Hopes, Gales and Featherweight

by honey-crisp

Rating: teen
Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life, Romance, Drama
Length: 1454

A tale in which two colts, Featherweight and Rumble, attempt to survive the summer and salvage their friendship, but find something else along the way.

Featherweight's life hasn't proven to be easy the past couple years, struggling with photography classes, boxing lessons and family matters. Learning to deal with so much on your plate at once isn't as simple as the colt once expected it to be, and his only downtime or moments of bliss are with the few tolerable friends he's got left or moments shared with his marefriend, Sweetie Belle.

When his best friend, Rumble, comes out to everyone as a colt cuddler, Featherweight doesn't quite understand why. Or at least how he didn't see it.

Rumble, on the other hoof, doesn't understand why Featherweight cares so much. His summer is one meant for discovery and self expression, not for scrutiny from his best friend. He just wants to live a little, and starts to see how Featherweight doesn't want that at all.

Everypony else, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Thunderlane, Apple Bloom, Babs Seed, Shady Daze, Pipsqueak and Flitter and Cloudchaser, are the cleanup crew in this feathery clusterfuck of a mess.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-10-23 13:40:02 UTC

Colt Cuddling

What exactly did it mean to be gay? To identify as someone with a sexual orientation titled 'homosexual'.

Of course, the willowy build and thick skull that contained the absorbent mind of Featherweight would surely have the definition somewhere within the nooks and crannies of his brain, no? Somewhere within the archives of the pegasi's mind dwelled an inkling of knowledge on the subject, correct? Shoved among useless files and documents stored and cramped among the cluttering of it all, there must've been some drop of experience other then, 'someone whose attracted to the same gender instead of the opposite'.

Sadly however, the cream pegasi couldn't claim there was. He could assume there'd be plenty of room to expand his knowledge now he had someone who was experienced with the tricky topic, but Rumble himself wasn't too sure his grasp on the idea of his own sexuality was all that wide or insightful.

Rumble did add some important knowledge to the plethora that made Featherweight's head rock with constant aches.

Don't say 'colt cuddling' or 'colt cuddler' or any variation of it, along with 'filly fooler'. The smokey toned pony informed him most gay stallions or mares didn't really enjoy hearing the words spewed so carelessly from passerby's lips, as if the strung together letters held little to no significance. As if words didn't hurt, just as everyone's parents attempted to teach them early on in life so they wouldn't be stung too badly when the time came that somepony noticed a difference. A uniqueness that made the other uncomfortable, unsettled, but most times envious.

The stormy colt also cut in, before Featherweight could blabber on with more consistent questions, that the other shouldn't judge what he'd never come to understand. His tone had be laced with a bitterness Feather couldn't exactly place his hoof on, and through his violet eyes flashed a shock of pained electricity, one that practically zapped the ecru stallion just from witnessing the phenomenon.

And now the colt was left to fester with the given information and bubbling emotions now brewing inside his lissome frame.

As now it was the evening, and the pegasus was spending the remainder of the day with his marefriend, none other then that positively pleasant, ivory coated unicorn most of Ponyville, save for a select few, adored. Sweetie Belle was currently in his presence, legs folded neatly under her vivacious build while she lounged at the edge of his bed, perfect posture and ears attentive as Featherweight continued on rambling about problems she must've heard about at least four other times in the span of ten minutes, potentially less.

"But I don't understand!" The adolescent colt blurted, throwing his hooves up into the air as he paced about his bedroom, probably leaving skid marks on the carpet at the pace he was circling.

The unicorn simply watched as her coltfriend practically vomited out  word, after word, amusement clearly twinkling in her olive luminaries. "Yeah, well you're not gay, right?" She inquired in a bemused tone of voice, rolling her eyes and giggling at the exasperated stare she earned from her question.

"No, I mean, you're a filly. That's sort of a weird question to ask considering-"

"Feather. I was just kidding," The slender mare slipped from the bed, gracefully swishing over to Featherweight to press an abrupt, gentle kiss to his snout, "Stop thinking so much, jeez! Rumble's gay, whatever! So is Rainbow Dash, and remember Lyra and Bon Bon? Tootsie's moms?"

The teen was flustered from the smooch he'd been gifted with, but still let out a groan at Sweetie's response to his question, "No but- I just don't understand how I didn't know..?" He paused, scuffing his hoof over the drab throw rug that covered the oak floor of his room, chestnut eyes shifting to stare at his swinging foot, "He was my best friend, after all."

"Is," Sweetie automatically corrected, giving the other a scolding look, "Look, Feather," She sighed deeply, eyes momentarily closing, "I know it's a difficult change for you or whatever, but you have to be there for him. You two have been friends for Celestia knows how long! He's probably going through a lot more then you are with all of... this," She gestured to his face, patting his mouth lightly, "And think about how hard it was for him to tell you, too!" The unicorn blinked slowly, allowing a soft smile to grace her features, "He cares about you, and you care about him, and that's all that should matter, right?"

Featherweight felt his features contort into a frown, or more accurately a sad, little smile, touched by what Sweeite Belle had said. The stallion leaned slightly down to peak her head with a light kiss, making the filly hum contently before the other pulled away, staring at him through half-lidded, caring eyes. The pair shared a moment of silent bliss, quiet communication passed just through eye contact and expressions alone; showing the affection that grew between them.

The sweet moment was going to end with a kiss, or at least Featherweight figured as much, but before their lips could meet a frantic knock sounded from the door. "Feathyyyyyy~ You two bus-say, gettin' bus-saayyyyyyy..?"

If Featherweight didn't switch to the most brilliant shade of vermilion.

Sweetie had a pink dust over her cheeks and tint her ears, but giggles also burst past her thin lips as she took a step closer to the pegasus to bury her face into his shoulder blade, trying to hide her own embarrassment from the earth pony who waltz into the bedroom like he owned the place.

"I mean, the door was locked, so I figured you two were up to some trouble," Shady Daze, the culprit, winked at his long time friend, not helping the blush that coated Featherweight's cream features get any better.

"H-How'd you get in then?" The colt stuttered, wanting to just die from that heat that engulfed his whole body at the moment, due to the other's now wiggling eyebrows and flicking tongue. Jeez the pegasus was just thankful his marefriend hadn't returned to reality from her little space between the crook of his neck and shoulder.

"I can pick locks, dude. Duh," The other stated like the trait he'd acquired who knows where was supposed to be blatantly obvious to the other, despite the colt not really recalling any situations where his sky-blue friend had to pick any locks for them to land themselves into trouble.

"Oh, uh, cool?" Featherweight, being as socially awkward as he was, didn't exactly know how to reply to that, even if the other was his best friend. Not to mention best friend of many years.

Shady Daze sighed, knowing all too well of the awkwardness that shrouded Featherweight, just as Sweetie Belle did. Shady Daze found it hilarious, while the other's marefriend looked at it in a more endearing lighting.

"Sooooo," The blue stallion trailed on, eyes rolling along with his words before his visionaries landed back on Featherweight and the single word finally came to a halt, "I came here to inform you two love birds of a party DT is holding tonight, if you'd like to accompany me," He smirked, raising his eyebrows at the suggestion he'd made.

Sweetie Belle swiveled around to stare at him, "What?" Her tone was practically monotone.

"Aw Sweetie c'mooooooooonnnnn!" Shady instantly fell to his knees, kneeling in front of the unicorn as she reeled back to watch him grovel at her hooves, "Please, please, please, please, please, plea-"

"Ugh, whyyy?" The mare whined, head rolling back as her posture worsened, shoulders slugging.

"Becauseeeeee, she's richhhhhh, she's hoooottt, there's fooooooddd-"

In the midst of their little debate on whether or not Sweetie Belle and her coltfriend would be attending, said colt friend allowed his mind to wander to new places. To delve deeper into the past and recall forgotten recollections that should've indicated something back then, during colthood, but the pegasus had so haphazardly passed over the warning signs Rumble had given. The photographer figured he was too caught up in their escapades, flying adventures, trouble making, rough housing- all of that good stuff. He knew that's what he should've fixated himself on back then, but he still had to question why he never thought Rumble any different, saw him uniquely from the rest...

"Let's go then!" And a sharp tug to his forearm snapped the lanky stallion from his thoughts, sending him stumbling out of his room after the earth pony who'd only barged in not too long ago and proceeded by the alabaster unicorn who he recognized as his marefriend.

Oh yeah, they were here. He'd almost forgotten.