarin grinned.
“A marvelous question!” He smiled widely, displaying two rows of perfect, straight, white teeth. I could have sworn they gleamed at me in some sort of cheesy fashion. “How does an earth pony get to Cloudsdale, my friend?” Soarin smiled and pulled out a small vial. “Well, with the magic of Unicorn knowledge, all is now possible!” His tone dropped back to conversational as he handed me the tiny vial. The glass felt thin and delicate, the only thing keeping the liquid from spilling out was a lightweight, speckled cork. It was light in my hoof as I sloshed around the fluid inside.
Applejack leaned in, skeptical. “How’d ya get this?”
“Eh, I have my ways. Bottoms up, my applebucking friend!” Soarin snatched the vial from me and popped the cork off, reaching back over again and shoving the vial down my throat. I gasped, trying to pull away, but found I was caught in a headlock.
The liquid was thin and acidic, trailing down my throat and burning my stomach and mouth. I choked, but Soarin pulled it away quickly. He grinned cockily, placing the cork neatly back on the vial while I coughed violently, my throat itching and burning. I braced my hooves and gagged again. Applejack looked concerned and approached me, but I waved her away.
What was this pony getting me into? I hacked one last time, grimacing and screwing my eyes shut. My throat burned. I finally shook my head and sighed. My head was pounding. I raised my head and relaxed a little. To my shock, Soarin looked concerned, but the mischievous gleam had returned to his eyes. “You okay?” He asked. He was hiding something.
I nodded, swallowing the remaining thin residue on my teeth from the sour green potion. It hadn’t even been a pleasant candy type of sour; this just burned. I smacked my lips and licked the roof of my mouth vigorously a couple of times to try to clear the incessant taste.
Applejack was becoming more and more suspicious by the minute. “How are you gonna get th-“ She was interrupted by Soarin planting a hoof on her lips and grinning.
“Ah- ah- ah, Applejack, don’t you trust me? Come on, your cousin needs some bro time!”
“Bro… time?” I stared blankly at Soarin, mostly shocked that he used an expression so ridiculous. I wriggled my way out of his foreleg, now slung over my neck.
“Yeah, come on! It’s not like you have a bunch of friends in Nowheresville?”
“Nowheresville?” I snarled. Now free of his shockingly strong grip, I reared up onto my hind legs and neighed, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPLEOOSA-“ before landing again, and continuing: “is a fine and distinguished town, unlike your, your… cloud things!” I was truly offended now.
Soarin only grinned. Applejack was still very cautious. “Soarin, when will ya be back? He may just be vacationing, but he’s still got some work to do to earn ‘is fair share.”
Soarin tapped a hoof on his chin. “Hrm. I’ll have him back later tonight! Okay?” His confident demeanor changed slightly when he said that, though only briefly. It returned almost as fast as it left. He grinned at Applejack. “Come on, don’t you trust me?”
Applejack eyed him accusingly for a moment before sighing and nodding. “Ah s’pose. Jus’… Keep him safe, alright?”
“I’ll protect him with my life!” Soarin bowed histrionically and took a hoof, licked it, and slicked his hair back before winking at Applejack. I saw her shudder in horror.
“Err. Just be back.” She turned before I could protest, flicking her tail as Soarin shoved me out the door almost simultaneously, shutting it behind him.
I stared at him, dumbfounded. “What the hay?” I narrowed my eyes and snapped. “Just what are you doing? Why are you here?” Questions poured forward endlessly, and I was glaring at him now. “Especially after last time. You could have apologized,” I mumbled, looking down at the ground.
“Yo,” he rolled his eyes. “I said I was sorry, alright? This is my way of trying to make it up to you. Gimme a chance. Now, hop on.” He motioned to his back, and I stared back at him, cocking my head.
“What?”
“I said, hop on! I don’t have all day, y’know.” Soarin backed up toward me, wiggling his haunches, and I stared blankly at him.
“On- on you?!”
“Yep! What else did you expect?”
“But…” Though Soarin was somewhat bigger than me, and he looked quite strong, I still wasn’t sure he could carry me. Or how he was going to without us being in some kind of awkward position. He spread his cyan wings to their full length, and I blinked. Easily, he had a seven or eight hoof wingspan. I watched the prominent muscles under his blue coat ripple for a moment.
“Come on!” Soarin tapped his hoof impatiently, and I warily climbed on top of him, wrapping my hooves around his neck and screwing my eyes shut. “I’ll go slow, okay?” He grinned and I felt a sudden jerk and cried out as his wings flapped once, taking us off the ground. I gasped and screamed.
We landed with a thud. “What? What?! Are you okay?” Soarin gasped. I opened my eyes to see him looking back at me, and I winced, mentally slapping myself for acting so silly.
“Yeah,” I mumbled, adjusting my position. His body heat contrasted strongly against the wind. I found it strangely comforting, even if I didn’t particularly like Soarin. His coat was soft. I sighed contentedly before I realized what I was doing and shook my head, trying to clear it. “Uh, j-just… go!” I snapped, shivering again as a wave of the icy wind hit me once again. Goosebumps appeared on my forelegs, tightly wrapped around Soarin’s throat. He coughed.
“Uh, hey, can you maybe try not to kill me?” He smirked back at me again and I nodded, realizing I was shaking. I needed this over. I needed this over now. AJ was going to kill me if I didn’t go with him. I clenched my eyes and teeth and felt the same jerking sensation again. I snapped my eyes open, looking down. Another jerk, though it was smaller this time. The ground swelled and shrunk with each passing beat. With each flap of Soarin’s wings, we only seemed to soar higher. I swallowed. My thighs were shaking. I realized I’d forgotten my hat, but thought almost nothing of it.
I knew ponies were supposed to shut their eyes if they were afraid of heights and high up, but I was terrified. I clenched my forearms harder around Soarin, releasing a strangled cry of horror. Soarin grunted in protest and I loosened my grip slightly, but remained just as tense, if not more so than before. His form was sturdy, as though he was made of steel and some kind of strong fabric. He wasn’t like frail old Granny Smith, he seemed strong and independent.
Though it did seem like he was struggling a little. As we rose, and I tried not to panic, I did see a bead of sweat collect on his neck and roll down his skin, gathering on his neckline before it plopped off into the endless sea of earth below.
Bundles of green foliage sprawled out beneath us, the occasional dots of reds, greens, yellows, and even the odd orange color. The brown splotch of pig pen and the encircling fence, the orange farmhouse and red barn, and what I could only assume was the Everfree Forest, which I had heard so many old pony tales about, was just coming into view, even a few mysteriously darkened patches.
Soarin was flying much slower than I’d ever seen him fly; he was clearly struggling to hold me and I tightened my grip. I felt his throat rumble hoarsely. The mechanic beats of his wings continued in a gentle cadence as I watched the ground below us breathe. Larger and smaller, larger and smaller.
I expected him to buck me off or do a barrel roll at some point, but for some reason, he seemed so engrossed in keeping us in the air and focused. His eyes were turned skyward.
For some reason, at this altitude, the sky was beautiful. It was even colder than it had been at ground level, but now, the sky was a perfect, unmuddled shade of blue. It was endless, stretching out on all sides and directions. At the edge of my vision, I could have sworn that I could see the curvature of the earth.
I felt strangely at peace. The ground was still rising and falling just as quickly, but we seemed to be slowly going upward. Soarin’s body temperature was rising gradually, and his coat was becoming damp with even more sweat. The sun was beating down even more. The cloud cover overhead had lessened significantly, limited only to a light mist that slightly shrouded the heavens.
It took my breath away. Every trace of fear disappeared for a split second as I looked up, the golden sun spreading its light across the land below us, and illuminating Soarin’s light blue coat, only a couple tints lighter than the ozone above us. Very faintly, I thought I could make out the occasional glint of stars.
No wonder Pegasi loved this so much. My grip loosened a great deal, and Soarin grunted. “Oi!” He gasped, his effort now plain in his strained voice. “Don’t let go, now,” he murmured, slightly softer and even more forced than before. I blinked and tightened my grip again, feeling shockingly safe.
Now that I thought about it, the position of Soarin’s massive wings somewhat cradled me. I was sure even if I let go, I’d probably still be just fine. My legs hung awkwardly off his sides, but I felt I was secure. I didn’t dare release my visegrip on him, though, my cheek pressed up against his back.
His shoulders were surprisingly tense. He’d seemed so laid-back and relaxed, but I could clearly distinguish muscle knots in his back. I blinked. We continued to ascend before Soarin began to glide forward, and I realized why he had me holding on to him like this. His wings left their upright positions at my sides and I gasped with the recognition that I could be thrown off at any moment. I clung tighter to him, tensing every muscle in my body and screwing my eyes shut, no longer admiring the view but simply fearing for my life as the cold wind pierced us while he sped up and zigzagged back and forth in seemingly random patterns.
He suddenly stopped, flipping over so that I was hanging upside down and shaking wildly, trying to throw me off. I cried out for dear life, keeping my eyes shut and biting my lip. I tasted blood as I tightened my grip, though I still, evidently, wasn’t strong enough. He threw me off with ease. I cried out, opening my eyes, expecting to fall for miles, but landed after only about two feet onto a soft, plush material.
I blinked after a moment, realizing there wasn’t any rock-hard ground to land on. I opened my eyes to see Soarin standing over me, looking exasperated. “Chill out. So high strung.” He nudged me to my hooves and I looked beneath me. White, fluffy clouds.
To the touch, they were cool and fluffy, almost slightly crunchy, like weightless snow. I paused, staring at the clouds and I raised a hoof. It came up clean and weightless, nothing stuck on it. Cool, but not frozen, and they didn’t seem to melt.
I stamped my hoof down again, and it descended into the whitish mass. I lifted it. The cloud bounced right back up again. I blinked in surprise and Soarin grinned. “Come on,” he motioned toward the city, neon lights strung along buildings and illuminating the sky. Pillars of cloud spiraled up toward the abyss of blue, swirling toward the sun.
The buildings themselves were constructed of cloud, in a type of architecture that would be impossible with any of the materials found on the ground. It was clear that they were hoofmade, the occasional out-of-place cloud wisp drifting somewhat in the breeze, but still kept its shape.
The buildings themselves were swirled together into something of a blob, arranged on several massive levels. They seemed to blend together- only the well-trained eye of a native would be able to tell where the saloon ended and the residencies began. Condensed water drained from the bottom of the massive cloud city, spilling into the atmosphere. Overhead, the occasional (somehow) harmless-looking dark cloud drifted by.
Pegasi flitted about, going about their days. Occasionally, one would stop to stare at me before shaking their heads or shrugging and continuing on. I saw the blurry edges of the famed Cloudiseum off in the distance, completely on the other side of the mass of clouds. Until now, it’d only been the stuff of legends.
Pathways of cloud led out and straight back into another area, often complete with a gaping hole of a doorway.
Floating individual islands of cloud drifted around, gently orbiting the city. It seemed only the breeze kept them in place. They were stacked high, liquid rainbows swirling down in torrential waterfalls and continuing to flow down the sides, before seeming to dissipate into some kind of gas that formed an arched rainbow just beneath the floating cloud city.
The Pegasi lived here?
I became aware of Soarin beside me, looking at the city with a proud gleam shimmering in his eyes. “It’s pretty fantastic, huh?” It was a little surprising. He actually looked…
I couldn’t put my finger on the word. He’d looked happy before. But, he looked…. Approachable. I didn’t hate him as much as I had before. Why was that?
I had no reason to like him. I wouldn’t go that far, yet. Though, I didn’t dislike him. He hadn’t killed me, flying up here. But, he’d held my own stupid, stupid words against me. I frowned, and my heart dropped, a burst of adrenaline shooting through my body. It’d bothered me. I swallowed, my throat felt thick. I didn’t like to think about the thing that I had mistakenly told Rainbow just to get her away from me.
He’d put stock into it, I bet. That was why he was taking me here! I scowled. I should have known it, I should have known this was just another swindle. I opened my mouth to demand he take me back down, that I’d found him out, but he turned, his eyes still sparkling. He smiled with a shockingly genuine charm.
I closed my mouth and decided I could stand to go with him. Hay, it might even be fun. Maybe it wouldn’t kill me. It’d make Applejack happy. I’d be home later that night…
“Yeah,” I murmured. “Yeah, it is. So, uh, where are we heading?”
“This great club. It’s open during the day, but I figured I should start you off easy. It just operates as a bar in daylight, but at night…” I watched Soarin lick his lips and smirk.
As we walked, I noticed that quite a few more Pegasi were staring at me than I could have liked. I shifted, slightly off-put. “Why are they staring at me?” I hissed through my teeth to Soarin, who paused.
“In case you haven’t noticed, bro, this is a Pegasus city. Earth ponies don’t spend much time up here.” Soarin paused, looking at me and raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah. Sorry.” I recalled what I said to Rainbow and winced.
The first building we approached was a thick, twirly mass of clouds, with liquid rainbow spelling out in large cursive, ‘CLOUD 9’. Soarin ducked in underneath a curtain. The door was propped open.
“Ayyyo!” he called loudly. I came in after him. I could see why this place would be alive at night. Strobe lights lay unused, attached to the walls, also constructed of cloud. A few trickles of rainbow ran down the walls. On the left side of the room, there sat a small stage with a DJ table, a book of records and an unused board collecting dust. Several lights with various colors of gels were lined up on the ceiling.
A bar sat on the far end of the room. All of the furniture was made of clouds as well, though it seemed masterfully crafted, with straight edges and sharp angles. The bar itself had intricate curves and carvings to it. It looked almost solid white.
A Pegasus mare sat behind the bar, a rag in her hoof. She seemed to be redundantly wiping down the cloud bar. Initially, I was surprised, but then I realized that the place looked high-end. Various bottles of miraculous colors I never thought possible, all with gaudy labels, were lined up on a cloud shelf built into the wall behind the mare.
The mare’s coat was a cream color; she nearly blended in with the clouds. A scarlet mane hung loosely down around her face. Her cutie mark was a frothy mug, filled to the brim, and she wore two hoop earrings. “Soarin,” she called with a smile.
“Hey,” Soarin grinned and hopped over, wrapping a foreleg around her neck as she did the same. She paused, looking at me and cocking an eyebrow.
“An earth pony, Soarin?”
“Yeah. He’s cool, though.” Soarin shrugged. “No worries.”
A weak smile curved onto the mare’s lips. “Whatever you say, kiddo. Hey, so you’re here early. Should I set you up?”
“The regular. Trot Island Tea.”
“You got it,” she mumbled, heading back behind the bar and grabbing several bottles in her hooves to prepare the drink. She paused for a moment. “Anything for your little buddy here?”
Soarin cocked an eyebrow to the 'little buddy' in question. “You want anything? My treat,” he said, tilting his head to the side.
“Ah—Cider?”
The barmare stared blankly at me. “Cider? As in… apple cider?”
I nodded, and the barmare sighed. “Figures,” I heard her huff under her breath.
I creased my eyebrows but only sighed. It wasn’t worth it. I turned back to Soarin, who smiled good-naturedly. The situation suddenly seemed a bit more bearable. Why was he so nice all of a sudden?
Did he feel bad? If he did, it was well-deserved. He had done me wrong, and was now trying to make up for it. That seemed like perfectly logical reasoning to me. Still, I couldn’t help feeling that Soarin had some kind of ulterior motive. It was almost as though he wanted something from me. If only I could place my hoof on it.
The barmare set a tall glass filled with ice and a brown liquid, garnished with a lime and a small black mixing straw on the counter, as well as another glass, shaped more like an inverted cone, filled with a cloudy, amber drink. Most definitely my cider.
I approached the bar with Soarin and sat down in the chair, though it took me a few minutes to find my bearings with this new seat material. Soarin looked perfectly at home. Even more at home than he ever had on the ground.
I realized how little I knew about this pony. I’d only met him a couple days ago, and here he was, buying me drinks in Cloudsdale. I turned to him. “What’s your favorite color?” I asked, looking down at the cider and unsure whether or not it would compare to what I’d always had. I shrugged, realizing it didn’t matter. I took a sip.
Though it was good, and I had no doubt it was high-end, it still didn’t match up to Granny Smith’s cider, particularly if it was Zap Apple cider. I’d heard in my letters from Applejack of a pair of brothers with some kind of cider making machine. Their cider had been good, but not nearly as good as the homemade stuff.
Soarin paused. “Huh?”
“I asked what your favorite color was.” I took another tentative sip of the cider.
Soarin seemed thoughtful before he replied, “Purple.”
“Why purple? Mine’s green.”
“I dunno. Purple’s just cool, I guess.” He swept a hoof forward and took a gulp of the Trot Island Tea. Did he not have to worry about money at all? Maybe he was rich.
Of course he was rich! He was a Wonderbolt, for Celestia’s sake! What a stupid thing to wonder. That’s why he could afford to pay for me and all these things. I paused. Soarin slid his empty highball glass back toward the mare, who filled it with fluid from several different bottles and handed it straight back to him.
The night went on like this for quite some time. I watched, from the same seat at the bar, through the glass windows as the sun began to set and the club began to fill. A dark blue Pegasus stallion turned off the main lights and turned on the colored ones. They rotated and moved in seemingly impossible patterns. Some were stationary, but many traveled along the cloudy floor in some kind of set, mechanical pattern.
A unicorn trotted in, sporting an electric blue mane and tail and comically large sunglasses. By this time, Soarin was on his fourth drink, I merely nursing my second. I was tipsy, but Soarin seemed completely inebriated.
“Hey! Scratch!” Soarin called, obnoxiously waving a hoof across the club. I had my head relaxing on the bar, my eyes shut. Music was now thudding loudly through the place, my head and body were pounding in time with the massive vibrations.
“Soarin!” The unicorn, ‘Scratch’, turned and grinned, walking across the club and making her way through the droves of dancing Pegasi. She bumped hooves with him. “At it again, huh?” she smirked, tipping her head to me. “And an earth pony, too. Exotic.”
Soarin laughed uproariously, as though Scratch had just told the funniest joke he’d ever heard. It took him several minutes to collect himself. “Th-this here… This here’s Braeburn.”
“Nice. Hey, how you doing?” Scratch leaned toward me, holding out her hoof. I shook it with a dull smile. My head was foggy. I only realized later she had meant for me to bump mine with hers, as she did with Soarin. “I gotta go set up,” she explained. “Catch you later, though. You two have fun.” She wandered to the DJ table, swinging her hips.
The music, from that point on, became more intense. Rather than a dull thud, it became different reverberations that changed my body. Though I ordinarily wouldn’t hear this kind of music in Appleoosa, and I’d never really heard it anyway, I found myself tapping my hoof to the beat against the cloud seat I was placed in.
Soarin was completely gone. The barmare didn’t protest at all. She tended to other customers sitting near us. Soarin got to his hooves, swaying dangerously for a moment. I hopped out of my seat as well, feeling liberated. I could do anything!
Soarin grinned. “Want me ta teach ya how to dance… the Pegasus way?”
I grinned, my eyes half-lidded. “Yeah.”
Soarin began to dance in a style reminiscent of Rainbow Dash. He’d flit about and occasionally stamp his hooves while I stood there, bobbing my head like a socially awkward teenager while he danced like an expert. He began to draw a crowd. Various ponies of all colors and sizes circled around him, chanting his name as he performed stunts. Evidently, he was a regular here.
He’d zip around the room at record speeds or simply dance and spin on the ground, something I’d only seen earth ponies do, something called ‘buck dancing,’ and I’d only seen the occasional foal doing it, it was some kind of weird new dance craze.
As the night wore on, the music grew more intense and Soarin seemed to realize I had drifted away from him, simply taking to sitting by the bar.
“Wassrong?” he slurred, leaning in toward me. I could smell the alcohol on his breath.
“When we goin’ home?”
“You should loosen up…” Soarin murmured, leaning in toward me.
“Ah’m perfectly loose.” I rolled my eyes. The alcohol was only fogging my mind, but it had been weak in comparison to what I was used to. Soarin evidently found this hilarious and giggled like a schoolgirl.
“Oh, really?” He hiccupped, raising an eyebrow at me. “I bet I can prove you otherwise!”
“Bet you can’t,” I smirked.
“Oh?” Soarin paused. “Really, then?” He leaned in to me, his eyes half-lidded, and my face grew hot, but the rest of my body cold. “You so sure about that?” he whispered into my ear, his hot breath condensing on my skin.
“Y-yeah!” I gulped, looking at my hooves, but somehow still managing to retain a small amount of my earlier dignity, though it was only left in the form of anger and irritation.
Soarin drew back for a second, as if to think. Then, he leaned in swiftly and planted his lips against mine.
I screamed.
Stats
Page generated in 0.032 seconds
Total duration
951 users online
505,839 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
dear god.
oh Soarin, you so silly...
also, caught this oddity: "I couldn’t put my finger on the word."
I know not of these 'fingers' haha
Gotcha!
This story is hilarious lmfao...
Enjoyed it!
Soarin' is still best pony!
Hmm...where have I heard that club name before?
Awesome chapter, quite the bold move on Soarin's part! Great job describing the way up to Cloudsdale as well, I'm looking forward to moar!
Oh good grief, Soarin you despicable booze-hound!
Another chapter, another success! What more to say?
Except... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPLEOOSA!!!!
Aw, they go all the way to Cloudsdale just to spend the whole time in some club? I'd be pretty disappointed if I were Braeburn, first time even being off the ground, let alone the cloud city itself. C'mon Soarin, you can do better than that.
I'm a little confused by this chapter, but in a more thoughtful than "what the buck just happened?!" kind of way. For one, I've got to wonder why AJ was so eager to get Braeburn out of the house. Could she have possibly heard about what Braeburn said to Dash, and her conservative mindset has made her somewhat disgusted with him? Also, is it just me or does Soarin seem a bit like a creeper later on? Oh, and I thought he'd be able to handle his liquor better, being such a big, sturdy stallion.
One last thing: If I could fave and rate this story multiple times, I most certainly would. It's probably my new favorite story!
175291
Nowhere at all. Completely original idea, including the potion and meeting Vinyl. And the barmare doesn't belong to BillyColt by any means.
Uh, nowhere.
Would you like credit?
175731 no, not at all, I was just messing around!
I have the formula for the next chapter cliffhangerkiss+drunks=fun
175905
Depends on your definition of 'fun.'
Fun for me? Yes. Fun for Braeburn, Soarin, and you? Questionable.
Oh my...
You have single-hoofedly made SoarBurn my OTP.
Brae just needs to learn something I did a good while back: The stuff about that isn't normal is what makes us special. If everyone was indeed 'normal' then humanity would never progress and life would be boring indeed.
Fun fact: one of the best fighting forces in the pre-gun era was 150 couples of gay dudes. They fouht all the harder as to not look bad in front of their lovers. When they finally fell in battle in 10:1 Odds, even the commander of the opposing force ave them props.
175050
cdn.overclock.net/d/d7/d7e3be54_mother-of-god-super-troopers.jpeg
Congrats on getting this on EqD
183139
THANK YOU.
My entire body is shaking, I have massive shivers. I think I'm having a heart attack.
Indeed, congrats on being over at EQD. But I am also sad, I was hoping for an update...
But that's okay!!! Here, have some more stars and some super duper looper cupcakes!!!
183150
Oh, that's quite enough of that, you.
Now, go on! There's a story to be read!
183150
Believe me, I completely understand. I felt the same way when I got on there. Hell, even when I turn in an essay I wrote for class, my heart feels like it's been shoved into my throat.
LOL GAY.
well, after reading all that was available, I can honestly say that I like the story but I hope that soarin' eventually has to at least come to own up for how much of an utter douche he's being. I can't tell if it is intentional or not but the way it's written it seems he really doesn't understand the extent of the hate braeburn grew up around, and that he will have to face his own conflict when this causes a problem like say, him shoving braeburn out of the closet in front of his family expecting them to accept him anyway but it backfires.
that and outing braeburn in public. I don't care if you are gay and you know the other guy is gay, you never do that because you don't know what consequences that can bring on the closeted guy.
he seems like he means well but because he was raised in an accepting culture he just doesn't realize that sometimes people are in the closet for a reason other than cowardice or denial.
110930
As opposed to all the female gay shipping that goes on? Have your sensibilities been offended with male gay shipping?
Yay!
Finally on EqD! Congratulations! And... Where is the update in honour of this occasion?
well, now i know what im going to be doing for the next 12 hours: refreshing the page hoping for an update. so. good.
Just gotta say...
I havent read this yet. I will be reading it shortly (and I am SO looking forward to it!)
But...
As soon as I saw that picture, before even realizing what it was about it...
It made me SOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy.
I am SO excited to read this story.
WOW.
WOWOWOWOWOW.
I'm pretty stunned. I've actually managed to hold the #1 most read slot overnight. One of my real friends recognized my screen name as it's a combination of a variant of my real name and a nickname I added on Facebook, he messaged me freaking out and linking me to the EqD page.
I didn't expect this story to be so well-received in the community. When Seth told me he was adding a warning tag, I pretty much assumed I was going to get constantly starbombed.
I'm sure I'm making a huge deal about nothing, but I honestly have to say, thank you so much. If I had time to reply to all of these lovely comments, (Keep them coming. ;D) I certainly would.
Unfortunately, I'm writing the next chapter. Thanks so much guys.
This means a lot to me.
-- RadaVonVon
Also, to clarify: I didn't choose Braeburn for the role he has because he's Southern. I'm from the border of Alabama and Florida, I know not all households are like that. I chose him because I feel he spoke to me and because I felt this scenario worked well with his personality.
this story is just amazing
please more!
I admit, I was a little intimidated by the colt/colt shipping. The star rating and its appearance on EqD seemed to suggest otherwise, though. And so I read it.
And have been thoroughly impressed.
The development, premise, situations and writing are all excellent. In fact, I noticed my initial trepidation all but vanished after the first paragraph. I guess it's just another feather in the cap of the community as a whole that not only does the occasional writer create a colt/colt shipping, but that it's received this well. I mean...roughly half the shippings are mare/mare anyway, so why not go for the other side of the fence?
That said, I am noticing the occasional run-on sentence and minor error in sentence structure. Nothing hideous, but it could use a quick proofread.
Excellent job.
I have to say, this is a fantastic story. I can definitely identify with Braeburn in this story, as I was really nervous and in denial when I fist found out. Definitely followed, can't wait for the next update!
P.S. Story is also very addicting. I read all 5 chapters at once without a break.
Congrats on EqD. ...now why wasn't I tracking this earlier, DESPITE knowing about it and thinking it would be good? Feh. Probbably untracked it by accident. Let me fix that. *Tracked*
Please keep working on this! Too many fics end with a cliffhanger and are never updated...I really need this. Thank you.
So, first pony fic I've actually read, after trying to avoid shipping and fics for ages, and this is pretty awesome. Same as PonymianRhapsody here, I can really identify with Braeburn here. Pretty damn well-written, too. Can't wait for more!
This story is so sad...
I really connected with Braeburn (One of the greatest ponies of all time)
Bearheart pasted a few sentences from this fic several hours ago, and after I asked him to link this story to me, I've been reading it. So far, I find it absolutely fantastic! You've earned a tracking from me, and I can't wait to see how it ends!
Wow, the beginning of this chapter was confusing. Reading it again, it flows better, but the first time through, I was totally lost. That asshole Brae met yesterday is on the porch! He wants to shove a vial of a strange liquid down Brae's throat and whisk him away to a far off land! AJ is totally okay with it! What?
So, belated congrazzles on the EqD... maybe you'll get some GOOD fanart because of that.
This is such a great story. I can really connect with Braeburn. I am just so confused with life and I just want to be a kid again... I just wish I had a Soarin to come and save me...
... well shit.
2014868 Aaaw that´s so cute