Shining Armor is sitting is his Sedan driving towards Canterlot. He is on his way to visit his sister Twilight, who is about to graduate in two days. Luckily, he could use three days of his vacations from the military academy to get there on Wednesday already. Shining still remembers his own graduation, and the hustle that came with it. There was hardly time to talk with anyone.
He had already wrote lots of mails back and forth with Twilight, passing on what he remembered about organizing everything. But there was something he didn't tell Twilight yet. It's nothing new, but he just feels like now is the time to finally tell her. He just doesn't know how to. And how she and the rest of the family will take it.
His eyes wander over to the GPS. He is only 12 more miles from home. Getting closer, Shining lets out a sigh of relief. He has been driving since early in the morning, and it is almost noon. With a bit luck, he'll arrive there in time for lunch. Stretching behind the wheel, he continues his ride home.
Even with the dense traffic at this time, it doesn't take him more than 15 minutes to reach the small detached house he grew up in. Turning the ignition off, the front door bursts open. Out runs a girl, a good head shorter than him. Her dark blue hair waves as she runs towards her big brother. By the time he left the car, she is already there, throwing him into a hug.
"I missed you big brother!" Twilight squeals in Shining's ears.
"Whoa there Twily," he manages to get out, "I haven't been gone for that long,"
"I know," she says, "But I I'm still happy to see you again,"
Twilight finally lets go of her brother again. Shining Armor takes his suitcase out of the trunk and follows her inside. Putting it down beside the staircase, he enters the kitchen where their mother is standing at the stove. She turn to her son and welcomes him home with a warm hug.
"It's good to see you again Shining," Twilight Velvet says, "And you came just in time for lunch,"
"Good to be back, mom," he replies with the same joy in his voice, "Wouldn't want to miss this for the world,"
"Did your sister tell you about your father yet?" she asks, while taking the pot of the stove and going over to the dinner table.
"Yes, too bad they didn't let him come home for the weekend," Shining answers, taking bowls from the cupboard as he speaks.
Twilight is getting spoons and a ladle from the drawer. Together they all sit down at the table. After giving her mother and brother their spoons, Twilight fills each a bowl of soup. Shining takes a takes a deep nose of the soup. It's his favorite kind: Hungarian goulash.
During the meal, they eventually start talking about Twilight's graduation. He already knew that she was the valedictorian. She mailed him her speech a week ago, only one day after she was given the honor.
"Do you want to come with me to Sweet Apple Acres after lunch?" Twilight asks her brother, "We are doing some preparations for the party there,"
"But what about the preparations for the ceremony?" Shining asks back, "Aren't you the supervisor for those?"
"I am," Twilight answers, "But we had the gym done the first day we were allowed to start decorating,"
"How did you manage to do that? Our organizers couldn't agree on a theme until the last minute,"
"You remember the fall formal from last year?" Twilight asks.
"Sure, you wrote me an entire novel about it," Shining replies jokingly.
"Everyone just worked together like then," she explains, "We only have to check back at the day to get the chairs set up,"
"Well," Shining replies, "If you can wait after I took a shower and changed clothes, I can drive us to Sweet Apple Acres,"
Twilight agrees and they finish lunch, catching up with some of Shining Armor's stories. After they are done, Shining leave for the bathroom upstairs. Taking his suitcase with him, he feels a warmth in his body that only home can create.
Twilight Velvet and her daughter are clearing the table in the meantime. Since Twilight still wears her school clothes, she decides to change as well. Going upstairs to her room, she crosses her brother in the hallway. Holding the towel around his lower body with one hand and carrying the suitcase with the other, he smirk at her as he enters his room. Twilight can't help but notice that the academy had shaped her brothers body even more than what she remembered.
She goes on in her room, picking out something more casual for the preparations on the farm. In the next room, her brother is doing the same. Shining Armor is looking through his clothes. Aside from his military uniform for the formal event, he had also packed academy t-shirts and some other items for the party. For now he chooses to go with the white t-shirts with the academy logo.
Looking into the mirror over the dresser, he fixes his hair before he is finally satisfied with his looks. Stepping out of his room, he sees that Twilight had gone for a similar approach, wearing a Canterlot High blouse. Going downstairs together they say goodbye to their mother and go to Shining's car.
While driving to the farm, Twilight quickly briefs him on today’s plans. They decided to not only set up a stage for a live band, but also planned on practically redecorating entire Sweet Apple Acres. He is a bit doubtful that all those things can be done until Friday. It doesn't take long until they arrive at the farm.
There, three girls are getting boxes from the barn and are stacking them the on empty area in front of the porch. Shining knows them all by their names, but aside from that he didn't have much to with them in the past. He mainly saw them when they were hanging out with Twilight.
There is Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity. Shutting off the engine, they both get out of the car. Walking over to the girls, they are already greets by them.
"Howdy there," Applejack says, putting another box on the ground.
"Hey Girls," Twilight greets them back, "Are those the decorations?"
Rarity is putting down her box and lifts the cover.
"They seem to have a certain charm to them," she says, pulling out some ribbons.
"How many more are there?" Shining asks, looking concerned about the already large amount of boxes.
"Fluttershy is getting the last one," Applejack answers him.
"At least we have a strong guy helping us out," Rarity says with a coquettish smile.
The girls giggle as Shining gets a little red from the comment.
"Where is Pinkie?" Twilight asks, looking around to find her friend.
"Ah' have no idea," Applejack shrugs, "She was supposed to be here already with the stage parts,"
"Let's just start anyways," Twilight says with a little sigh, "The stage wasn't supposed to be assembled before tomorrow anyways,"
"Alright everyone," Applejack says with her hands on her hips, "Fluttershy, you take can take those boxes over there and put the garlands on the fences along the road,"
Fluttershy immediately picks up the box and goes towards the road with a smile on her face.
"But don't get caught up on the horses too much, Fluttershy!" Rarity calls after her.
"You three can take these and spread those ribbons and banners over the trees around the square," she continues to instruct everyone, "Ah'll get the picnic tables set up in the meantime,"
Twilight opens one of the boxes and inspects its content. Inside are drapes in different colors. The bark traces on one side are indicating that they are used to decorate the trunks of the trees. Rarity opens another box and finds different ribbons and other smaller decorations. From what Applejack said, those are supposed to be put into the crowns.
"There's a ladder in the barn for those," Applejack says to Rarity.
"I don't think we'll need a ladder, right darling?" she says to Shining.
"Those trees look pretty tall," he throws in, "We will see,"
"Why don't you start on the other end Twilight?" Rarity suggests, "That way we don't get into the way of each other,"
Twilight nods in agreement and takes the box with her to the other end of the square. Rarity presses the box into Shining's arms before leading him towards the trees surrounding the place. Looking up to the branches, he is already about to turn around and get the ladder Applejack mentioned. But Rarity holds him back.
"Take me on your shoulders," Rarity says to him "So I can reach up there,"
Shining looks at her questioning. He didn't know much about this girl, but he remembered her as a little less enthusiastic when it came to manual labor.
"I could just get the ladder," he retorts.
"Don't be silly," Rarity says with a smile, "This is much faster with you as my human ladder,"
"If you say so," Shining replies and goes down on one knee.
Rarity goes around him and awkwardly climbs on his shoulders. It is a little tricky with the skirt she is wearing. Shining Armor holds her legs tight before slowly standing up. Rarity tucks her feet behind his back and balances herself on his shoulders with that.
She extends her arm to the tree and reaches the branches with ease now. Shining squats to pick up the box with the decorations. Holding them close to his chest, Rarity is able to reach down and grab them. With skilled fingers, she quickly attaches them to the tree.
Shining turns his head and looks over to Twilight on the other side of the square. She seems to have a hard time getting the drapes untangled and tied to the trunks. On the place itself, Applejack had already brought out two picnic tables into the center. Suddenly he feels something warm and squishy pressing against his head. Rarity is bending over him to reach inside the box.
Shining awkwardly pulls his head in like tortoise and lifts the box a bit higher. Despite being able to reach the contents now fairly easy, Rarity's breasts remain on his head longer than necessary. This whole situation suddenly feels very awkward for him.
He tries to focus on the decoration itself and is quick to move to a new spot for Rarity to place ribbons. Every other time she picks something from the box or ties a knot, Rarity leans forward more than she would have to or presses herself against his neck stronger than necessary. Shining does his best to ignore those movements by her until she decides to make it even more awkward for him.
"We should meet on a glass of wine after we are done today," Rarity casually says while rubbing over his back with her foot.
Shining gulps a little, he is not really fond of that idea. On the one hand, he doesn't want to rudely turn Rarity down. But on the other, he has no interest in her advances.
"I'm sure everyone would love to do that," he tries to avoid her actual intent.
He can feel her stiffening up a little on his shoulders.
"Sure," she says, disappointment clearly audible in her voice, "I'll ask the other girl later,"
Rarity continues to pretty up the trees like nothing happened. But she is a lot more reserved now. Focusing more on their work, they soon cross Twilight who finally got all her drapes untangled. She smiles at her brother but raises an eyebrow when she looks up to her friend. She doesn't say something though and just continues with her task.
All in all, it is not very interesting work. It starts to get boring, until a truck honks its horn, driving onto the farm. Everyone turns around to see who is coming. Through the windshield, Shining recognizes another friend of Twilight. Pinkie Pie is parking the truck at the side of the square, jumping out of the cabin in a swift motion.
"Hiya everyone!" she calls, waving her arm towards her friends.
Everyone gathers around her and inspects the load of the truck. In the back are several bars, metal and wooden squares. It looks a lot like the parts for a scaffold.
"What took so long?" Applejack is asks her.
"Principal Celestia was in a conference and I had to wait for her to get out and hand me the key," Pinkie explains.
"Well," Shining Armor says, "Key thing is that you got them at all,"
"Key thing," Pinkie repeats giggling, "I like you brother Twilight. We should keep him around,"
Shining chuckles as well, only now realizing the unintended pun. Twilight looks at her watch.
"I didn't even realize how much time has already passed," she says surprised, "We should come to an end soon,"
"Ah reckon' we can still lay the tables," Applejack suggests, "Decorations look fine to me. The tablecloths are out over there,"
Applejack points to a stack of colorful plastic sheets.
"Ya'll need to do this together," she explains, "they are a bit froward,"
"Will you lend me your hand, Fluttershy?" Rarity immediately asks her friend.
"Sure, Rarity," Fluttershy says with her little voice.
Pinkie Pie grabs herself Applejack and pulls her over to the stack as well. Twilight and Shining are going as too, when suddenly Twilights phone rings. She answers it promptly. Shining can hear that it’s their mother calling. Suddenly, Twilights mood drops. She looks sad and a little disappointed when finally hanging up.
"What did mom want?" Shining asks her carefully.
"She got called in from her office," Twilight sighs, "She has to drive to a client and fix their software,"
"That's not so bad," he tries to cheer her up, "She'll be back in time for your graduation,"
"I don't think so, the client is in Baltimare," Twilight says with a sad smile, "She won't even arrive there before Friday,"
"At least I'm still here," says Shining, taking her into a hug, "Let's just finish our work here for now,"
Twilight nods and they follow the other girls with laying the tables. The plastic covers are putting up some resistance, but with the metal clips, they are finally held in place. While they are working in pairs, Twilight addresses something she noticed earlier.
"What happened with Rarity?" she asks her brother.
"What do you mean?"
"She looked distressed when you were decorating the trees," Twilight says, "Did you say something to her?"
"I don't remember saying anything," Shining lies, avoiding having to explain the situation.
"Huh," Twilight remarks, "weird..."
Since there are not many picnic tables, they are all set up in a timely manner. In the meantime, Big Macintosh had come from orchards, bringing in his daily harvest. The sun is about to go down when they all gather again in the middle of the square. Twilight lists all the things they wanted to prepare. As it turns out, there is only two things left. The stage still needs assembly, together with the setup of the audio system.
"Braeburn arrives with the train tomorrow," Applejack says, addressing Shining, "It would be mighty fine if you could pick him up at eleven,"
"Sure, I can do that," Shining accepts, "then I at least have something to do while Twilight is in school,"
"Perfect! Anyone want to grab a drink?" Applejack asks the girls.
They seem fond of that idea, but can't really decide on a place to go. After a lot of back and forth, Shining suggest taking it to Twilights home and they are able to agree on that. Apparently, Rarity is the only one who came with a car, so they split up in two groups. Twilight, Pinkie and Applejack are riding with Shining Armor, while Applejack goes with Rarity. They get in the car, and Shining starts the engine. They pass the two girl walking towards the exit of Sweet Apple Acres.
"Why didn't Rarity drive up to here as well?" Shining asks a little bit confused.
"Don't be silly, Shiny," Pinkie answers, "The road is waaaay to bumpy for her Bentley,"
That moment, they are passing said car on the road. He looks at it in disbelief. He will never understand how someone could give a teenager such a car. During the ride, the girls are discussing the following day. They are just as nervous as they are excited.
While driving through the empty streets, Shining feels the fatigue grabbing a hold of him and yawns. He can't wait to finally catch a bit sleep. When they arrive at Twilights home, Rarity and Applejack had already caught up to them. Together, they enter the house. Twilight gets her friends some drinks and snack from the kitchen and they all gather in her room.
Shining decides to spend some time with them to get them to know a bit better. But it doesn't take long until he almost falls asleep sitting. Twilight is practically shoving him out of her room, ordering him to get some sleep. Willingly, he complies but can't get around smiling at the fact that it used to be the other way around.
"And don't think of coming back before you got some sleep," Twilight tries to sound commanding.
Holding up his hands while leaving, he plays along. Feeling a little thirsty, he goes back down in kitchen to grab a glass of water. On his way back up, he can hear the girls talking through the door. Unintentionally, he eavesdrops on their conversation.
"...of course Rarity was on him from the first second," he hears Applejack say teasingly.
"And if so?" Rarity answers almost snippy, "He isn't interested anyways,"
"Why do you think so?" Twilight obliviously asks her friend.
"Well," she says with a pause, "I might have asked him to grab a drink with me,"
"I kneeeeww it," Pinkie sings victorious.
"Oh leave it be Pinkie Pie," Rarity replies snappishly.
Shining, shaking his head, is about to move on and finally go to bed when he hears Twilights voice.
"Well, now that you mention it," she begins, "Shining never had a girlfriend before,"
"I saw him with this one girl all the time," Pinkie throws in, "What about her?"
"Do you mean Cadence?" Twilight asks her back, "They were best friends through High School, nothing more"
"Maybe they didn't tell you," Fluttershy chimes into the conversation.
"I think that would've been awkward for Buck," Twilight responds.
Shining Armor thinks back to his time in High School. She was right, he and Cadence never were in love with each other. Not that she wasn't a beautiful girl. But she didn't quite match his likings. The reason they were such good friends might have been their shared interest. For now, he had heard enough. It didn't really feel right to spy on Twilight and her friends that way. He enters his old room and goes to bed. Tired from the long day, he falls asleep almost instantly.
The next day, he awakes at eight am. An unusual time for him ever since he started at the academy. Going down into the kitchen, he finds that Twilight had already left for school. Thinking about what to do all day, he goes back into his room with a pot of steaming coffee.
There was still a paper he had to write for the advanced weaponry class. The 6 page essay on the advantages of different cadences in mounted system would surely keep him busy for a few hours. To not miss picking up Applejacks relative from the train station, he sets an alarm on his phone and starts writing.
Hours pass, before he is stopped by the melody coming from his phone. He puts his papers away and grabs the keys. The train station wasn't that far away, but in the opposite direction of Sweet Apple Acres. On his arrival there, the train did already enter the station early. He had thought about how to recognize the guy he is supposed to pick up without anything but his name.
But now the platform is almost empty again and one passenger stands out from the others. It isn't just his rural clothing that makes him bound to be the person Shining is looking for. There was something else about him. His wild orange and amber hair, the worn out leather vest over the checkered shirt and the hearty smile that was just sitting around on his face.
Shining Armor can feel something on his inside. He had felt similar before, but not as intense as this. He remembers talking with Cadence, and how she described her feelings for Buck. Shining now understands what she tried to wrap into words so many times. And how she couldn't really describe it accurately.
But his feelings are set back a notch when he remembers one crucial thing. Most boys are unlike himself. The chances that Braeburn would ever think of Shining like he does now, are pretty low. For the time being, he decides to just act normally. The moment he starts walking towards the platform, he stumbles into someone. Being so lost in feelings and thoughts, he didn't even notice that Braeburn had come towards him.
"Howdy partner," Braeburn has a thick southern accent, paired with a light baritone voice.
"Uh, Hi" Shining is clearly brought out of his composure, "You're Braeburn? Right?"
"I am," he says enthusiastically, "at least the last time I checked,"
"Applejack sent me to pick you up," Shining mutters out.
"Ya'll need to find your tongue again," Braeburn says, prodding him into the shoulder like an old friend.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Braeburn picks up his luggage.
"Sure," Shining responds, feeling awkward in his presence.
After they load his things into the car, he drives them to Sweet Apple Acres. Braeburn tries to engage in a conversation during the ride, but Shining doesn't really participate. Not because he doesn't want to, but he feels a little shy towards him. As they roll onto the sandy path that leads to the house, they can already see 6 people waiting for them.
The girls from yesterday are joined by another one today. Shining does remember her from his time in High School. She was so engaged in sports that she got onto the nerves of a lot of people during practices. Shining Armor and Braeburn are getting out and join the girls who were just waiting for them to start. Twilight came here with her bike today, directly after school.
Braeburn continues to be the happy nature he had been so far, despite Shining's awkwardness. As it turns out, the girls already know him from a previous get-togethers of the Apple family.
"Your brother here is more the silent type," He says to Twilight with a laugh, "barely got a word out of him,"
"Yeah," Twilight looks at her brother.
She doesn't know him as a shy or quiet nature. Twilight raises an eyebrow at him to which he just responds with a forced smile. She turns to the others again who discuss the placement of the stage already. Listening to their plans, the roles are quickly distributed. They are about to start when a car drives up and honks its horn.
Turning around, they find themselves facing a heavily decaled car with a trailer. A girl with spiky blue hair gets out. She introduces herself as Vinyl and brought the music equipment. Quickly, the roles are updated. Applejack, Rainbow, Shining and Braeburn are left to build the stage while the rest helps with the audio setup.
The four are unloading the truck towards the place where they want to erect the construction. With strong hands, they are quick at work. Applejack and Braeburn are exchanging themselves, and Shining uses it to get to know more about him. With the time, he starts to feel more comfortable around him. His initial shyness is wearing off and he starts to engage into conversation with the boy he so easily fell for.
"Say Braeburn," Shining asks him, "Do you come to Canterlot often, or just to visit sometimes?"
"Hey, it can talk!" Braeburn says, playing overly surprised, "No, I just come here for family events like AJ's Graduation,"
"Only then are we worth a visit," Applejack comments sarcastically while passing with set of bars over her shoulder.
They share a laugh before continuing. As soon as everything is unloaded, they take a closer look at the parts. There are bars and metal squares as well as the floor panels to be laid on top. They are quick to figure out the assembling process and are starting to build the stage, bit by bit.
While they work, Braeburn asks Shining some questions about the academy. He seems to be pretty interested into that topic, despite stating that he would never want to leave his current work. Getting caught up on that part, Shining Armor returns the questions about his background by asking Braeburn on his own.
He take a deep breath before starting to tell about his life in Appleloosa. He goes into a lot of details, really liking to talk about what he does. By the time they are done setting up the stage, Braeburn still didn't finish his stories. Shining doesn't mind though, he feels like he could listen to this smooth voice all day.
Braeburn puts the last floor plate in place, together with Applejacks help. Dash climbs on top of the construction and does a few cartwheels on it to test the stability. Apparently, they did a good job, as nothing falls apart under her athletic moves.
Looking over to the others, they find them to be at a similar state. There is only one set of boxes left with them. Shining guesses that those are the parts that belong on the stage.
Applejack, Rainbow, Braeburn and Shining are sitting down on the edge of the stage. Now that Shining is no longer distracted by the work. His feelings are starting to become more present again. It's not quite like at the train station, but they still confirm his first feelings.
The only thing that is making him worry is if there is even a chance of Braeburn being from the same side of the pond. Shining doesn't really have any experience with men. He never felt like this for someone and didn't engage with anyone either. At this point, he has no idea how to get any further.
He decides to get some advice later. But Cadence is not an option at the moment. She is on a travel to a foreign country and calling her would cost a fortune. His only other option requires him to do something that he probably should have done years ago. He decides to ask Twilight tonight.
The other girls are coming over to them. They have set up speakers and several lights around the square. Vinyl goes over to the box and takes the top off. Under it is an, already set up, DJ desk. She signals Shining Armor and Braeburn to help her with it. Together they heave it up on the platform.
Vinyl takes the cables lying around and plugs them into the setup. It doesn't take long, and everything is finally set up. Applejack rises to speak.
"Ah' really don't want to sound like kickn' ya'll out," she says, "But we have to get done with some farm work today."
"Don't worry darling," Rarity answers, "I'm sure we all have to make some preparations for tomorrow,"
The other girls agree with Rarity, everybody wants to put some final touches on themselves. They say goodbye to each other and get on their way home. Twilight is riding home with her brother, leaving her bike at the farm.
During the ride, she is surprisingly quiet. Shining can sense that there is something going on with his little Sister. She doesn't say anything during the ride, and not even when they are at home. Twilight decides to go and try her robe on again for tomorrow. Shining follows her to her room, standing in the door frame.
"Twily, can I talk with you about something?" he asks her, deciding to no longer push it anymore.
"You mean about Braeburn?" she catches him off guard with her response, going through her clothes.
"No, well, yes - sorta," he tries to find the right words, "How did you figure?"
"Shiny," she turns to him, putting the robe she just picked up aside, "Cadence was my best friend as well,"
"I guess that makes sense," he says more to himself.
"Come one now," Twilight gets back on topic with him, "There is nothing wrong with being gay,"
"You don't mind it?" Shining asks her again.
"I have known this for over 6 years now," Twilight explains to him, "I'm totally okay with that,"
Shining never expected her to be against his choice, but the fear had always been there. Now that he knows her position, a stone is falling from his heart. Now that this got out of the way so easily, he can ask her the real question. But Twilight, once again, is faster than him.
"Let me take a guess," she says, "You want to know if you have any chance with him?"
"You mean he is gay?" Shining sounds hopeful.
"I actually don't know that much of him," Twilight answers honestly, "But I wouldn't get my hopes too high,"
"Do you think I should talk to him?" Shining continues to bombard her with his questions.
"You really have crush on him that hard?"
"I guess,"
"Well, you could just ask him tomorrow at the party," Twilight suggests, "Look at it like this: if he says no, you can still ditch from the party and don't have to see him again,"
"Do you think that's a good idea? I don't want to ruin the party of your graduation."
"You'll be fine. Braeburn seemed to like you as a person,"
Encouraged by her words, Shining decides to take her words to heart and give it a try. Twilight returns to trying on her robe, and Shining goes into his room to put on his uniform. When he returns to Twilight, he finds her in front of the mirror, adjusting her graduate cap.
"Never been prouder of you," Shining compliments her.
"Thanks," Twilight turns around to him, "And look at you! You look slim in that uniform,"
"Thanks," he replies, blushing a little.
Both satisfied with their looks, they change back again. Shining goes back into his room, stopping in front of his suitcase. He goes through the things he packed for the party. In light of the new situation, all of what he packed looks only mediocre to him. Twilight in her room hears her brother sigh. Once again this evening, she goes to help him. Shining was hoping that he could adjust his looks a bit and go for a more country-style approach. But Twilight quickly talks him out of that.
"Do you really want to dress completely different?" she asks him, "Wouldn't you feel weird if he decided to dress in your style?"
"I suppose you're right," he bows to her arguments, "Where did you learn that much about all this anyways?"
"Rarity talks about those things a lot," Twilight explains with a smile.
Shining somehow feels like this is not the whole truth. But after keeping his secret for as long as he did, he figures she deserves to have her own. Even if she knew it all along. After all these discussions, Shining feels the need for a change of topic.
He excuses himself to continue his work on the paper. Twilight decides to do something similar and goes over her speech another time. They both are getting so lost in their works, that it's their hunger that brings them to a stop after several hours.
They eat dinner together, and agree to hit the hay early. Tomorrow is going to be an exhausting day for both of them. Shining lies awake in his bed for several minutes, his thought revolving around the handsome guy, he so easily caught a crush on. A smile is on his face when he finally falls asleep.
Shining Armor wakes up the next morning to the smell of coffee. His sister is down in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Looking at the clock, he finds that its only five am. Twilight must be super nervous if she woke up this early. Shining finally overcomes himself and gets out of bed. Still in his pajama, he enters the kitchen. To his surprise, he finds Twilight with her own cup of coffee in her hands. Usually, she prefers to stay with water.
"Morning," she greets him.
"Morning Twily," he replies before pouring himself a cup as well.
Shining sits down at the table with her.
"How are you doing?" he asks her, "Are you ready for your big day?"
"I think I am," Twilight says with a nervous smile.
"I'm sure everything will go fine," he ensures her, "After all, it was you who planned it."
Twilight chuckles and smiles on his comment.
"Let's hope that accounts for something," she says, taking another sip of her coffee.
Twilight silently spreads some butter on her bread. Eating the slice with only a little salt on top, she tries to silence the numb feeling in her stomach that she had since she woke up. Shining urges her to eat a bit more. He knows the feeling just to well. And being nervous on an empty stomach would not benefit Twilight later on. After they both finished with their meals, Twilight had eaten a bit more. Lazily, she just dump the dishes in the sink.
"Couldn't you sleep?" Shining asks.
"Its not that," she answers with a tired smile, "We girls need a little more time to get ready,"
"We?" he replies.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you," she explains, "Rarity and Fluttershy are coming over in a few minutes,"
Shining Armor rolls his eyes ironically.
"I'll be in my room then," he says.
Twilight laughs lightly.
"You don't have to, we're just going to make hair and makeup,"
"I still have my paper to finish," he says, rubbing his chin.
Like on cue, the doorbell rings. Opening the door for his sister, Shining finds the two girls announced in front of it. He greets them friendly before directing them towards Twilight.
"I'm in my room if you girls need me," Shining says while climbing the stairs.
Back in his room, the paper finishes faster than he thought. Leaning back in his chair, he takes a look at the clock. There is about an hour left until they have to leave. Going over to his sisters room, he knocks on the door.
"Come in," Twilight responds.
"I was just wondering if you need the bathroom, or if I can take a shower," Shining asks, poking his head in though the door.
"We're fine," Rarity answers.
Pulling his head out of the room, he fetches his uniform from his room. After taking the hot shower, he makes himself chic. As he puts on his uniform and straightens the tie, hes starts to feel a nervous about the upcoming party. Thoughts about Braeburn are flooding his mind again. Nervously fumbling with his suit, someone knocks on the door.
"Are you ready yet?" Twilight asks, "We should be leaving in 5 minutes,"
Glancing at his watch in confusion, he checks back with the mirror one last time before joining Twilight downstairs.
"Where are Fluttershy and Rarity?" he asks, looking for them.
"They already left in Rarity's car to pick up Pinkie," Twilight explains, "You look slim big brother,"
"Thanks," he says looking down himself again, "You look stunning as well,"
Twilight looks in her purse one last time, confirming that she's got everything on her.
"Ready to go, Twily?"
Twilight takes a deep breath and straightens her back before answering with a confident yes. Though both are nervous for their very own reasons, the ride goes quietly. Driving up to the building, Shining looks up to the statue in front on, the memories of his schooldays are coming back to his mind. The strolls through the halls, classes with his favorite teacher, making and meeting friends, and also his graduation. But he cant dwell there much longer as Twilight sighs. Looking over to her, he sees Twilight nibbling at her lower lip.
"You can do this," he says patting her leg, "Mom and dad would be so proud if they were here right now,"
"You're right," she forces a smile, "There is nothing to worry about,"
"That's my little sister," Shining cheers at her, "Now lets get you graduated,"
They get out of the car and walk over to the main entrance where Twilights friends are already waiting. Shining Armor looks at Twilight again, and there is no more sign of her nervousness. Looking around the bunch, everyone had put a lot of effort into their looks. Even Rainbow Dash had weaved her hair into a plait.
Unfortunately, Shining and Twilight now have to part ways. While she, together with the others, goes into the building to join the other students, Shining goes around and enters the gym through the visitor entrance. Lots of parents are already there, and with the constant stream of new arrivals, the gym becomes crowded quickly. He has to wait about an hour before finally the procession music starts playing. Everybody stands up while the graduands are entering.
He tries to find his sister in amongst them, but doesn't manage to do so until Principal Celestia calls her on stage to hold her speech. Though he has already read it, he can't help but get emotional at it. Wiping away a tear when she finishes, the crowd applauds her while she goes back to her classmates. Slowly, the ceremony proceeds and one after another, the students get handed their degree by the Principal.
Reaching the letter S, Twilight gets called on stage again. Celestia hands her the scroll and shakes hands with her. Like everyone else, she receives a round of applause. As she walks back, Shining can see a smile on her face, the pressure finally relieved. Getting to the end of the alphabet, the ceremony comes to an end. The national anthem starts playing and the visitors are standing up again while the graduates are leaving in a procession.
The Visitors are leaving shortly after into the court where the graduates are already waiting for them. Twilight is running towards her brother, throwing him into a hug.
"Congratulations!"
"Thanks," she squeals.
A look on his watch reveals that it is already 4 pm.
"Holy moly!" Shining exclaims, "I didn't even realize that it took this long,"
He had planned on taking Twilight for a dinner, but with this little time left to the party there is no way to make both.
"It's okay Shining," Twilight throws in, "We can have the dinner another time with mom and dad,"
"I guess theres that," he says with a sigh.
"Come on," Twilight takes him by his hand, "We should get home and eat something. I'm starving,"
He follows her to his car, and drives them home. They have a simple meal together. Shining is about as nervous as Twilight is happy when she mentions Braeburn again.
"How do you think I should ask him?"
"Good question," she scratches her chin, "Maybe try to catch him alone and test the waters first,"
"I reckon that would be a good idea," he nods, "Shouldn't be too hard to catch a minute with him,"
This time it is him who just stirs around in his food and Twilight convinces him to take a few more bites to gather strength. Complying like she did, he finishes off his plate before putting it with the others in the sink.
"We should get ourselves dressed," Twilight claps her hands enthusiastically.
"Allright,"
They go upstairs and Shining once again looks through the things he has packed. Following Twilight's advice from yesterday, he picks out a turquoise tee and white shirt to openly wear on top, paired with blue jeans. He tries it on and asks Twilight for her opinion.
She approves of it, whilst showing him her lovely blue shaded dress. Shining being done with his attire, goes downstairs to watch some telly while Twilights puts on some final makeup. When she comes downstairs, Shining compliments her on the outcome. They drive over to Sweet Apple Acres.
On their arrival, they see the place already swarmed with people and music is playing calmly in the background. Shining is looking around to see if he can already spot Braeburn. He is bummed to see that he is not around yet. For now they walk over to the table where the drinks are set up.
Twilight picks herself a coke and Shining goes for a beer. Looking at the other tables next to them, they find them stacked with loads of food and snacks. With their drinks in hand, they go over to the picnic tables to sit down for a bit. This is the first real rest they've got since the morning. Collectively, they let out a sigh of relief.
"How does it feel being a graduate?" Shining asks her.
"I don't know," she says, taking a big gulp from her coke, "It feels great to have all this behind me now,"
"The feeling of freedom," he chuckles before taking a sip.
"And what about you?"
"What about me?" Shining puts the bottle down.
"I mean with Braeburn,"
Shining sighs.
"I tried to not think about it too much," He takes a big swig. "But I admit that I'm a bit nervous,"
"A bit?" Twilight asks, raising an eyebrow at him. "Your leg's been shaking more than a jackhammer."
He puts a hand on his leg, stopping it from doing so any further. He smiles back a Twilight, trying to look as confident as possible.
"I'm fine, trust me. Just enjoy yourself today. This day isn't about me, but you."
While they were sitting there, the place had become filled with more and more people, and the music got turned up. All around are happy faces of graduates celebrating themselves. Shining gazes over the crowd and quickly manages to find the one person he was looking for. Braeburn leans on the side of the barn, and with a beer in his hands, he talks to his cousin. He looks around while Applejack is telling him something, nodding towards Shining as they make a short eye contact.
He laughs at something she says, whereupon Applejack turns around, stomping away angrily. Braeburn shrugs, takes a swig, and looks over the crowd again. Shining tries to look away in time, realizing that he had been staring at him this entire time. But before he manges to do so, Braeburn has already caught him and starts walking over. Taking a deep breath, Shining tries to gather some strength for the upcoming conversation.
"Hey," Braeburn says, sitting down across him. "How do you like the party so far?"
"I like it. The music is great," He replies.
"Not really my style if you ask me,"
"How does Applejack enjoy her new 'freedom'?" Shining asks to keep the conversation alive.
"She's loving it," he says, sounding a bit ironic. "More time for her to work on the farm."
"Sorry if it's inappropriate to ask, but what was she so upset about?"
"Oh, you saw that? It was nothing, she just likes to question my life choices whenever she gets the chance to. But mostly she just upsets herself with it."
"You life choices?" Shining asks confused. "Do you want to stop being a farmer?"
Braeburn laughs at his his assumption, shaking his head to answer the question with a no.
"I love my job," He replies verbally. "It's just she can't accept what else I love."
Shining freezes in his spot. There is a chance, a small but existent chance that it means what he hopes it does. The glimmer of hope he had this morning is rising to a fire. He can feel his leg starting shake again as he decides to further test the waters.
"And by that you mean --" He begins asking, before being interrupted by him.
"Men," Braeburn says.
Shining's leg freezes in place again. Not because of relief, but because the first question has been replace by another one. Does he also like him? He feels like sitting in a roller coaster that is about to drop.
"Twilight was really okay with it when she found out," Shining says, pushing the cart a bit further.
"It's not everyday that I meet someone like me," Braeburn responds with an elevated interest in his voice. "When did you find out about yourself?"
"It was in school, when we had sex ed," Shining starts to tell. "I didn't really feel anything when I looked at the vaginas in the books. But the penises made me feel weird. My best friend really helped me a lot when I discovered that side on myself."
"Going into it with full speed, eh?" Braeburn winks at him.
"No, not helped like that. My best friend was a girl,"
"When did you have your first boyfriend then?" Braeburn asks, getting more and more curious.
"I never came across someone," Shining admits, still hesitant to fully commit.
"Never?" He raises an eyebrow at him. "Not once?"
Braeburn reaches for Shining's fingers. They twitch on contact with his warm hands. Braeburn's palms are running over the back of his hands. His smooth and soft skin is slowly working its way down to his wrists. Goosebumps form on his forearm. The warmth Shining feels not only comes from his hands themselves, but from within. Turning his hands, Shining grabs Braeburn's before looking up to him.
"I was a little dishonest with you," He says to him. "I did come across someone, but I never asked that person. I thought maybe he wouldn't like me,"
"Well that explains your behaviour on the train station," Braeburn laughs lightly. "It makes so much more sense now."
"It feels so weird to sit here with you and actually talk about it,"
Braeburn massages his hands, rubbing his thumbs over the backs of them.
"How does this make you feel?" He asks with a sheepish smile.
"Good," Shining unconsciously bites his lower lip.
"Why don't you come inside with me," Braeburn says in a salacious tone. "And I'll show you some other feelings too."
Shining thinks about it for a second. It's all going a nudge too fast for him to fully comprehend the moment. But since this practically what he wanted to happen, he chooses to go with him. Before leaving the table, he looks around to see if he can find Twilight. Quickly, he spots her over with her friends, whose backs are turned towards Shining and Braeburn.
If she would look back at him, she'd see a broad smile on his face. But Twilight isn't his main concern now. Getting lead by Braeburn's hand, he ends up in one of the bedrooms on the first floor with him. They sit down on the edge of the bed.
"How many boyfriends did you have?" Shining asks a bit nervous.
"Not that many," He replies. "They are not exactly easy to come by as you know."
"What was it that you wanted to show me?"
Instead of answering him, Braeburn moves himself closer to him before taking Shining's head into his hands. His warm palms are burning on his cheeks, but it's getting overwhelmed quickly by Braeburn's lips pressing against his own. Their soft texture is molding against his own while he release his breath that he didn't realize he was holding.
The feeling is nothing like he imagined. Not dry and bland, but salty and exciting. Shining's excitement turns into lust as he answers the kiss by wrapping his hands around Braeburn's back. After remaining in this position for a moment, Braeburn is the one to disconnect from the kiss and take his hands off Shining.
"How is this for a start?" Braeburn asks teasingly.
"I want more,"
He smiles. This was the answer he had hoped for. While moving in for another kiss, he places a hand on Shining's chest. Moving his hand to explore what lingers beneath the cloth, he finds the toned body of the cadet. Shining notices something wet pressing against his lips.
Following the example, he answers with his own tongue, letting them play with each other. While they're kissing, Shining starts to explore Braeburn's body as well. Moving his hand down from his head over his shoulders and onto his chest, he finds the results of years of hard work on the fields.
When their heads finally part, there is a string of saliva connecting them. Braeburn reaches down to the hem of his shirt and removes it while Shining does the same. Admiring each others body, it is Braeburn again who makes the next move. He places his hands on Shining's hips an brings his body closer to him. Their bodies are rubbing against each other, only separated by Braeburn's hand.
Shining starts to pant against his ear as the warm body of his lover grinds against his own. Braeburn's hand starts to move again, this time downwards. It rests on the bulge in Shining's jeans, gently stroking over his still hidden member. Shining inhales sharply and can feel his length twitching inside his pants, begging to be freed.
Braeburn answers it by unbuttoning Shining's pants and sliding the zipper down. Being limited by Shining's sitting position, he leans forward and presses him onto the sheets. Quickly, he lets his hand slide into his boxers, looking into Shining's face to see every reaction. Shining, lying with his eyes closed, enjoys every touch of the Adonis next to him. Shining's breath quickens as Braeburn fumbles with his length, pulling it out of his underwear.
He soon succeeds and Braeburn turn his head to inspect Shining's member. It lies there thick and slightly reddened from excitement and lust, the tip peeking out of the foreskin, and just begging to be taken care of. Braeburn lets his hand slide along the it, letting the foreskin slide off and on his glans. A drop of pre-cum forms at the tip, sparkling like a diamond in the dim light of the room.
Shining opens his eyes again, looking at Braeburn moving his body off the bed. Supporting himself on his elbows, he follows his movement with his eyes. Braeburn kneels down in front of the bed, reaching down to Shining's feet. After untying his shoes, he takes them off together with Shining's pants and underwear. Shining is now lying there only with his socks on.
Moving between Shining's legs, Braeburn's length is still lying on his belly. He takes it in his hands again, gently stroking along the smooth skin. Shining looks up from his own member, into Braeburn's face. He finds him lustfully gazing at his length, licking over his lips in anticipation of his next move.
Braeburn brings his head down and forward and licks over Shining's glans, collecting the droplet like a prize. Tasting it for a moment, he licks his lips once more before using them to surround the tip. Shining throws his head back, moaning from the sudden sensation that is tingling through his body.
His member throbs under the caressing, asking Braeburn to go further. He follows the unspoken request and lowers his head a bit more. The entire tip is now in his mouth and he lets his tongue dance around it in circles. The feeling robs Shining of all his power to support himself and he falls back into the sheets. Braeburn looks up to him, pleased with this positive response. Deciding to up the ante, he bobs his head a little while continuously stroking the lower half.
His saliva is lubing his hands to make the strokes even more pleasant. Shining can hardly contain himself anymore. The feelings are overwhelming and every new move of Braeburn pushes him even further. Braeburn can see the pearls of sweat forming on Shining's naked body as his back arches from pleasure. To give him a moment to catch his breath, Braeburn takes his length out of his mouth.
"How are you liking it so far?" He asks him with a cheeky smile.
"Indescribable," He manages to get out between breaths.
"Let's not waste any time than,"
Instead of going back for the tip, Braeburn licks down his length, all they way down to his balls. Taking them into his mouth, he gently suckles at them. Shining, who is able to support himself again, is looking down himself, watching Braeburn's actions. All this time, Braeburn hadn't stopped stroking him with his hand, only slowed a little.
Now he picks up the pace again, pressing his thump against the shaft to create a more intense feeling. Blood is pumping more and more wildly through Shining's member, making it throb in Braeburn's hand. Letting go of his balls, Braeburn licks up the length again, his tongue swirling around the tip. He flicks over it a few times before letting Shining's length slide into his mouth. Trying to to take as much as possible, he finds himself unable to take it as a whole.
Feeling his member rubbing against the back of his throat, Shining grunts as he gets closer and closer to the edge. He would love for this to go on forever, but Braeburn thinks otherwise as he starts sucking while pulling his head back up a bit. With the glans now in reach for his tongue again, Braeburn lets it dance around it in a fast manner while stroking the lower part with his hand.
The warmth and texture of his tongue, rubbing vigorously over every spot on his member, his soft fingers, wrapped around his shaft. All this is going through Shining's mind. Suddenly, an electric spark is running through his body while his back arches. Unwillingly thrusting his member deeper into Braeburn's mouth, he cums intensely.
The semen is shooting down his throat and Braeburn doing his best to swallow as much as he can. Shining collapses back onto the sheets once again, letting out a long sigh of relief. It completely exhausted him, and he can barely keep his eyes open as Braeburn lies down next to him again.
A broad smile is on his face, having caused his friend such a pleasure was a huge experience for himself as well. Not many had reacted to him in that way and it makes him feel a warmth inside that only the right partner can invoke. He would have loved for Shining to return the favor, but his eyes are now fully closed as he fell asleep from exhaustion.
Putting Shining's legs onto the bed and managing to pull out the blanket from beneath him, he snuggles up to his side. With the blanket lying lightly over their bodies, they are in for a sound sleep.
Waking up the next morning, Shining finds himself in the arms of Braeburn. The memories of the past night are coming back to his mind and a warm feeling is spreading in his body again. Looking over his shoulder to see his face again, he wakes Braeburn up with his movement.
"Good Morning," Braeburn greets him smiling.
"Hi," Shining replies, turning towards him, "Sorry I couldn't repay you yesterday, you just blew me away."
"I must say, I've never had someone react like you did," Braeburn says, "Maybe tonight you can show me your skills."
"I'd love to, but I have to leave today and drive back to the academy," Shining says with sadness in his voice, "They only gave me these few days off."
"Oh Bummer. But then we should make the best out of the rest of our time, eh?" He replies, jumping out of the bed and throwing Shining his clothes.
They both are getting dressed and Braeburn is already leaving the room when Shining remembers his sister.
"Do you know if Twilight stayed here?" He asks.
"I don't, but if she did, she's probably sleeping in AJ's room," Braeburn points with his finger to the door across the room.
Shining goes over and knock, while Braeburn already makes his way downstairs. No one answered after several knocks, so Shining carefully opens the door a bit to see if Twilight is in there. He doesn't see her inside, but what he sees is astonishing him. Carefully not to be noticed, he closes the door again and joins Braeburn downstairs. After grabbing a quick breakfast, they take Shining's car and drive to a spot Braeburn remembered from an earlier visit. They spend the day there, talking with each other about themselves and how they could meet again.
"Maybe after the summer? That's when out academy is having giving us holidays," Shining proposes.
"That's a long time..." Braeburn throws in. "But maybe I can squeeze in a visit to your boot camp."
"We'll see..." Shining gazes into the distance. "I think we need to go. It's getting late and I need pack some things."
"Do you think you could drop me off at the train station?" Braeburn asks. "I might as well leave now and spare the drama with Applejack."
"Sure. Do you think she knows about it?"
"She is a clever girl, you know. Such a pity that she's so close minded." Braeburn gets up from the bench they were sitting on.
"Maybe, we'll see," Shining follows him to the car.
They drive off and only make a short stop at Sweet Apple Acres. Braeburn tries to grab his suitcase without being noticed, but Applejack catches him as he walks out the front door.
"Heya, ya'll didn't wanna leave without sayin' goodbye?" She asks her cousin.
"Thought you were still asleep, Cousin," Braeburn explains.
"Mind if I come with you to the station?" She them him.
"Shining is driving me there, so you would be stuck there," He replies
"Granny and Applebloom are there," Applejack says. "There's a market nearby where we're selling apples today."
"Well hop in then," Braeburn offers, but not without a slight undertone in his voice.
The ride to the station goes quiet. It seems like she is hungover from yesterday, which would explain what Shining saw earlier in her room. Soon they arrive at the train station, and get out of the car. Looking at the timetable, they find that Braeburn's train is the one in already in the station and will leave in about 7 minutes.
He takes his suitcase out of the trunk and moves over to the platform. Applejack hugs him before he enters the wagon and after putting his case down inside, he leans outside again and pulls Shining to him by the shirt and presses his lips against his. Receiving a French kiss for a solid 10 seconds, Shining can feel the disgruntlement of Applejack next to him and as soon as they part, she bursts.
"Really Braeburn?" She almost fully yells at him. "Just to piss me off?"
"You don't understand it do you?" He asks before looking Shining into the eyes. "I really like this guy."
Shining turns to Applejack with a smirk grin.
"Are you really in the position to say that?" He asks her.
"What do you mean?" Applejack asks him nervously.
"I'm talking about you and Rainbow cuddling naked,"
Applejack's face turns beet red.
"I, we--" Without finishing, she turns around and storms off.
"Really?" Braeburn asks Shining with disbelief in his voice, barely containing a giggle.
"I accidentally walked into them this morning," He explains. "I guess they drank a little too much yesterday,"
The train toots is horn and the doors are about to close. Braeburn manages to give Shining a last peck before he has to step into the wagon. The doors are closing and shortly after, the train starts rolling out of the station. Shining waves from the platform while Braeburn leaves him for an uncertain time.
Looking after the train and the trail of smoke it leaves, a certain sadness overcomes him. Turning around to leave, a tear runs down his cheek from having to part with Braeburn and being along again after two days of happiness. But there is still the future he can look forward to. And that is what he is holding on as he gets into his car and drives off to return home.
The end.
