- Rodeo Romeo Ch.3 -

The first stars began to appear in the sky as Braeburn made his way from the house back down to the field where he left Soarin and the others. Upon his arrival he first spotted his cousin and Caramel cuddled up together staring up at the night sky, and Braeburn assumed the two were just stargazing; then it hit him. 'Where the hay is Soarin?' he thought to himself, then as he looked up to the sky he saw Soarin flying around and performing different tricks.

"Soar what're ya doin' up there?" He called out, startling the three ponies and causing Soarin to lose focus and nearly crash into a nearby apple tree. But luckily, Soarin was able to correct himself and land safely on the ground.

"Oh hiya Brae-brae, I was just giving Mel and Mac a solo aerial performance to pass the time," he said, stretching out the kinks that formed in his body from the emergency landing before walking over to kiss Braeburn on the cheek. Braeburn chuckled at his coltfriend's showing off.

"Well dinner is ready, so we should head inside..." He said as a sly grin crept onto his lips. "Oh, and Ah made somethin' real special for dessert." He added. Soarin's eyes grew wide with excitement as he gasped after putting two and two together.

"PIE!" He hollered as he bolted for the house. Caramel and Big mac got up off their spot on the ground and walked over to Braeburn.

"Well I guess we'll leave you two to your evening; besides, Mac and I have plans of our own. First we're heading over to Sugarcube Corner to get a bite to eat, then we're heading to Vinyl's house for a party she's throwing while her roommate Octavia is out on a business trip," Caramel said, and Braeburn tipped his hat. As the group parted ways, Braeburn made his way back to the house, only to find himself bursting into a fit of laughter at the sight before him. There, with burnt tongue and hooves, sitting next to a half eaten zapapple pie, was Soarin, who had been quite literally caught, red-hoofed, trying to sneak some pie before dinner.

"Well, Ah think ya finally learned yer lesson tha' when Ah say ta let a pie cool 'fore goin' an' eatin' it tha' ya'll should listen." Soarin gave a look of annoyance at the obvious amusement Braeburn was getting out of this.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny. Now can we just move on and enjoy the romantic evening you had planned?" he huffed, getting back up onto all four hooves. Braeburn approached Soarin and stroked the pegasus' mane with his hoof.

"Yeah let's go..." he complied, leading the other outside onto the balcony where Braeburn had set up a nice candlelight dinner. The couple sat across from each other and ate their meal while enjoying idle conversation. As dinner was finished, Braeburn took the dishes to the kitchen. During this time, Soarin began frantically digging through his saddlebag to pull out a wrapped box, and placed it on the floor infront of him.

'Oh Celestia what if he says no? Calm down Soar, yer overreactin'... Oh buck, now I'm even thinking in his accent...'

"Okay, dishes are done. So, what say ya'll an' me head off ta bed?" Braeburn said as he returned to the balcony, his two-toned mane seeming to shimmer and shine in the beautiful mix of candlelight and moonlight.

'Wow I can't believe how beautiful he looks in this light... Oh no... I don't think I can go through wih this...' Soarin suddenly found his heart stuck in his throat, he couldn't find his voice, and just overall was a nervous wreck. Worst of all, Braeburn noticed.

"Is something wrong, Sugarcube?" he asked, the concern obvious in his tone. Soarin nudged the box over to Braeburn. "W-what's this?" Braeburn asked, looking puzzled.

"J-just open it!" Soarin stuttered out. Braeburn ripped off the wrapping paper and gasped as he found a black velvet box emblazoned with the logo of a very famous jeweler from Canterlot. Inside was a red and gold hooflet with a diamond in the center of Soarin's engraved cutiemark. Braeburn was amazed and was fighting back tears.

"S-Soar this is beautiful, but what's it for?" Braeburn asked, playing dumb. He knew full well what this was, but he wanted the satisfaction of hearing Soarin say it anyway. 'Is... Is Soar really gonna ask me what Ah think he is...?'

"Well, you see, it's customary for unicorns to get rings for their horns, and I wasn't sure what earth ponies get each other and-" The words spilt out of the wonderbolt's mouth at lightning speeds. Braeburn stopped Soarin's flood of words with a simple word.

"Yes..." Soarin froze and looked at Braeburn as he spoke.

"What?!"

"Ah said yes. If'n yer sure this is what ya want, then yes, Ah'll gladly marry ya Soarin," Braeburn replied, his attempts to hold back his tears faltered for a mere second as a lone tear framed his cheek. Soarin was nowhere near as successful as tears continued to roll down his cheeks and he moved to slip the hooflet onto his new husband-to-be's left hoof, stopping at the wrist. He then pulled Braeburn close to him, wrapping his wings around him, as they kissed and lost themselves in each other's embrace, and, as Luna's moon shined down on them, the same thought ran through both of their minds at once.

'I'm the luckiest pony in the world.'