Golden feathers

''Common Soar! Ah need ya'll to help me'h on choosing a place for the wedding!'' Braeburn yelled at the blue pegasus as the other was making flips and twirls in the air.

He felt annoyed. He was extremely tired cause of the lack of sleep he was having. He had basically told his whole childhood life to Soar last night. Now it felt like they were brothers. He was the only one who knew his secret. They made a promise to not talk about it anymore and act like Soar didn't know. It was just easier this way.

His thoughts were thrown away when the pegasus replied.

''Sorry Brae! Maybe later! I gotta get in shape for my next show!''

Braeburn just rolled his eyes. He understood that the pegasus worked harder on his flying than he had thought, but he still saw it as just an entertaining sport. Kinda like hoofball or tennis.

''Hold on... Brae, you want me to stay right?''

''Ah don't want ya'll to stay, ah just need ya'll to stay or else that friend of ya'lls will kill me'' He replied with a chuckle at the thought of Spitfire strangling him to death.

Now it was Soar's turn to roll his eyes. He chose to ignore that comment and just get to the point. ''Well... Why don't you come see my show?''

''Pardon?''

''Dude! You should totally come see my show! You can still make it to Canterlot in time if you catch the next train!''

''Wha? Theres no way ah'm goin' all the way to Canterlot!''

''It's either the train or i'll fly you there myself by force!''

''Ah'll go buy a ticket now... Just keep those wings away from me'h''

Soarin grinned happily. Braeburn secretly actually wanted to go see what the big fuss was about, but there was no way he would ever admit that to Soar.

The train ride was so boring. It was a long way, but he still couldn't get even a bit of sleep. He wasn't normally the traveling type of pony. He had never been to a big city like Canterlot so he almost completely freaked out when he saw the tall buildings. He yelped as he felt a sudden tap on his shoulder.

''Calm down dude. I passed the train a long time ago and was here way before you'' he said with a wink as he extended his blue wings to show them off.

Out of nowhere he grabbed tight hold of Brae again and flung both of them up into the air.

''SOARIN! Ah could just walk there while you flew!!''

''Are you kidding me? You're body is so sexy that you would become a celebrity like me just from walking down the main road once!'' he replied as he teasingly winked and held his tongue out. ''Besides... I quite like holding you like this''

Braeburn's face lit into an even brighter shade of red as the Wonderbolt held him tighter and breathed his warm breath onto Brae's neck.

''Haha, sorry Brae, you know i'm just joking around. You don't have to be so shy around me''

Brae pulled one of his hooves loose from the others grip and pulled his hat across his face. He hated it when the feathered pony apologized. Not because he thought the pegasus didn't mean it... No, it was the opposite.

He didn't like how Soarin managed to be attractive and funny but he also always had the ability to calm you down right before you thought you were gonna snap. Everything about him was just so... perfect... So why the hay is he hangin' out with somepony like ma'h? brae thought more than once.

Brae pulled his hat even lower on his face to cover his blush. He felt butterflies in his stomach as they finally began to land. Soar placed his hooves on the ground perfectly and caught Braeburn who just had tripped and was going to fall.

''Uh... thanks partner'' he said, hoping that his face has finally cooled down a bit. Soar just gave him a smile and walked towards a large stadium. Brae had seen it on pictures, but he never realized it was this MASSIVE! Brae followed him as he opened up a back door with a keycard that he had in one of the saddlebags he had taken.

They both stepped in and were faced by a large light yellow corridor. Soar walked a few steps and used the keycard again to open the second door on the right.

''Here we are!''

''Where exactly is here?''

''This is my private room. I used to be in the public dressing room with all of the other Wonderbolts until they made me my own room cause i'm the co-captain of team A and one for Spitfire too since she's the full captain''

Brae raised an eyebrow and took a look around. There was allot of dark blue furniture and the walls were all light blue. There was a huge couch in the corner of the room with a large lightning bolt with wings on it, a radio on a desk and many treadmills and other sports equipment. He even had his own shower room!

Soar caught Brae's attention when he dropped his saddlebags on the floor and took out some sort of blue fabric.

''Give me a sec ok? I'll be quick'' he said before dashing into the shower room to change.

A few minutes later Brae heard the door open and he turned around to look at Soar. His eyes widened when he saw the other in his Wonderbolts suit for the first time. He expected it to be more... Showoff-y? But this actually looked kinda appropriate.

''I'm ready, common dude, lets find you a seat in the crowd''

''Don't ah need a ticket or something'?''

''Nope! On the house for my handsome friend'' he said with another wink. Brae just rolled his eyes.

''WHAT?! No blush this time?!'' Soarin yelled out in a terrified voice. ''I guess I gotta try harder to get that adorable red face of yours in sight'' he told himself in a suspicious voice.

Braeburn just smiled for a second at the thought of what he might do, then when his thoughts turned a bit dirtier his face blushed red immediately and he smacked himself.

''Haha!'' Soarin laughed in a cheerful voice that made Brae smile again. ''Common dude, lets get going''

The stadium seemed even more massive on the inside! Soar had led Brae through a hidden door to not get too much attention since Soarin was famous and all.

Brae stepped into a medium-sized room with a red carpet and dark gray walls. The room looked modern and had only three walls, the last wall was replaced with a balcony, where you could watch the show from. The mares in the room had huge dresses and fancy jewelry while the colts had tall hats and different colored ties neatly on their necks. One of the colts even had a monocle. Brae noticed a large sign with golden letters saying V.I.P-Very Important Ponies.

Brae's eyes widened. ''Why am ah standin' in a V.I.P room?''

''Cuz a special pony like you needs a special seat'' Soar commented with a chuckle. Brae rolled his eyes.

''But ah don't fit in. These ponies won't like me'h''

''Do you care?''

''Not really...''

''Good... now I gotta go... Grab any free seat you want, the show will begin in five minutes. Make sure you cheer for me'' he said with a wink as he pulled his goggles down from his forehead to cover his eyes to get ready.

''Good luck partner''

Soar gave him one last smile before walking towards the door they came from.

Suddenly Brae's ears perked up when he heard horns being played. The crowd went wild with cheers. Only the sophisticated ponies around Brae stayed quiet and just gave each other a few smiles and nods as the show began. He felt really out of place, but he tried to ignore it.

Sparks blasted by the stage as Brae could see three ponies in the same blue costume that he saw Soarin wear earlier flying out of the smoke that the sparks had created. Brae had chosen a great seat that allowed him to easily recognize the flaming mane of spitfire. He also saw a pony with a bright yellow mane and white fur peeking out. She seemed to fit the description of Surprise, who Soarin had told him about. Braeburn glared at the pony. She looked exactly like one of his cousins best friends, but with wings and different colors. Even the cutiemark matched!

Braes thoughts melted when he saw a blue pegasus speeding up from the smoke. Soarin was so easy to identify. Ponies were still blasting up from the smoke. Finally there were six ponies with wings doing their own special dance with the wind, but Soarin still seemed to be sort of... different. His movements seemed cleaner and less predictable. His mane was flipping and twirling everywhere in the wind. As much as Brae didn't want to admit it to himself, Soar really did look attractive in that suit.

Braeburn's eyes widened when he saw every single one of the Wonderbolts split into two groups and fly around in loops and difficult complicated shapes in a mirrored motion. Everything was so perfectly balanced. Finally the two groups broke away from each other and they all did a extremely speedy twirl that made the color of their tails leave a quick dash on color into the sky. Brae stared at Soarin, who let his dark blue line follow him as he made super fast and unpredictable movements in the air. Brae suddenly stood up from his seat and gave a loud cheer when Soarin did a quick dash down and then up again. Brae could swear that he saw Soar smile at his cheer as he flew in extreme speed right past the V.I.P balcony.

Brae looked around himself and got a load of annoyed looks. He blushed and sat back down. He stayed quiet and watched the show. His green eyes were shining at the wonderful things he could see happening in the sky. He wasn't watching the whole show tho. His eyes focused on one certain blue pony. He smiled widely when he saw Soar glide with his back towards the ground. Then suddenly with no warning he wrapped his wings, let himself fall down and the catch flight in the last second. Repeating the process Brae had much difficulty to stay quiet. He soon let out another cheer and chose to not feel embarrassed about it.

He joined everypony else with many cheers for the rest of the amazing show. It didn't matter how many ponies didn't like it, he didn't care. He was there to enjoy the show and cheer on his friend.

''OOH OOH! And do ya remember that flip? The speedy one? That was AMAZIN'! Oh, and I LOVED the finishin' pose ya had! Where'd ya'll get the money for the fireworks? And WOW! That fifth drop was ESPECIALLY low!''

Soarin chuckled ''Hold on... You actually counted my drops-and-flows? Even my superfans don't do that''

''Yea well, ah was paying attention...''

''And did you even look at any Wonderbolt besides me?''

''Of corse ah-'' Brae didn't finish. He realized that the other was right. He had hardly paid any attention to when the other winged ponies were doing. His thoughts were always on Soar.

Soar noticed the sudden discomfort and tried to change the subject quickly. ''I'm glad you liked the show Brae, but I beg you... Please don't turn into an extreme stalker-fan'' he said with a chuckle and then grinned. ''Tho that could be nice in a way...''

Brae's face flushed red when the pegasus said that as he placed his wing on the others back. His warm breath made Brae's ear feel all tingly. The blue pony began to laugh at the others funny face, but Brae's face didn't cool down. Not this time.

''Haha, common Brae. You know I would never do that to you'' the winged pony relied with a tiny bit of worry in his voice.

Brae turned his head away from the other. The park looked nice. The wooden bench they were relaxing on had finally warmed up and he could see white strains of light behind the trees from Luna's moon. His head was spinning from the bar they had gone to earlier that day right after the show. He wasn't sure if he was drunk or not, but he didn't care.

Braeburn was deep in his own thoughts again. The last thing his friend had said was now in his mind. What if I... he shook his head. From the strange and confusing thoughts he was having he was pretty sure he was drunk, but why did he not feel drunk then? He pulled down his hat. Memories of his childhood were coming back to him but he tried his best to block them.

''Umm... Brae?''

''Hm?'' Brae felt his friends feathery wing move a tiny bit behind his back, but it still stayed in place, keeping Braeburn nice and warm. He never got this kind of warmth from his father... He bit his lower lip, trying to forget every single bit of his awful memories.

''Are you okay? You seem a bit quiet...''

Ah never got this kind of concern from ma'h pa Braeburn thought, biting his lip even harder.

''You can tell me anything you know...''

No... A'h can't... Ah must be strong, especially in front of this strong, muscly, sexy, smart and kind celebrity. Ah must try and stay strong

''Brae... I wanna help you''

No.... Nononono... He probably just wants to tell someone and make fun of me'h. Just like ma'h pa

''Listen... buddy... you have turned out to be very important to me... You're not just a stranger I crashed into''

He probably hates me'h. His like ma'h pa, or even worse

''You're not just a random pony who I have to plan a friends wedding with''

He will totally ditch me'h right after the weddin' and never talk to me'h again

''But still, I can't call you a friend...''

Ah knew it. So why does it still hurt? Ah was prepared for this and ah still feel like at just got stabbed

''Cause you're more than that...''

HehatesmeHehatesmeHehatesmeHehatesmeHehatesmeHehatesmeHehatesmeHehatesmeHehatesme

''You're my best friend''

Brae's eyes struck open wide. His heart was pounding.

What?! No... His just sayin' that to know... uh... Ah'm not sure what, but he certainly just wants to know... something

''And i'll do anything I can...''

He hates me

''To make you feel better cause...''

No...

''I care a lot for you Brae-Brae''

Braeburn stared at the others smile. His face was kind. It didn't look fake. Brae had a hard time trying to trust him since he was grown up with only one rule: don't trust anyone, but this was the last straw. He had now stuck right over the limit. He felt a slight taste of blood from his lower lip that he had bit so hard, but he didn't care. He was here and now.

The full moon was giving him just enough light to see where he had to throw his hooves to grab the others head. With no warning he quickly threw his lips on the others. He didn't do it like he had seen it on the movies. Their kiss was gentle. They kept their tongues locked in their own mouthes and just enjoyed the others warmth.

It was so magical. But also so painful. Brae opened his eyes just a tiny bit to see the others shocked face staring into his eyes. Braeburn knew he looked terrible. He knew he had black circles around his eyes, he felt sick from the earlier alcohol, he was rubbing blood from his yellow muzzle onto the others and he soon felt tears coming from his tired green eyes. It was so painful to fight with everything you had even been taught. Finally Soarin pulled away when he noticed the others tears.

Brae saw Soarin open his mouth and close it again various times, but no sound would come out.

''Soar?'' Brae said with a weak voice.

''Y... Yea?'' were the first works the pegasus could squeeze out.

''When we get back to the farm, ah'll make ya'll some pie...'' is the last thing the farm pony could say before fainting either from the sickness, pain or just tiredness.