> Rustic Charm
>  by Flanagan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> I swear to GOD if this gets featured...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

     “Ya’ll sure ‘bout this AJ?” Braeburn looked at himself in the mirror. “Ya think I’m the one that should go to the Gala with ya?”

“Course I do cuz,” Applejack smiled, looking him up and down for good measure. “I ain’t got no special someone and I got an extra ticket ta the Gala from Twilight this year.”

“Ya think ya’d pick somebody a bit closer ta home?”  He turned around, facing his cousin. “I do live a mite bit away.”

It was the first time he actually got a good look at his cousin’s ensemble for the evening. The dress she wore was more than likely designed by her friend Rarity and it suited her quite nicely. It was strapless, flowing downward all the way to her ankles. The cloth covered all the parts you would expect for a modest girl like her, but it certainly showed off her better assets. It also showed one of the reasons Applejack really didn’t have a special someone in her life.

Despite her golden hair and sun kissed skin, traits that would drive most men wild,  Applejack was far more built than most girls; in fact, she may have had more muscle than most men who lived in Ponyville. Guys were intimidated by the thought of a woman who could possibly break them with their thighs. So, even if she was looking, there wouldn’t be many willing to start that relationship.

“I know ya do, that’s why I picked you outta all the Apple family,” Applejack shrugged, patting her cousin on the back. “Thought a bit of culture might do ya right. Besides, Granny’s too old, Apple Bloom’s too young and Mac’s too busy.”

“Looks like someone’s got a small bit of Manehattan left in ‘em,” Braeburn replied with a cheeky grin as a frown grew on Applejack’s face. “But it still don’t really explain why ya went ahead and picked me out of every other Apple in the country. Why’d ya feel the need ta pull me all the way from Appaloosa to go ta this fancy dinner?”

Applejack smiled and shook her head before taking a deep breath. “I think you should know better than anyone, cousin.”

Braeburn had to think about what she said, but he soon came to realize the meaning behind her statement. “It’s ‘bout the orchards ain’t it?” he asked somberly.

“That drought last year did a real number on the farm, and ah know that’s hittin’ the town almost as bad as you.”

“We’ve been managin’,” Braeburn replied.

AJ crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Horseshit. The town ain't big enough yet ta go without tha farm fer too long. Yah need to get it fixed up quick to keep all those traders comin' through and helpin’ ya grow, and the Gala'll get you those bits quicker than the family can."

“I get what yer sayin’ cuz”- Braeburn rolled his eyes -”but ya think ya coulda done any better than me? Apple Tart is a lot better with numbers and Golden Delicious is a better cook.”

“Ya might be right ‘bout that Braeburn, but nobody in the family is as friendly as you.” AJ placed her hand on his shoulder. “Ya got that ol’ rustic charm the family is known for and could easily convince some people ta pour a little bit of their bits into Appaloosa.”

“I guess yer right,” Braeburn sighed, looking over his suit one last time in the mirror, “but did I really have ta wear this?”

“Ya look fine,” Applejack giggled. “Besides, Rarity knows what she’s doin’.”

“I look like one of those guys in her magazines,”  he huffed.

“That’s a good thing, Braeburn,” Applejack said, fighting back a laugh, “means  they’ll actually want ta talk ta ya.”

“If ya say so Applejack,” he grunted, grabbing his cowboy hat and placing it firmly on his head. “Let’s just get the night over with.”

“That’s the spirit cuz!” Applejack grabbed her own hat. “Now let’s get gettin’, I’m sure the rest of ‘em are waitin’ on us.”

Several hours later, Applejack and Braeburn were waiting with most of their group just outside the Carousel Boutique. The carriage had already arrived, but something was keeping Rarity from joining them, and everyone silently agreed that they'd rather be late to the Gala than mess with Rarity doing... whatever. In the meantime, all the girls there took the chance to stretch their legs, catch up and remark on their respective plus ones. 

“Never thought ya’d be the dating type, Pinkie,” Applejack said, trying to pull the conversation away from that incident with the clown afro, “I’d reckon you of all people would be the last ta settle down.”

“Oh, I’m not,” Pinkie waved AJ’s question off, “I just thought that having MORE friends would be even MORE fun!” Her earrings tinkled as she turned to her rather lanky and long haired date to nudge his shoulder. “Right Cheese?”

“Indubitably,” Cheese replied, pulling an accordion out of nowhere. “Can’t wait to rock Canterlot with you, Pinkie!”

Cheese suddenly burst into song with Pinkie quickly following suit. Those around them just shook their heads. There was no stopping those two when they started. Even with the sudden jolt of improvised musical genius now happening all around them, the other members of the circle continued their conversation.

“Alright RD,” Applejack said with a grin, “yer up.”

“Well, Twilight gave me two tickets, so I guess I had to find SOMEONE.” She stole a quick glance over at her date. He wasn’t too spectacular, but he certainly cleaned up nicely. “I guess he had to do.”

The man flinched slightly as his gaze traveled to the ground, before he squared himself again and looked towards Rainbow, though he still gave off an aura of tired submission. “Are you sure you didn’t pick me because you felt sorry for me?”

“Not really Caramel.” Rainbow threw her arm around him and brought him close, shaking him around a few times as she did so. “You’re a nice guy, and I know that you’ve been down on yourself for a while. I thought this would be the thing that would cheer you right up.”

Caramel stood a little straighter and a grin was fighting its way to his face, the first of the evening. “Really?” he asked, hope rising in his voice. “You’re doing this for me?”

“You bet buddy!” Rainbow said cheerfully, “That, and you were the first guy I saw after Twilight gave me the extra ticket.”

The group let out a small burst of laughter, shooting down the small amount of happiness Caramel had just gained. However, Rainbow used this distraction to sneak a quick kiss on Caramel’s cheek, much to his surprise. He looked to his date again just long enough to see her give him one of those seductive winks that every guy wanted to see. His smile returned, knowing that no matter what was to happen that evening, it was going to be worth it. After the laughs had subsided, the group turned their attention to the quietest member of their little clique, and the hulking slab of meat that sat next to her.

“I gotta say Fluttershy,” Applejack tilted her hat up so it wouldn’t block her face, “outta everybody here, ya certainly got the most, uh, colorful date.”

“Oh, um we’re not… dating.” Fluttershy’s cheeks flushed bright red as she fluttered her words said. “I-I just thought it would be nice to spend some time with someone I’ve really gotten to know over the past few months.” She looked up to her date and softly placed her hand on his massive bicep. “Isn’t that right?”

“YEAH!” he bellowed, causing Fluttershy to squeak out of surprise, and pull away from him. Noticing her distress, he quickly gathered himself back up and looked to his now hyperventilating date. “I’m really sorry Fluttershy,” he said, bringing her in for a hug, her face turning from red to crimson to ‘inferno’ as she was pulled closer, “I know I still need to work on my voice when I’m around you.”

“I-it’s okay Bulk…” She smiled at him, but she was really starting to feel uncomfortable with him holding her so close with all of her friends now staring at them and giggling. “Now, could you ,um,  please let me go, if that’s alright with you… please?”

Bulk adhered to his date’s wishes and released her. Since Rarity had yet to emerge from her boutique with her date, there was only one pair left for the group to focus on. Twilight was in a similar boat as Applejack - men weren’t lining up to be intimate with her. Twilight was certainly attractive, and Rarity had made sure her dress “highlighted” some of the best bits, but her newfound status as royalty meant that everyone was either in awe or worried that they would upset her. There was apparently one guy she'd occasionally mumble about asking out, but the girls were never able to drag his name out of her, and they were guessing he didn't live in Ponyville, or she wouldn't have been able to hide it for so long. So, without any man she was willing to bring with her, she turned to the one boy that she knew. He wasn't real happy about this.

“Oh Spike, why can’t ya lighten up a bit?” Applejack said, punching him on the shoulder. “Yer with friends, after all.”

“Maybe I would if someone else asked me to go…” he muttered, crossing his arms.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “C’mon Spike, we’ve gone over this already.” Twilight leaned in towards Spike, and her voice dropped off so the group couldn’t hear her. Applejack and Braeburn were close enough to hear his response, though.

“Just because you’re sore about not having a date when everyo-OW!” Spike was suddenly reduced to one functional leg as he hopped around, clutching the ankle Twilight had just viciously kicked up towards his stomach. Breaburn and AJ managed to surpress their snickers, but the sudden outburst had gotten Pinkie’s attention, who now skipped over to the ailing Spike.

“Oh, don’t be a frowny face, Spike. I mean, it could totally be worse. Like swimming in a river infested with cragadiles, or needing to purchase a vibrator for your mom!”

Spike stopped hopping around long enough to let what Pinkie said really sink in, and when it did he hardly noticed his ankle anymore as he quickly backpedaled away from her. “Eww! Princess Celestia is like my mom! I could never do something gross like that!”

“I’d tap that,” Rainbow suddenly replied. That laughter that had up as Spike started to gag was suddenly cut off. All eyes immediately shifted to Rainbow, each showing varying levels of surprise and, in two particular cases, abject horror. “What?” she shrugged, looking to everyone. “She’s hot.”

Twilight managed to get out a single "Um..." before she was able to reboot her brain. The others had recovered by then and were looking around somewhat awkwardly, but Twilight tried continue as though Rainbow hadn't said anything. The eye twitch gave it away, though. “So why did you bring Braeburn?” she asked cheerfully, “Appaloosa’s quite a long way away.”

“The town out there is having a bad year.” Applejack explained, patting her cousin on the back. “They need investors, and Braeburn’s just the guy to get some.”

“I think ya speak too highly of me,” Braeburn smiled, lowering his hat over his eyes. “But I’ll do my best ta get some folks interested.”

“Well, I could hardly think of anyone better for the job.” Twilight flashed a smile at Braeburn “You certainly did quite the number on us when we came to Appaloosa a few years back.”

“I just hope I can pull off the same thing tonight, Princess.” Despite the weak brush-off of Twilight’s compliment, he gave her a grateful nod and smile.

“Please Braeburn, we’re all friends here, you can just call me Twilight.”

He looked back to Twilight and gave an even wider smile. “Yes ma’am.”

“And ya still think ya won’t be able ta charm them sophisticated types?” Applejack whispered with a chuckle as she pointed directly to Twilight.

Braeburn wondered what his cousin was talking about, but when he followed Applejack’s finger he noticed the obvious blush Twilight had, just before she swept some stray hair behind her ear. It was a good confidence boost to see that, especially given the fact that Twilight was originally from Canterlot; to him, the chances of sweet talking a few people with deep pockets became for more probable to him.

Another fifteen minutes had passed, and the group was making due with small talk among themselves before the final member of their group finally made her way out of her home and towards the patiently waiting carriage. A collective sigh of relief washed over them as Rarity and her date completed the semicircle to the side of their mode of transportation. After she was finally settled she took a good, long hard look at the others before greeting each of them warmly.

“I’m terribly sorry I’m late girls,” she said after the last hug was given, “but I realized Comet Tail’s ensemble didn’t flow with the theme last minute, so I had to make a few changes.”

“A few?” Comet Tail asked sarcastically. “You spent an hour trying to find ‘just the right color’.”

“You can’t rush perfection, darling,” Rarity replied, flipping her hair to the other side of her face. “At least it didn’t take me long to get the measurements.”

“I think I’d have a good eye for it too if I stared at my body that long,” Comet Tail added with a masculine growl.

“Oh, behave now,” Rarity giggled, snapping her teeth at him playfully.

“Can we just get going?” Spike mumbled, barely entertaining himself by pulling himself off the carriage floor as he let out a low growl.

“Good idea,” Twilight said as the others nodded along in agreement.

Looking to the small window behind her, she lightly tapped the glass to get the attention of the man behind the driver’s seat. Seconds later, the window slid over, revealing a rather groggy looking man in a nice suit and well-kept mustache.

“Yes miss?” he asked as nicely as he could, given the situation.

“We’re finally ready to go sir,” Twilight answered. “Next stop, the Grand Galloping Gala!”

“As you wish miss.” The chauffeur grumbled, closing the window to drown out the sound of adult women cheering like little girls at a boy band concert.

A few hours later the carriage had come to a halt right in front of the towering castle doors. Their excitement only heightened when the small window behind Twilight slid open, revealing their chauffer for the first time in hours.

“We’re here, miss,” he said rather languidly.

Squeals of excitement rushed through the ladies, though Twilight, in response to her many royal etiquette lessons recently, recovered fairly quickly. Taking on the appropriate respectful tone that had been lectured to her, she said "Thank you sir. How much do we owe you?"

As the others slowly formed up in a gaggle outside the carriage , the driver twisted around to respond to Twilight, who was now standing at his side by the horses. “The ride’s courtesy of Celestia, miss. She even included the tip.” 

“O-oh! Well, thank you good sir.” Twilight managed to smooth over her little faux-pas with only a slight stutter to betray that she hadn’t rehearsed this. “I hope you have a wonderful night.”

“You too, miss,” he answered, slowly driving off.

As Twilight moved in with the rest of the group, she joined them in looking around at Royal Palace. It was in full form tonight - the gold capped towers spires had been burnished and were almost stars in their own right as the setting sun to the west reflected off of them. The windows around the palace had all been enchanted to act in the same manner as the stained glass windows in the throne room, and from their distance it helped draw the eye to the banners adorned beneath them. Each were either white, black, or a recently-commissioned lavender, and bore the cutie marks of princess they represented. Taken in with the multitudes of well-dressed ponies waiting to enter the palace proper, it was clear that this Gala was going to be the biggest one Canterlot had seen in a while, if not ever.

After a few long seconds of gawking, Twilight turned back to everyone. “Ladies and gentlemen!” she announced, sweeping broadly behind her. “Welcome to the Gala!” 

A collective cheer rushed through the group before all of them began to part ways. Pinkie and Cheese headed straight for the dance floor, Rainbow and Carmel made their way to the V.I.P. section, and Fluttershy and Bulk headed towards the garden. Twilight dragged Spike along with her to see Celestia while Rarity and Comet moved towards the areas where the upper echelons of society mingled. Only Applejack and Braeburn were left staring at the palace, mainly because Braeburn was still trying to absorb the scenery.

“Hey Brae,” Applejack said, waving her hand in front of his face, “hey, earth ta Braeburn.”

“Oh! Sorry AJ,” Braeburn replied, shaking his head, “place’s a lot bigger than I thought it would be.”

“Yeah, it kinda has that effect on ya first timers.” Applejack nudged his shoulder playfully. “But ya ain’t gettin’ no investors standing here all googly eyed at it, so let’s head on inside.”

Braeburn was starting to look a uneasy again as the awe left him. “Don’t ya think we shoulda brought merchandise? Kinda hard to get people ta buy in without proof that it’s worth it.”

To his annoyance, Applejack just laughed his concerns off and started pulling him by the wrist to where she had set up last year. “Don’t worry ‘bout that Brae,” Applejack said as she darted through the crowds. “We’ve already got ten bushels of apples in there and they’re ready fer eatin’ an bakin’.”

“How’d ya manage that?”

“The Princesses really like the apples our family grows”-- They both darted around a pair of men with appallingly garish toupees on --“and they were more than happy ta store some of the recent crop here until the Gala actually arrived.” Braeburn was about to ask a question pertaining to the apples, but he was shushed just before he could get a word out. “And don’t worry ‘bout freshness and pies an all that junk, the princesses cast their magical voodoo on it so it’d be just as fresh as it was the day we picked and baked ‘em.”

Giving a soft sigh, Braeburn pushed down onto his hat to make sure it wouldn’t go flying off in the crowd. It was clear Applejack was running at full steam right now, and she was less likely to stop than a train doing the same.“If ya say so AJ. Let’s go save my town.”

Their stand had already been set up by officials in the palace, so in less than ten minutes they had everything arranged the way they wanted it as guest after guest was lining up for a taste of the Apple family’s famous apples and assorted baked goods. However, even with their success they didn’t manage to convince a single person to invest in Braeburn’s farm. In spite of the cheery demeanor he kept up around the customers, Applejack could tell the lack of success was getting to him. After an hour had passed since they started up, she temporarily shut down their stand for a short pep talk.

“Talk ta me, Brae.” He tried to avoid looking at AJ, but she grabbed onto his shoulder and brought him into a huddle, close enough that they couldn’t be overheard by any passerbys. “Tain’t like ya ta get this upset.”

“I still can’t believe nobody’s even considered investin’.”Braeburn brought his hand up to tilt his stetson and rub his temple. “Hell, they haven’t even so much as listened!”

“Is kinda hard ta talk when they walk away right after they buy somethin’…” Applejack agreed halfheartedly.

AJ admitted to herself that she didn’t really think this through. When she heard about Braeburn’s troubles, she immediately hopped on the first thing she could think of to help him out, and that was the Gala. Business may be better than the first time she set up camp, but that was only because the Princesses had spread word about her through some arcane politicky work. Brae didn’t have that luxury.

Forced to finally slow down and think about how this was actually going to work, both of them stayed quiet for a few moments before AJ brightened up suddenly.

“Say Brae, yer here ta get people ta invest aren’t ya?”

Braeburn wasn’t even trying to hide his frown at this point. “That’s why ya brought me, but by the looks of it we ain’t gettin’ nowhere.”

“Well maybe we ain’t goin’ about it the right way,” Applejack replied with a smile. “And when I say ‘we’ I mean ‘you’.”

“What’s that supposed ta mean?”

“I think ya need ta get out there,” Applejack answered, pointing to the massive crowd. “Ya know… socialize.”

“Are ya sayin’ I need ta get out there?” he gulped, staring blankly out in the crowd. “There’s more people here than there is in all of Appaloosa.”

“And most of ‘em got more money than all Appaloosa combined,” Applejack pointed out. “Get goin’, I can hold the fort ‘til ya get back.”

“But what if ya need-“

“I said get goin’!” Applejack interrupted, forcefully pushing out of the stand. “This ain’t nothin’ I can’t handle. Get on out there and remember…” Applejack paused to shape her hand into a gun before mouthing the word ‘bang’ and holstering her pistol, “just be you.”

With a loud gulp Braeburn nodded and adjusted his hat for the second time that evening. Sure, it was true that he was easily the most social person in the whole of the Apple family, but that was always in an environment that he knew and knew well. And in his mind, one thing was for sure; this place sure as hell wasn’t a farm. Steeling himself to push forward, he took one long last look at the cart he and AJ had set up.

“For the town …” he whispered to himself, before stepping off into the great unknown.

It didn’t take long for Braeburn to find someone he found rather approachable - or in this case, some people. By the looks of it, the two were married, and judging by the outfits they sported they had very deep pockets. Perfect potential investors for the struggling businesses around Appaloosa, Braeburn thought. Donning a warm smile, he approached the pair with optimistic thoughts. Maybe, just maybe, these two could solve all his problems with a single check.

“Evenin’ sir,” he said tipping his hat to them, “evenin’ miss.”

The two looked at him perplexed for a few seconds before looking around for a few more seconds before their eyes finally fell on Braeburn yet again. “I’m sorry,” the man said, “But were, YOU… talking to, US?”

“Uh… yeah?” Braeburn replied confused, “I was just tryin’ ta make small talk.”

“Really?” he asked, looking Braeburn up and down. “What do you think, Upper Crust?”

“Well, Jet Lane,” the woman replied, wrapping her arm around his, “I think he could get us another drink.”

“No ma’am, I ain’t a waiter, I’m actually a guest,” Braeburn replied, awkwardly laughing to himself, “and I think I have a proposition ya’ll might find interesting.”

“‘Ya’ll’?” Upper Crust said with a condescending chuckle. “Oh isn’t he just too cute Jet Lane?”

“Of course dear,” Jet Lane answered, adding his own laughs, “he’s trying so hard, it’s adorable that he’s-”

“Excuse me,” Braeburn interrupted, “but I’m actually tryin’ ta offer ya somethin’ that could benefit the both of us.”

“Oh please forgive us ‘sir’,” Jet Lane replied. “It’s not often that we actually talk to the lower class, for good reason of course. Now, what exactly were you ‘goin’ ta propose’?”

Braeburn swallowed his reasonable anger towards the two and tried to begin his pitch. “Well sir,” he began, “I was actually offerin’ ya’ll an investment opportunity. Ya see, I’m in the orchard business, apples ta be specific, but we’ve run inta a mite bit of tough luck with the recent droughts in the southwest. So I was wonderin’-“

“Hold on there, young man,” Jet Lane interrupted. “Did you say ‘apples’?”

“Sure did, sir,” Braeburn replied, a small flicker of hope came into his eyes. Maybe this guy really liked apples, despite the fact that he was a stuck up snob.

“And did you also say ‘Southwest’?” Upper Crust added.

“That’d be right ma’am,” Braeburn replied, gaining even more confidence. “All the way down in Appaloosa, as a matter of fact.”

The two froze at the mention of Braeburn’s home town before looking to each other in silence. Feeling confident that he may have peaked their interest Braeburn started to open his mouth again, but a wave of laughter overshadowed what he was about to say.

“Oh, I should’ve known!” Jet Lane said wiping a tear away from his eye. “And here I was thinking the hat and twang was just a clever gimmick.”

“Now wait just a minute,” Braeburn said, shocked at what Jet Lane had said, “I’m tryin’ ta-“

“I think you’re giving him too much credit, dear,” Upper Crust interrupted. “I doubt he’s even smart enough to even know what we’re saying.”

“I know damn well what yer sayin’ ma’am,” Braeburn growled, “I wasn’t raised like an animal.”

“Well, on account you’re from Appaloosa, you may as well have been,” Jet Lane retorted, sticking his nose in the air. “Come now, Upper Crust, let’s mingle with the people that deserve to be here, not some hayseed simpleton.”

Before Braeburn could respond to the insult the two were lost in the crowd, leaving Braeburn to silently seethe in rage. “Hayseed? Simpleton?” he growled under his breath. “Is that what everybody here sees me as?”

He looked up to the crowd that surrounded him, most of them wearing shoes probably more expensive than his house. But that wasn’t what got to him. What bothered him was that they were clearly gawking at him. They didn’t even try to hide it - they just blankly stared at him like he was the newest exhibit at the Canterlot Zoo. A few tense moments passed before Braeburn was back to his normal self, shaking off both the insults and the cold stares that people were still giving him.

“That was just a one-time thing,” he said to himself, adjusting both his suit and hat. “I’m sure the next person’ll be ten times better.”

Unfortunately, Braeburn’s optimism was very misplaced. Every time he tried to offer his proposition, he was either laughed off or insulted. There were even a few that flat out ignored him. He tried time and time again, but it seemed to be of no use, the patrons of the Gala were just far too stuck up to consider going into business with such an earnest man. Finally frustrated to a point where he no longer cared, Braeburn made a beeline straight for the palace bar, in hopes to find some relief in the form of a few very strong drinks.

Stepping up to the bar, Braeburn sat on a lonely stool at the far end, slumping over in defeat. It didn’t take long for the barkeep to make her way to him, stopping the moment she was face to face with him.

“Can I get you anything, sir?” she asked, wiping away a smudge on one of the mugs.

“Ya got any Johnny Clopper?” he said, finally looking up to notice that the barkeep was actually pretty cute.

“Sure thing, cowboy,” she said with a playful wink. “I’m sure you want it on the rocks?”

“That’d be nice,” Braeburn nodded, regaining some of his charm just for her.

“I’ll get it to you right now.” Sure enough, seconds later a shot glass full of the good stuff was passed in his direction. “First one’s on the house.”

A small smile grew on his face as he grabbed his first of many shots and threw it back like a champ. Perhaps he could at least make himself feel better by downing enough booze to forget that he was surrounded by some of the most thick-minded people he’d ever met. Several shots in, Braeburn was feeling much better about himself, but thanks to his many competitions with his very large cousin he was still sober enough to maintain a degree of sobriety while the shots continued to slide his direction.

After a good ten minutes, all of the shots he’d been taken were finally beginning to affect him. Being a man who knew when to stop, he motioned the barkeep to not send him another round as he reached for his wallet. As she made her way to him, Braeburn came upon a terrible realization; he had forgotten his wallet back at the apple stand. A small amount of panic to set in. The barkeep had been very sweet to him this whole time, but when she realized he wouldn’t be able to pay her how would she react? Maybe if he explained what had happened she would give him a chance to grab what he needed, or possibly get thrown out of the Gala by guards easily a head taller than him. Taking a deep breath, Braeburn readied himself for any outcome as the barkeep stopped right in front of him as she had done before.

“Ma’am…” he began, “I don’t-“

“Don’t worry about it.”

“What?”

“I said you don’t need to worry about it,” the barkeep repeated, “all of your drinks have already been paid for.”

“Ya’d do that for me, ma’am?” Braeburn asked, a charming smile growing on his face.

“Oh no,” she replied, waving her hand dismissively, “I just bought your first one, the rest were paid for by the lady in white.”

The barkeep pointed to the opposite side of the bar before Braeburn could answer. Following her hand, Braeburn saw a very nicely shaped woman in a pure white dress sitting near the far edge of the bar. Braeburn tried to focus in on her face, but the booze coursing through his system made it slightly difficult for him to gather any distinguishing features.

“You should go thank her,” the barkeep said, breaking his concentration.

“I was gonna, it’d be very ungentlemen-like ta ignore such hospitality,” he huffed, pulling his hat down to secure it on his head.

“Don’t let me keep you,” she said, patting him on the back. “Good luck.”

Braeburn gave the barkeep a rather confounded look before regaining his normal composure. “Ma’am, I’m just saying ‘thank you’,” he said confidently. “Luck won’t be needed.”

The barkeep shrugged and playfully waved goodbye as Braeburn approached the mysterious woman who was kind enough to pay his tab. With each step, she became clearer in his mind, and in turn his confidence faltered with it. It was becoming clear to him that she was drop dead gorgeous and the reasons that someone like her would pay for his drinks was beyond any notion in his mind. Finally, he was standing right next to her, and he could fully comprehend the beauty that sat before him.

Pure white dress, a slit down the side that ran clean up to her hip, revealing perfectly toned legs wrapped in equally white thigh highs. Matching elbow gloves that wrapped only around her middle and ring finger. Her light pink hair with barely visible white highlights flowed down far past her shoulders and into the small of her back. Even with that and all of her other notable features, like her chest and backside, Braeburn really noticed her captivating eyes. He could have sworn they looked familiar, but there was something hiding behind those light purple orbs, a certain thing that left him entranced, almost like a hunger.

“Are you going to sit down,” she asked, her captivating smile momentarily drawing his attention away from her eyes, “or are you just going to keep standing there?”

“Oh, real sorry ‘bout that ma’am,” Braeburn said, quickly taking a seat next to the mysterious woman, “I just came over here ta thank ya personally fer payin’ fer all those drinks I had. I’m sure it cost ya a pretty penny like yerself.”

Braeburn quickly covered his mouth before the alcohol could do anymore talking, but the woman just let out a giggle before brushing her hair behind her ear and looking to Braeburn with her intoxicating eyes once more. “The pleasure is all mine sir, but-“

“Braeburn.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Braeburn,” he repeated. “My name’s Braeburn, ma’am.”

“I see,” she said, before taking a sip from her martini. “As I was saying Braeburn - that’s quite the accent you have, by the way - would you mind telling me where you’re from?”

Braeburn hesitated to answer for a moment. She was definitely one of the upper class individuals, judging by the platinum with a sapphire inset necklace resting between the gap of her cleavage, and given his prior experiences with the elite he wasn’t too sure about letting her know where he was from. However, unlike every other noble, who would just blow him off, she was at least talking to him as a human being. So, he decided to risk divulging the information to her.

“I’m from Appaloosa ma’am.” He said bracing for her reaction.

Much to his surprise she didn’t start laughing. In fact, she looked pleasantly surprised at the information. “Really?” Her smile had come back, and was somehow even more dazzling than before. “You’re from all the way out in the southwest?”

“Uh… yeah?” Braeburn replied, confused as to why she was still talking to him.

“I guess I should’ve known, given your accent and hat, I’m surprised I didn’t figure it out myself.” She laughed to herself, garnering a small chuckle from Braeburn as well. “I’ve always wanted to do a shoot out there.”

“A what?” Braeburn asked. “Did ya say… ‘shoot’?”

“Oh! I apologize, please forgive my manners,”  she giggled, extending her hand. “My name is Fleur, Fleur Di Lis.”

Braeburn’s jaw nearly unhinged and fell through the floor. He finally remembered where he had seen those eyes. She was the world famous super model that was in nearly every magazine Braeburn thumbed through while waiting for Rarity to get ready back in Ponyville. He started to panic slightly at the revelation, especially given that several of the ads she was in were rather arousing to him.

“Braeburn?” Fleur asked, bringing him back to reality, “are you alright?”

“I’m fine, ma’am,” he replied rather quickly. “I mean-Ms. Fleur or Ms. Lis-Ms. Di Lis-I mean-Ms. Fleur Di Lis.”

“How about you just call me Fleur,” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder, oddly calming him down. “Only strangers call me by my full name.”

“Um… alright, Ms. Fleur,” Braeburn said sheepishly.

“I guess that’s close enough,” Fleur giggled shaking her head, “but that does beg the question as to why such a rustic individual like yourself is doing in this high societal event?”

“Well Ms. Fleur, ta be honest, it wasn’t my first idea,” Braeburn admitted, lowering his head, “but things have gotten a tad bit on the rotten side.”

“How so?”

“Well… past couple ah seasons we’ve been hit pretty hard by drought,” he explained. “Lot of our crop’s paid the price fer it.”

“That’s terrible,” Fleur gasped, placing her free hand on her chest, “I could only imagine what it could mean.”

“It means that if we don’t find the money ta put inta an irrigation system we’d all have to leave our homes,” Braeburn answered for her. “That’s why I’m here. I’ve been tryin’ ta get some of these rich folks ta invest in our town so we could stay.”

“I’m guessing that none of them listened?” Fleur asked. “Judging by how much you drank I’m sure most of them lacked a certain amount of tact.”

“Ya got NO idea,” Braeburn replied with a sigh. “But that still don’t change the fact I didn’t get no investors yet… I have ta keep tryin’!” Braeburn rose unsteadily to his feet. “It’s up ta me ta save my town!”

“Calm down now cowboy,” Fleur said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I think I may be able to help out in your situation.”

“Really?” Braeburn asked, eyes lighting up. “Yer willing ta invest in my town?”

She nodded. “As a matter of fact, I think I could do one better. As I’ve said before, I’ve always wanted to do a shoot out there, and you need money to make sure your town doesn’t have to move…”

“Are ya sayin’ that you’d like to invest, AND give us free marketing by modeling fer us?!” Braeburn asked in delight.

To further his euphoria, the model simply nodded as a response. At that moment Braeburn couldn’t contain himself anymore. He literally threw himself on Fleur, wrapping her up in an embrace so tight it was hard for even him to breathe. Quickly regaining his composure, he realized what he had done and that Fleur’s breasts were all natural, which was odd to him given how perky they looked. When he realized that he was looking down he quickly tried to apologize, but was silenced by a single finger pressing against his lips.

“You don’t need to apologize Braeburn,” Fleur answered as if she was reading his mind. “You don’t need to thank me either, I’m more than willing to help out your town.”

“That don’t mean I shouldn’t do either,” Braeburn replied, shaking his head. “I guess I got ahead of myself.”

“It happens to the best of us,” Fleur replied, laughing a bit to herself.

“Alright then, now that that’s out of the way, how exactly are we going ta do this?” Braeburn said, sitting down again.

“How indeed,” Fleur smiled.

“What’s that supposed ta mean?”

“Well Braeburn, normally when I discuss business I do it in more… private areas.” In that moment, Fleur flipped out something from her purse placed on the stool next to her. “Say my apartment, in an hour?”

Braeburn didn’t know what to say. Someone, and someone famous for that matter, was willing to discuss business with him and the best part was that she was held in such high regard that many would follow her lead. Even those two snobs who called him a hayseed simpleton.

“I’ll be there Ms. Fleur,” he said confidently taking the key. “You said an hour right?”

“That I did, Braeburn,” Fleur almost whispered, drawing ever closer to him, “and please,” she added, only inches away from his ear, “don’t be late.”

With that, Fleur left her seat and made her way out of the Gala, adding an extra swing in her hips as she disappeared into the evening, leaving Braeburn both star-crossed and dumbfounded. He sat there in silence staring at the key, which gave all the information he needed to find where she lived.

“Palace View Heights, room 1025,” he smiled to himself. “I’m gonna have an investor by tonight.”

“What’s that cowboy?” the barkeep asked, coming up behind him with two shots of Johnny Clopper. “Did she give you a memento?”

“It’s a key,” he said happily. “It’s a key ta her apartment…”

The barkeep froze upon revelation of what lay in Braeburn’s hand, but soon placed her shots on the counter and pulled out a fresh bottle of bourbon to pour a few more shots, thinking that the man she just met was going to need more than what he’d already had to steel himself.

“Here,” she said, handing him another shot, much to his surprise. “The next few are on the house cowboy, you’ll need it.”

“Well thank ya kindly ma’am,” Braeburn said, tipping his hat before downing it like a pro, “I might just need the courage ta go through with this.”

“No kidding,” the barkeep nodded. “That was Fleur Di Lis, the biggest model in history, and she decided to pick you out of all people.”

“I know, right?” Braeburn laughed, “I can’t believe she’s interested in investing inta my home town.”

“Just be careful, cowboy,” the barkeep said, shaking her head, “she’d probably eat a guy like you-wait what?”

“I’m headed over ta her place because she’s interested in discussing a business proposal!”

The barkeep was at a loss for words. She wondered if he was being sarcastic, but the smile on his face was far too genuine for that. So instead of pouring him another shot, she poured one for herself, still not fully believing what she had just heard.

“Palace View Heights is about a thirty minute walk, cowboy,” she said bluntly. “If you want to get there early I’d suggest you get a move on now.”

“Yer right ma’am.” Braeburn said, shooting to his feet. “I need ta tell AJ I might be runnin’ a tad bit late when this all closes up, then…” he took in a deep breath and exhaled with a massive smile, “business.”

Braeburn proceeded to walk back from whence he came with broader shoulders and an extra kick in his step to boot, leaving the barkeep with the shot still in her hands. “Yeah…” she half laughed to herself, downing the shot like it was nothing, “‘business’.”

Close to forty minutes later Braeburn finally stood in front of Palace View Heights, where his dream investor was patiently awaiting his arrival. With a confident smile he entered the premises, eagerly looking for the door that had the numbers 1025 etched into it. Fortunately for him it didn’t take long for him to find said room, especially given the fact that it was on the first of five floors.

“This is it Brae,” he said to himself, trying to pump himself up, “all ya gotta do is wow her! Show her what yer made of and leave her satisfied, then she’ll invest fer sure!”

Finally done with his personal pep talk, Braeburn knocked on Fleur’s door. He waited for several seconds, but no answer came, so he did the only reasonable thing he could think of and knock again. For the second time there was no answer. Panic was setting in. Maybe she wasn’t home - or even worse, she was just pulling his strings. Despite his worries and doubts, he knew that there was only one way to know for sure. He had to go in.

Taking a deep breath, he placed the key given to him earlier into the lock. With a slight flick of the wrist the door’s tumblers gave way and granted access to the room beyond. What Braeburn saw beyond the door was beyond breathtaking.

The room behind the door was dimly light by the palace lights that flooded through the giant window doubling as a wall.  Large portraits of Fleur’s more famous snapshots hung on the walls just above ivory chairs positioned in all the corners in the room. One of them even had what looked like the dress Fleur was wearing at the Gala draped on the headrest. But despite all there was to take in when he entered, he couldn’t help but notice the massive and lavish bed that sat opposite to where he was standing. It was already odd enough that the wall it rested on was a window, but why out of all the places in such a large apartment would she choose to put it there?

“She must really like the sunrise,” he said to himself, scratching his head. “Only reason I could think of ta put a bed like that in here…”

Reluctantly, Braeburn took a few more steps into the room, wondering where his potential investor was hiding. The thought quickly ran through his head that he may be trespassing, but that thought quickly left his mind given the fact that she had given him her key. He stopped in front of one of the famous model’s more popular, and arousing, photo’s she had ever taken. She was lying on a bed of roses wearing vibrant red lingerie, her eyes and smile begging him to join her in the photo. Shaking certain thoughts of his potential business partner out of his head, he took a few steps back. He couldn’t think like that, especially about a woman like her. What would she see in a simple guy like him anyway?

“Oh!” A voice from behind him suddenly said, nearly spooking him out of his wits, “You’re here early…”

“Ms. Fleur!” he yelped, suddenly spinning around. “I’m really sorry, but ya didn’t-“

Braeburn fell silent the moment he laid eyes on Fleur. The long, slender elbow gloves remained but her dress was gone; in its place was a transparent white negligee, revealing the parts of her upper body that were so tantalizingly hinted at just an hour earlier. As his eyes continued downward he saw a sliver garter belt hugging her abdomen, just below her naval. Their descending tendrils latching onto stockings which ran clean to her hip, in between the belt and stockings was a pair of frilly panties that just barely covered her most intimate region.

Despite all this, Braeburn found his eyes traveling back up her near flawless body to her face. Fleur’s hair seemed to glow as it danced in the apparent breeze behind her, but her light pink hair flowing like a peaceful stream wasn’t what really took him for a new one. It was her eyes, her beautiful amethyst eyes. They shined like the brightest stars in the night sky, but there was something about them. Something that Braeburn couldn’t really put his finger on until he remembered the portrait he was looking at just moments earlier.

Her eyes looked almost the same as they did in the portrait, only they burned with far more intensity, far more passion. An equally intense smile began to grow on her face as she started taking a few steps towards him. Braeburn was at a total loss for words as to what was happening. Was this all a dream? Was it some sort of elaborate prank? Were there people watching from some well hidden-

His thoughts ceased to exist as Fleur brought her hand underneath his chin and pulled his lips forward to meet her own. The shock caused him to tense up as his mind flailed about for something that made sense, but as her kiss deepened his mind began to calm and accept what was happening. He wrapped his arms around Fleur, trying to bring her even closer, and she responded by pressing tightly against him and renewing her assault with increased vigor. Braeburn noticed detachedly that her hands were working their way into his pants, trying to pull out his shirt. He helped her in their little dance, removing all but his pants and his stetson without once breaking contact with each other.

After that deed was done, they remained locked for what felt like an eternity before Fleur finally pulled her lips away from his, ending the moment between them and allowing Braeburn to finally start thinking again. Fleur began talking well before he could marshal his senses, though.

“You have no idea how long it’s been since I’ve done that with someone.” Her voice had taken on a soft purr, and the fact she refused to break eye contact with him as she said it almost left Braeburn unable to respond. He latched onto the first thing he could.

“S-somethin’ tells me we ain’t here ta discuss business,” Braeburn stuttered, sweat beginning to bead on his brow as he realized utterly bizarre this was.

Fleur didn’t say a word, simply beginning their kiss anew, only this time she brought them together by pulling on his belt and began forcefully grinding up against him as she did so. This had a very noticeable effect on certain parts down there, though his mind had cleared up enough to start questioning what was going on in spite of Fleur’s increasing affections and his heart threatening to crack his ribs. A lady as well-off and classy as her could surely do better than him! At the Gala alone there were hundreds of men far better off than him wandering around that would have killed to be where he was now, but they weren’t the ones here - he was. A part of him continued to stubbornly believe this was some elaborate hoax, that people would jump out of some unseen corner and begin laughing, but it was getting very, very hard to keep listening to that voice every time Fleur’s hips rolled against his.

He heard an unexpected clang as his belt buckle hit the floor. Unlike him, Fleur was taking this very seriously, and using his distraction to keep her position as the dominant one. Much as he’d been trying to fight it, the two thin layers of cloth that remained between Fleur’s moistening sex and his member weren’t enough to hold back her stimulation, and he quickly grew in length, pressing hard up against her.

Fleur broke their kiss when she felt it extend fully, and a hint of amusement crept into her voice as she spoke. “Well, someone’s getting excited…” After she trailed, she pulled away far enough to take a look down below. After a quick purr of approval, she backed up a little so she could comfortably drop down on her knees. Her voice now carried the tone of restrained lust underneath her coy words. “Perhaps we should calm you down.”

“N-now, ya sure ‘b-bout this, miss-ss Fleur?” Braeburn asked nervously, his voice catching as she playfully tapped his member forth.

He didn’t get the chance to continue that line of questioning as her velvet hands started to work his penis lightly along the shaft, but that didn’t go on for long as it surged in length even further, making Fleur the pleasantly surprised one for the first time tonight. She had known Braeburn had some heft to him from when she was grinding up against him earlier, but she had assumed he was at his full length, while this monster still had a little growth left to him. Fleur leaned leaned in towards to penis,  breath starting to tickle it as she admired what was now at least nine inches of almost solid manhood. “Oh my…” she whispered, sending another twitch throughout his body as her voice tickled him further.

Braeburn, to his credit, was still barely holding on to his wits. “Uh, i-is everything alright, miss Fleur?” he asked, trying to take some manner of control over the situation. “M-maybe I sho-”

The rest of what he was going to say was lost to a strangled gasp that he tried to hold back when Fleur moved her lips onto the tip. He would like to have wondered how a simple farmer could have been lucky enough to land arguably the hottest model in Equestria, who was not only willing to sleep with him but was now currently on her knees servicing him with her mouth and hands. The feeling on his penis as her tongue began to get more involved as she sucked him put him on the edge of cumming, though by the grace of the royal sisters he managed to hold on.

Down below, Fleur was enjoying the show Braeburn was providing. It had been a long time since she’d found anyone even halfway decent in this city since Fancy, and none of them had been so amusing in trying to resist her ministrations. If he kept up this resistance, he might even set a record! Not that it would be all that impressive, she thought. For how little she got to do this, she knew how good she was at this, and it was only going to get better for him.

She pulled away from his cock before he went over the edge, figuring he was ready enough for the next step. “You’ve never done this before, have you?” she asked, trying to bring him back down to Equestria.

“I-uh, well…” he murmured, still lost far above the clouds, “I’ve never done anything like THIS before.”

“Oh really?” Fleur responded, biting her lip as she rose to her feet, “I guess guys like you keep things simple where you’re from.” Fleur pressed herself against Braeburn’s bare chest, stroking his now-pulsing member with a hand to keep him warmed up for their next act as he tried to respond.

“Well, i-it ain’t like I never been wi-ith a girl,” he managed to respond, “I just.. didn’t really thin-”

Braeburn was interrupted when Fleur suddenly pressed her lips against his once again. He was surprised by this, given where her mouth had been only a few moments before, but his mind had been a mess of lust, shock, and bliss for so long that it barely even registered to him. When Fleur pushed her tongue into his mouth to deepen the kiss, he barely offered any resistance, though even on autopilot he quickly fought for dominance as he did so.

While he was distracted, he did notice that his legs were starting to walk backwards. Moments later, he realized Fleur had been guiding him to one of the chairs in the room as she pushed him down into it. His mind filed this under interesting, but unimportant, as Fleur was still on the attack elsewhere. He also noticed with detached interest that Fleur’s hands had migrated to his shoulders, massaging some of the knots he had built up working on the farm out in Appleoosa. More importantly, this meant she was no longer servicing his shaft, and it was making this fact known by constantly twitching so it would brush up against Fleur’s legs.

After she softened a few knots in his shoulders, Fleur pulled back to break the kiss, licking his lips one final time as she pulled away, giving Braeburn a wonderful view of her figure as she remained bent over him in the chair. She pulled him slightly closer so she could nibble on his ear before gently whispering, “Forget about everything plaguing your mind, just sit back and enjoy what you’re about to feel.””

She started to leave a trail of kisses down his neck, wrapping around to the the center of his chest, going lower and lower as Braeburn shuddered with anticipation. She dropped to her knees as she went lower, traveling down his stomach and waist leaning into him heavily, dragging her voluptuous breasts down to his crotch, pressing them gently against the lower regions of his abdomen.

Finally, she stopped right above his manhood, looking up to him as he expected her to continue her efforts from earlier this evening. The confusion on his face as she instead reached around the back of her night gown heightened the predatory grin now on Fleur’s face. “Let’s see how long you can last, stud.”

A few quick movements behind her back allowed the thin white negligee to simply fall off her, exposing her body fully to fully to the world around her. She straightened out her back so Braeburn could fully appreciate why she was the greatest model in Canterlot: alabaster skin reflecting the moonlight like a dazzling pearl; rounded breasts that bounced as she pulled away from Braeburn; perky tits that stood proudly, inflamed with lust; supple curves that swayed hypnotically with her breasts. She was the finest piece of art in the room, and both of them knew it.

Her show finished, Braeburn was once again struck by both how beautiful she was and how absurd this was getting. At no point leading up to this could he have possibly imagined this happening. Further thoughts along that path ceased as Fleur leaned in, eyes aflame with desire, and enveloped his member with her breasts.

Fleur stifled a giggle as she watched Braeburn struggle to resist jerking around in the chair on each stroke stroke of her breasts along his shaft. For all of his impressive size, he really seemed like someone fresh out of virginity. Not that any of her other partners were capable of any better until she’d had a few nights with them. Wanting to make it as pleasurably difficult as possible, she began to take a quick lick as his head when she hit the bottom of her downstroke, before beginning to envelop the tip entirely in her mouth. It wasn’t long before she finally started to taste a faintly salty taste build up on her tongue. Fleur would have commented on this to Braeburn, but that’d mean stopping long enough to say so, and he’d been such a good boy up until now. No need to delay it any further for her own satisfaction. Then again...

Fleur stopped without warning at the top of her stroke, pulling her breasts away from Braeburn’s penis. The sudden cessation of movement caused Braeburn to buck his hips forward once before he was made painfully aware of his surroundings. “W-why’d you stop?” he whined, the pain at being denied evident in his voice. “Was it somethin’ I-”

Fleur’s eyes snapped onto his, quelling any objections he had. Her face had taken on a slight frown, reminiscent of a severe teacher that had walked into a room to find her student jerking off into a sock by himself. “Is this what you want?”

“What?”

“Is this what you want?” she repeated, her frown ticking downward just a smidge more. She moved closer to his face, slowly brushing up against his penis with her breasts once again, sending several twitches through his body as it demanded satisfaction.

Braeburn whined as she slowly got closer to him, stumbling over his words to try and get her to continue her work. “Y-yes, I d-”

“I’m sorry,” Fleur interrupted, “what was that?”

“I w-want i-”

“I’m sorry Braeburn, I’m having trouble hearing you. What was th-”

“I NEED IT!” Braeburn finally roared, taking Fleur momentarily off guard. He calmed down quickly, and tried to mouth an apology, but Fleur had already switched over to looking happily back at his dick before descending on it once again with her breasts even more vigorously than before, slamming her breasts deep into him as she took his head into her mouth and twirled her tongue around it fervishly. 

Fleur fully expected him to break within the next few seconds, like every other man had that managed to make it this far. Braeburn had other plans. Without thinking, he grabbed onto Fleur’s head and buried it deep into his crotch, shoving his dick far down her throat. 

After reveling in the feeling for a few moments, he proceeded to take over, bobbing Fleur’s head up and down his cock violently. Tears began to form in her eyes, and her mascara was all but ruined, yet the complete flip in their positions had her roughly handling her clitoris as her own fluids dripped onto the carpet. It had been a long time since she’d been dominated so suddenly, and the experience was refreshing in a way she had forgotten long ago.

Braeburn started grunting loudly, drowning out the moans Fleur was able to get out from around his cock as he moved her head faster and faster. Fleur had stuck out her tongue as he did so, trying to cover as much of his cock as possible. It was the feeling of her tongue trying to wrap around his balls that finally sent him over the edge, as he shoved his cock fully down her throat and released his load, a torrent of thick fluid that splashed into the back of her throat before they finally parted, remaining strands of semen dribbling down her chin and onto her breasts.

Braeburn sat there huffing with his head rolled back over the top of the chair, like an exhausted runner who had finally made it over the finish line, as Fleur grabbed the nearby bedsheet to wash the cum off her face. The release had been in more ways than one, as he he had been running around blueballed for the better part of a year thanks to all his worries back home with the town, and this was, if only for a few minutes, enough to take his mind off that.

When Braeburn had recovered enough to bring his head back up, he saw Fleur standing up and looking right at him, bare body fully presented to him for the first time that night. Without breaking eye contact, she moved one of her hands to begin tweaking an erect nipple as her other skidded along the strands of cum left on her breast, bringing it to her mouth and slowly sucking it off. The sight alone was enough to catch the attention of his little love gun, seemingly ready to rock and roll just moments after firing everything it had in its chamber. 

With his full attention reclaimed, Fleur quickly darted over to him to roughly kiss him, forcing her tongue through his teeth. The faint salty yet sweet taste that suddenly assailed him tightened up his throat as he quickly thought of where it came from, but that faded as his lust began to build again. The kiss lasted only for seconds before Fleur pulled away, a new fire in her eyes that Braeburn was excited to see. He wrapped his arms around her to pull her closer for a new round, but Fleur shoved her arm between them, shocking Braeburn for a moment.

After seeing the sense of utter loss and confusion play over Braeburn’s face, Fleur just laughed, saying, “How rude are you? Don’t you know it’s impolite to not return the favor?” To emphasize her words, she brought her hands under her breasts to jiggle them and play with her nipples in front of him, before grabbing one of his hands to pull him off the chair and gently lead him towards the bed.

She led Braeburn over to the foot of the bed. He noted the details on the bed. The oak post where probably crafted by the finest Prench carpenters, large plush pillows adorned the headrest, and white sheets, probably satin, that sat unblemished on the bed except for the figure lying with legs spre- Fleur!

Braeburn licked his lips, and a slight murmur of approval came from him before Fleur placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed down gently, a signal for him to get on his knees. He obliged, and ended up eye level with Fleur’s breasts, just below the nipples. From here, here noticed for the first time that Fleur had a small birthmark under her right breast, marring her otherwise flawless skin. He’d never been low enough to the ground to see it before, but the slight imperfection made her all the more desirable. Saliva trailed from the side of his mouth, as he submissively waited for the proper instruction to continue pleasing his lover. 

His hands wrapped around her waist to settle on her toned and shapely rump. He gave a quick squeeze, eliciting an adorable squeak from Fleur. Emboldened by her reaction, Braeburn sank his face into her chest, latching on to one of her nipples while his hands migrated from her rump to her massage the other. The feeling of her velvet skin brushing against the coarseness of his face was truly wonderful, driving him to a state of euphoria.

Another small squeeze was enough for Fleur to moan in delight. As Braeburn continued to tug away at her breasts, she tried to pull him further and further into her chest. The two went back and forth with this for what seemed like hours, but the moment Braeburn glanced to his right and saw one of Fleur’s fully erect nipples just inches away from his mouth he couldn’t hold back.

Darting for his prize, he wrapped his lips around her tit and began to suck, lapping his tongue back and forth in some attempt to coax something out. Fleur’s back fully arched at the sudden feeling of moisture and heat pressed against her nipples. She looked down in shock; just who was this guy and what did he do with the one she invited to her home? That question quickly left her mind with the air in her lungs as Braeburn squeezed her left breast while he continued to suckle from the other.

A smile came to her face when she looked down the second time, “I really know how to pick them,” she whispered to herself as she began to run her fingers through his hair, “but I’m never going to get off like this.”

Fleur put her hands on just underneath Braeburns cheeks and began directing him off of her. He resisted at first, as Braeburn had settled in to his job working her breasts, but he eventually acquiesced and pulled back far enough to sit straight up.

“Don’t you remember I told you to return the favor?” Fleur chided, bringing a finger up to push down on his nose. “I meant that literally.”

Fleur’s legs suddenly wrapped around Braeburn’s back, pulling him in closer to view her maidenhood. Her beautiful folds glistened in the dim light provided by the moon, dripping with anticipation. Braeburn could feel the blood begin to rush from from one head to a now more important one, but as he began to climb on the bed he found Fleur’s hands forcing him back to his knees. The mixed look of frustration and confusion brought a smile to Fleur’s face; another reminder of how long it’d been since she could tease someone like this. Giggling to herself, she brought her hand from his shoulders to just below his chin and pulled him closer to her perfect body.

"Was I too distracting for you to hear what I said?" she asked in what tried to be an imperious tone, but it fell flat from the happiness she couldn't keep out of her voice."

“N-no ma’am,” Braeburn replied, looking at her flawless vulva, “I just… just don’t get yer meanin’ that’s all.”

“Then allow me to put it bluntly.” Fleur pulled him up by the chin before leaning in towards his ear. “I want you to eat me out.”

Braeburn rocked back at the prospect. He’d never think that a lady like her would ask someone she’d just met a couple hours ago to do that, but then again, she’s been doing a lot of things he wouldn’t have expected throughout this night. Swallowing loudly, perspiration began to bead on Braeburn’s brow as he looked once again to Fleur’s pussy.

“What’s the matter, cowboy?” Fleur asked innocently. “Not sure if you can handle it?”

“It… it’s not like I don’t want to ma’am.” Braeburn forced himself to look her in the face once more. “It’s just that I– I never, well– I never-“

Braeburn was interrupted by Fleur’s index finger pressing firmly on his lips. “Just let your body tell you what to do,” she said encouragingly, wrapping her other hand around the back of his head. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”

With that, Fleur brought her other hand to join the first, leading Braeburn down to where she most needed his attentions. There was a little resistance from Braeburn at first, but the closer he came to her nethers, the less he fought her pull. Her aroma wafted towards his nose. He had always thought he would be appalled or flat turned off by the overwhelming scent of a woman if he was to ever come this close, but every time he inhaled he was further drawn in her glistening lips. It brought to his mind the smell of vanilla coated strawberries, a thought which did little to quell his salivation as he drew into his quarry. Saliva mixed with sexual fluids as he dragged his tongue out tentatively over her clit, causing Fleur to shudder slightly.

“Don’t be shy, cowboy,” Fleur teased yet again, running her fingers across the length of her womanhood before slightly spreading them, “Go on. Have a taste.”

Taking one last deep breath, Braeburn pulled away from her hands to try burying his head in her nether regions. An entirely new texture greeted Braeburn’s tongue as he settled in to work. It felt like his tongue was pressing against the finest, smoothest silk and her taste was that of a sweet honey - the finest belonged to Apple Jam’s recipes, but her food wasn’t what was in front of him right now. The combination of the two threatened to overwhelm what little control he had left this evening, but knowing how well Fleur had controlled herself just minutes before, he steeled himself to return the favor as a proper gentleman should.

Fleur moaned with every tentative lap of Braeburn’s tongue, even squirming when it tickled her clitoris. For a guy who’d never been down on a girl, Fleur thought he wasn’t doing half bad as she ran her fingers through his hair. She definitely knew how to pick the right men. Every once in a while she would drive his head deep into her folds in an attempt to get a reaction out of him, but each time he dutifully continued his work, driving his tongue in deeper when he was pushed in, and playful nibbling her clit when he wasn’t.

Despite his attentions and Fleurs constant cooing and moans over several minutes, it was clear what he was doing now wasn’t going to bring her to orgasm. Knowing her satisfaction wouldn’t last forever, Braeburn thought hard about something he could do to keep her desires growing. One thought came to him quickly, but he held off on it initially, as he hadn’t done it before and was afraid doing it poorly. The steady decline in Fleur’s noises finally convinced him to act.

Fleur looked down on her lover, only slightly disappointed in him. For someone inexperienced with what he was doing right now, he had done an admirable job of pleasuring her.

“Braeburn,” she began, noticing one of his hands changing position and thinking it was a signal that he was finished, “maybe we shou-NEEAH!”

Braeburn’s index, middle, and ring fingers slid into Fleur’s vagina as deeply as they could go, while the tag team of his thumb and tongue worked on her clit. All the time he’d spent developing the perfect apple picking technique hadn’t gone to waste as Braeburn watched Fleur finally seize up from pleasure. Using the reignited fire in her loins, he began to twirl his fingers around inside her as she became the unintended beneficiary from all the time he spent learning various entertaining tricks one could do with apples. Fleur’s moans grew more and more throaty as she rocked herself against Braeburn’s thrusts and her fluids went from leaking to gushing, soaking both Braeburn’s face and fingers. He was undeterred, as the excess fluids only served to draw him further into a primal state.

Neither party knew how long they were going at it like this, but Fleur knew that she was close, oh so very close. “B-Braeburn… baby…” she moaned, running one hand through his hair as she squeezed her breasts, “I’m… I’m…”

Braeburn paid no heed to her warning. If anything, he brought the intensity up even further. The increase was more than Fleur could take and she curled into a ball, using both hands to push Braeburn as far as she could into her before screaming in ecstasy. Braeburn soon felt a sudden but welcome rush of fluids over his hands and face. He collected as much as he could on his tongue before it started to overflow, until the precious liquids poured down from the corners of his mouth and chin.

The moment Fleur stopped screaming, she fell on her back limp, her breasts moving in a circular motion before coming to a rest. Breathing heavily, and now covered in sweat, she watched a very confident looking man rise from between her legs, dripping in a combination of bodily fluids from many different sources. She started with a chuckle that grew into a laugh as, without breaking eye contact, he brought one hand up to massage a nipple while the other one was brought to his mouth, slowly having the fluids sucked off of it. Now she knew why the few men she’d done that to always got so turned on by it.

“What’s wrong sugar?” he asked, smiling. “You wanna taste too?”

Fleur contained her laughter quickly and nodded, beckoning him to come closer. Braeburn was more than happy to oblige to his lover’s silent request. Lowering himself to the bed, he outstretched his hand for her. Fleur gently grabbed his hand and pulled it close, licking away at what was left of her juices as carefully and sensually as she could. It didn’t take long for her to lick him dry but, in doing so she noticed a certain little soldier was standing at attention.

“Looks like someone’s excited again,” she said, slowly stroking his shaft.

“Can’t help it with a girl like you,” he replied, watching her work intently. “Maybe we coul-“

Braeburn was interrupted when he was forcefully pushed onto the bed, landing square on his back. He tried to get back up, but Fleur straddled him first, wrapping her hands around his wrists to pin him in place. Braeburn allowed himself a small chuckle this time around at her antics; looks like she wanted to be in charge this time.

“Hope you’re ready for a REAL rodeo, cowboy.” Fleur ground her womanhood against Braeburn’s pulsing cock. “Because this ride’s going to be a lot longer than eight seconds.”

Braeburn smiled as Fleur released one of his hands and slowly snaked her hand down his physique before coming to the tip of his shaft. She then rose to her knees, letting her hand bring Braeburn’s shaft directly under her still-dripping pussy.  His cock pulsed in her hand, with anticipation building as each second passed until finally, with the aid of gravity, Fleur lowered herself onto Braeburn’s manhood.

A loud grunt passed through his lips as he felt every inch of Fleur’s vagina slide down his shaft. So smooth, so tight, he thought to himself, as he watched his partner sink deeper and deeper onto him. He fought the urge to grab her hips and force her down the rest of the way, but each moment of rising pleasure push his self control further and further, and he didn’t know how long that could last anymore before he gave in.

Fleur, on the other hoof, was going through a totally different experience. She even had to bite into her free hand to stem the tide of screams. It was true that she had a few lovers in the past, several of them as intimate as this, but none of them could quite measure up to Braeburn. Literally. He was by far the largest she’d ever had; maybe even so large she wouldn’t be able to fit him entirely. She continued to push down, fighting her urge to scream with every inch until finally she could go down no further.

Without warning, Braeburn thrust himself into her, causing her to bounce back halfway up his cock and let out a moan of pleasure. Taking this as a green light, he continued to thrust whenever she would come back down, causing his lover’s tits to bounce erratically.

“Oh yes, yes, yes!” Fleur placed a hand on Braeburn’s stomach while she slowly dragged the other through her hair. “YES, FUCK ME! FUCK ME BABY!”

Braeburn was more than happy to oblige his pretty little model’s request, thrusting faster and faster each time Fleur cried in ecstasy until he was physically incapable of going any faster. The way Fleur bounced on and off his manhood sent wave after wave of euphoric feelings through his brain. Fleur was a goddess by every meaning of the term, and chose him from on high to be her consort. For that, he was thankful, and now was his chance to truly return the favor.

He was admittedly inexperienced when it came to more liberal carnal pleasures, such as oral sex, but he was no slouch when it came to the real deal. Quite a few country girls from Appaloosa would cite this as fact. He knew he was but a mere mortal and that he couldn’t keep this up forever, but this workhorse knew many ways around that issue.

Using the leverage from one of his thrusts, he shot himself up on the bed, wrapping his arms around Fleur as he kissed her deeply. She continued to moan as he slowly brought her back down to the bed, returning to the slow thrusts he had done earlier. His hands slowly traveled up and down her back, stopping every time he would thrust so she would stay in place. Fleur was putty in his hands at this point, only able to moan and kiss the parts of his body she could reach.

Using this to his advantage, Braeburn slowed down and held her close as he rolled her onto her back. Now on top, Braeburn saw his lover as he had yet to see her. Her hair was strewn out across the sheets; breasts lying naturally on her chest; perfect stomach beaded with a combination of their sweat, and arms splayed out to hold onto the loose sheets. Her eyes were half lidded and still full of lust, too far gone to demand anything of him now.

Not being one to deny a lady still so clearly in need, Braeburn thrust himself into her once more. As he did so he moved his head down her body, laying a trail of kisses down her neck as she had done for him what seemed like ages ago. This time, as he intertwined his hand with hers, he stopped at her breasts and sucked on her nipples, working them with his tongue as Fleur continued to moan incoherently.

Fleur’s free hand clenched the sheets tightly as the other clung to Braeburn’s hand for dear life with the new waves of pleasure flowing through her. Had she been aware enough to think, she would have hardly remembered the last time she’d felt this good during sex. So many other times it had been just for a quick fix; a way to blow off steam. That’s what this was supposed to be too, but somehow Braeburn managed to touch all of the right buttons and then some.

Her eyes closed tight as she bit her lip to tide the inevitable coming of screams. Her body did its best to adjust to its new position, she wasn’t really used to being on bottom, so the experience was certainly different for her. A quick thrust into her was enough for her bring her back off the bed, which was exactly what Braeburn was waiting for.

Braeburn’s free arm wrapped behind her back to secure her in position. Once he knew she wasn’t going anywhere, he began increasing his speed once more to further Fleur’s delight. With each forward motion of his pelvis Fleur let out a muffled moan, desperately trying to hold off the screams that pleaded to escape her lungs. Again and again, thrust after thrust, his speed increased, the sound of their bodies slapping against each other echoing through the room, until finally Fleur could no longer hold back.

“CELESTIA!” she wailed, wrapping her arms around his waist. “D-DON’T STOP!”

Braeburn was quick to obey the commands of his empress, thrusting faster and deeper into her once again as he placed the hand that was supporting Fleur on the headrest of the bed for additional balance. Primal grunts started to bellow deep in his throat, and he knew that soon he be at that pivotal moment. He looked to his lover, still wailing in pleasure as her eyes rolled back into her head. Though it didn’t seem to matter much to her at the moment, he still felt that he needed to have a shred of common decency.

“F-Fleur…” he managed to pant out in between growls, “I’m really close here, I think I’m gonna-“

“CUM INSIDE ME!” Fleur screeched, highly unlike the lady she had been up until now, “FUCKING CUM INSIDE ME!”

Once given the go ahead, Braeburn increased his ferocity, trying to bring her with him. The cacophony of screams, grunts and smacking of body parts came to a fever pitch when Braeburn felt the tell-tale tingle at the tip of his cock. With one last powerful thrust he completely bottomed out in Fleur, roaring as he felt his seed rush from deep within.

Fleur wailed once again as her inner walls clamped tightly down on Braeburn’s manhood as it pumped everything it had inside her. Her fingers dug deep into Braeburn’s back, lightly drawing blood. Whatever objection he would have had was quickly silenced though, because as the last few strands of semen eked their way out of him, Fleur pulled him in for a long, passionate kiss. The two melted into each other as Braeburn did a few final thrusts just for good measure.

The two finally parted from their kiss, each breathing heavily and covered in sweat. Braeburn collapsed to the side of the equally exhausted Fleur, pulling her in close to him as fireworks began to burst outside the giant window.  Fleur crawled on top of him, resting her head on his chest while she drew little hearts on his stomach. They stayed that way for several minutes, contented with both the fireworks and the other’s company.

“Soooo.” Fleur broke the silence, intertwining her hands with his once more. “What was that about an investment proposal?”


The sun rose high in Canterlot that morning and everything was normal. Even the group of eleven people scouring the city for their missing comrade was no more than a weekly occurrence.

“Where in tarnation did he run off to?” Applejack asked, poking her head into a bush, “he couldn’a gone too far off.”

“Maybe someone took him home,” Rainbow suggested. “He’s not that bad to look at ya know.”

The group paused, their search halted to have a collective stare at the colorfully vibrant young woman among them. Some of them smiled, some of them blushed, one rolled her eyes, but the one that mattered just dragged her hand down her face.

“I swear Rainbow, sometimes I think yer supposed ta be a guy.” Applejack sighed, shaking her head at her. “It’s true my cousin’s got the family good looks, but last night was all ‘bout business. He ain’t the one ta think with his other head when there’r bigger problems.” Applejack turned around and began walking back towards the castle. “Come on ya’ll!” she yelled, waving her hand. “Maybe there’s a place we ain’t checked yet inside.”

Every member of the unwilling search party groaned. It’d be the fourth time they checked the castle, but something caught the attention of the peppy pink haired girl’s eye. Something that looked like a gentlemen in a cowboy hat.

“I FOUND HIM!” Pinkie pointed, bouncing excitedly, “I FOUND HIM! I FOUND HIM! I-“

“Thanks, Pinkie,” Applejack mumbled, “ya been such a help.”

“Don’t mention it! I love being a ultra-mega-super-duper helper!” Pinkie exclaimed, striking a heroic pose as Cheese looked to her dramatically.

Applejack ignored the show and went straight for Braeburn, wrapping him up in her arms before he got a chance to speak. He tried to return the affection, but before he could Applejack released him and gave him a swift, painful jab on the shoulder.

“Where’d ya run off to last night?!” Applejack yelled as Braeburn rubbed his arm, “We were ‘bout ta call the guard!”

“I’m a big boy, cuz,” Braeburn replied with a chipper smile, “besides; I got us an investor last night.”

“Ya DID?!” Applejack exclaimed, her eyes becoming starry, “Who’d ya manage ta convince?”

“One of the more famous people in the country…” Bareburn replied, halfway daydreaming, “she seems real interested in the apple business.”

“So it’s a SHE?” Applejack said, giving her cousin a devious look, “so you did use some of that rustic charm ya got last night.”

“Ya could say that,” Braeburn said, lowering his head to hide his blush, “but how bout we just head on home now? I’m sure we could all use some rest and relaxation after last night... ‘specially me.”

“What was that cuz?” Applejack asked, squinting her eyes. “Ya say somethin’ after finishing what ya already had ta say?”

“No,” Braeburn said, quickly looking around the rest of the group, “what’re we all standin’ ‘round fer? Let’s get headed home.”

The group all nodded in agreement and began to make their way back to the front of the castle, leaving Braeburn and Applejack far behind. “So how was last night cuz?” Applejack asked, giving Braeburn a light punch on the shoulder.

“It was amazing AJ…” Braeburn said looking to a far off billboard with a certain someone as its model. “I don’t think I’ll have another like her ever again.”