Sensation - Las Pegasus

Thursday night. We sat at a small table in the giant theater. It wasn’t like any movie theater you’ve seen, though. The ceilings were higher, the art was fancier, and instead of rows of seats, the floor was broken up into three tiers with tables and chairs, like a restaurant. They were those little round tables with the white tablecloths that you see at weddings sometimes, complete with all the candlelight and fancy silverware you could want. Great place for a date, especially with how dark it was.

The gem lamps were dimmed, casting the whole area in a warm, red glow. The band played a fast, tense song, and it had the audience on the edge of their seats.

A single spotlight shone on the main stage, where an earth pony balanced on one back hoof. He was sweating, but I couldn’t blame him - on his chin was a large, four-legged dinner table, balancing right on the corner. On top of that, he’d tossed a chair that looked wobbly, but managed to stay in place. And on top of that, he’d managed to perfectly balance a vase full of water and a single flower. He didn’t spill a drop. In his left hoof, an assistant had draped a tablecloth, and in his right hoof, he held a set of silverware.

Braeburn, wearing the tight, pink button-up shirt I’d bought him, leaned over the table, almost knocking over his water glass. He tugged on my cuffs – black shirt, same sexy style, fit like a dream – and whispered sideways to me, not taking his eyes off the performer, “No way he’s gonna do it. Right, Soarin’?”

I nudged him and whispered back, “Just watch.”

The crowd grew still as the wobbling abruptly stopped. The performer let out a deep breath, and, in the blink of an eye, flicked his head up and back. The table, the chair, and the vase flew upward. He whirled the tablecloth around in his hoof. The table landed squarely in front of him. He swiped at it with each hoof, setting the tablecloth and silverware perfectly just as the chair landed with a thud behind him. He grabbed it and scooted into the table while the vase landed with the flower facing the audience.

The performer cleared his throat, looked off stage, raised a hoof, and quietly called, “Waiter?”

The crowd erupted in stomps and hoots and whistling, Braeburn especially. He was up out of his seat with a “Yee-haw!” faster than anypony, not caring that he’d almost knocked the table over The smile on his face shone like white gold.

Me? I couldn’t have cared less about the show. I’d seen a million like it before, but my heart beat faster and I found myself cheering right along with him. It didn’t matter how much I was enjoying the show. He was enjoying it, and he wasn’t worrying about anything else in the world. That was enough for me.

The crowd settled down. Braeburn was the last one to take his seat. He shook his head, still staring as the spotlight went down on the performer. “Can you believe it? Wow!” He looked over to me. “That’s somethin’ else. Never coulda done that myself. Didn’t see any magic on anything, either!”

His eyes met mine. “Thanks, Big Blue. This has been an awful nice night.”

I was barely listening. I was too busy drinking in his happiness. “You’re welcome.”

“I’m serious!” His voice was sterner, but still pretty bouncy. “Never even dreamed of seein’ somethin’ like this, least of all with such a fancy meal.” He gestured to the messy table of sauces and dirty plates. “Never had a dumpling feast before. What was in that honeybee-shaped one?”

I sucked the remains of the dumpling out of my teeth. The whole meal had been a bunch of them, plate after plate of dishes that were as good to look at as they were to eat. Each dumpling had been shaped like the thing inside it. They’d just brought out a few dessert ones – honeybees with sesame seed eyes next to flower-shaped ones that smelled like lavender and vanilla. Of course, the bees tasted like honey, but that wasn’t all. I ran my tongue over my teeth again, trying to figure it out. “Honey and… walnuts, I think?”

Braeburn cast a quick glance around the room. Most of the other couples in the theater were distracted by the emcee on stage. When Braeburn realized nopony was looking, he leaned over to me. “Well, we should probably be sure.”

He closed his eyes and wrapped a hoof around the back of my neck. The next thing I felt was his tongue running along the inside of my mouth. I could have resisted the incredibly sexy stallion kissing me out of nowhere, but, well, would you?

After I’d moaned into his mouth for a few moments, he pulled back and licked his lips. “Nah, must be pecans.”

My head cocked to the side. “What?” I’d totally forgotten what we’d been talking about.

The emcee was in another ridiculous suit – flower print with sequins everywhere. He gave that big, cheesy smile of his with teeth the size of piano keys. “Wasn’t Focus Hoof great, folks? That’s what I call a well-balanced dinner, ahahaha! And don’t get out of your seats yet, because we’ve saved the best for last!”

He was wrong, of course. The best wasn’t on stage or about to perform. The best was right next to me, leaning forward and smiling broadly.

His green eyes shone even in the dark, and his hoof trembled a little, making the plates rattle. I reached over and brought his hoof to my face for a quick kiss while the emcee babbled on.

Braeburn turned to me again. “What was that one for?”

It was a good question. Maybe it was because I felt guilty. After all, we were only hiding out in Las Pegasus because I’d screwed up and gotten him mixed up in a giant media scandal. Maybe it was for all the times I’d yelled at him when he hadn’t deserved it. Or maybe it was because I wanted him to feel good.

But no, I think the real reason was just, “Because I like you.”

I’d put him through so much bullshit in those days, and if I’d been him, I might have left long before we’d even made it to Las Pegasus. He hadn’t left, though. He’d stayed and traveled with me and given me more chances than I’d deserved. I wanted to say more, but kissing his hoof felt like it was saying it all. And that felt good.

Braeburn narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re thinkin’ about my ass again, ain’t ya’?”

I mean, I hadn’t been, but… “Maaaaaabye.”

I kissed his hoof again and lowered my voice. “And you should be, too. It’ll need to be ready for tonight.”

Braeburn smiled that warm smile of his. His head cocked back a little. “Well…” He trailed off as the show started up.

The last act was spectacular. There were fire twirlers, acrobatics, stunt fliers, wild animals, and so much more. It was almost too much to take in at once. That’s probably what they want, though. That way, you have to keep coming back to the show over and over again.

After it finished, it didn’t take long to spill out onto the streets and into the cool, arid Las Pegasus night. The bubbling mass of tourists drunkenly staggered around the streets. They were just soaking it all in, and everypony was yelling just to be heard.

Not Braeburn, though. I stumbled a little when I realized how silent he was. His head was tilted slightly upward. That whole week we’d been in the city, he’d been gushing about everything we’d seen.

I smirked and bumped into him. “You know, I could probably have joined that show. Really brought it up a notch. What do you think?”

“Hm?” He turned towards me. “Aw, you’d have been great! Amazing stuff. Really.” After a little nod, he faced forward again, staring off into space.

He wasn’t babbling like he was supposed to. He wasn’t bouncing up and down like after the living statue pony or shuddering like after the strip club. He was stoic.

“Yeah, it was great.” A thought hit me, and my heart sank. My words came out small and hesitant. “You… didn’t like it, did you?”

“Oh!” Braeburn stopped in his tracks. He stuck his face under my jaw and nuzzled me quickly. My teeth snapped together, but the warm feeling made me ignore the pain. He kissed my cheek. “Naw, it’s not that, Big Blue. I’m just a little distracted, I guess.”

“By the big, sexy stallion you’re walking around with?”

“Heh heh. Well, in a manner of speaking…”

I dove under his foreleg, scooped him up, and pinned him with his back against the wall of a shady-looking bar. “Then why wait?” I whispered into his ear.

Braeburn blushed and squirmed in my grasp. “Oh, you get off me.” He pushed away, stifling a snicker.

“What?” I playfully whined as I stepped back. “I know you haven’t done it with a bunch of ponies watching you before.” I raised an eyebrow. “Why not try something new?”

His voice got warmer. “That’s just it, Big Blue. I’ve been doin’ nothin’ but try new things all week. And it’s all wonderful, but…”

I took a step closer. “But what?”

“Well…” He looked up into my eyes. “I was thinkin’ maybe… maybe I could return the favor.”

My eyes opened wide. A twisted smile spread across my face. “Oh, I get it. I’m boooring, right?” He knew I was kidding.

“Oh, hush,” he spat, jabbing me on the shoulder. “I’m…” He looked around again. “I just want to show you a good time. You’ve been so nice to me all week, and I never thought I’d get to spend so much time in a big fancy hotel or seeing all the roller coasters or all these fancy shows or anything!”

There was my Braeburn, with his mouth going off at a million miles an hour.

“You’ve been showing me everything around here, and I’m feelin’ a little simple lately with all my wide eyes and runnin’ around like a colt. It’s all so big. Much bigger than I’m used to, even if it’s not all that impressive for you, but it means a lot, you know? And, well, there’s…”

He was blushing again. “I want you to have a good time, too!”

“Brae, I’m having a great time!” I kissed the end of his muzzle.

He took a deep breath and gave me the bedroom eyes. “Yeah, I suppose.” He stepped closer and ran his body along mine, flicking his tail under my chin. I felt my crotch throb. “But why not let me take the reins for a while?”

I smirked at him. “Heh. Because I don’t bottom.”

“Ha!” Braeburn stepped around to my other side, then whispered into my ear, “We’ll see about that.”

I was skeptical, of course, but I was willing to humor him. I figured I’d let him have his way for a while, then when he was sick of it, I’d swoop in, flip him over, and plow him until the sun came up. He’d probably thank me for it, too.

But Brae wasn’t going to let me get off easy. When I didn’t answer right away, he added, “What, you scared? ‘Fraid you might like it?”

I had to roll my eyes at that. “Yeah, whatever. We’ll see.” I wanted to be supportive, though, so I nuzzled his cheek and said, “So, you have something in mind?”

“Well, yeah, actually.” He looked down at the ground.

“What, never got freaky back in Appleloosa? You should experiment more, Brae.”

He smiled. “Well, it’s just too hot.”

“Ha!” I rubbed my side up against his. “Babe, nothing’s too hot for me to handle. Want me to call a cab so we can get this party started?”

Braeburn surveyed the strip, taking a long look at all the shops that were still open. His eyes stopped on small store that mostly sold clothing. “Not quite yet. We’ve gotta make a stop first.”

We crossed the street, entered the shop, and worked our way to the back, which was no more than five meters deep. Braeburn’s eyes had locked onto something, and I felt my heart beating faster and faster the more he moved towards it.

‘No big deal,’ I told myself. ‘This’ll be fun. He’ll let me take over after a while, anyway. Right?’

He stopped at the back wall. My stomach settled down once I saw what he’d been eying: silk scarves.

Braeburn reached out and felt one of them, running his hoof up and down it. Slowly, he turned back towards me and spoke with half-lidded eyes. “Mighty soft one right here. Think it’s your color?”

Braeburn had been fondling a black one. I shrugged and pointed. “Meh. I was thinking more like that dark-blue one over there.”

Braeburn turned and trotted towards the cashier, sliding the scarf off the rack. “Well, it’s too bad you’re not callin’ the shots, then.”

He gave me a wink, and my pulse started pounding.