Author's Notes:

This chapter was suggested by Rainbow Glaze, who's one of my top Patrons and an excellent contributor to my works. If you wanna see something to add to this series (or perhaps something that can be an individual story), then please consider contributing to my works financially on my Patreon page.

As the scene began to manifest for Twilight, Starlight and Sunburst, the three quickly saw that the second setting for the night was once again in Ponyville. Except this time, the scene appeared to be at the train station. Burnt Oak, who was last seen from the spell to Starlight’s distaste (and Sunburst’s secret approval), was now waiting at the wooden platform by himself as a train began to pull into the station. Since travel by train was fairly rare at night, there weren’t any other ponies aside from the grizzled stallion to greet whomever was arriving to town.

As soon as the train stopped with a sharp hiss of the brakes, the platform was enveloped in a thick cloud of steam before the doors opened. Burnt Oak took off his old hat to fan away the fog, and didn’t move from his spot as he waited for ponies to depart. Only a couple ponies exited the train, and walked past the steam with their bags to get to where they needed to go. However, one particular stallion took notice of Burnt Oak, and trotted up to him with a distinct beam in his smile.

“Well, hey there, Oaky!~” chirped the golden-coated pony with a cheerful tone as he put down his duffle, and pulled the older stallion into a tight hug. As the steam began to dissipate, the surveilling ponies were able to get a good look at the bright red apple that adorned his flank. Twilight was the first to recognize who the yellow-maned pony was, mostly due to meeting him a few times whenever she visited Apploosa. Fortunately, the previous scene involving Burnt Oak allowed the other two ponies to realize this must’ve been his ‘Friend with Benefits’ and Granny Smith’s relative: Braeburn.

Burnt Oak groaned in slight discomfort at feeling how tight the younger stallion’s grip was; however, he still smiled contently as he hugged him back. “Hey there, Brae,” he said with a deep and grizzled tone, which made him feel Braeburn’s back tingle a little in response. After letting go with a low chuckle, the mustached pony asked while putting his hat back on, “I’m hopin’ the train ride wasn’t too long for ya?”

“Nah, Ah’m good,” assured Braeburn with a wave of his hoof. Upon seeing Burnt Oak putting on his hat, the golden Apploosan readjusted his own Stetson before adding, “Ah will say though, Ah kinda wish it was the train my, errr… conductor friends worked on~”

Upon seeing Braeburn’s meager shrug alongside his blush, Burnt Oak chuckled as his eyes narrowed on him. “Oh, you mean that line, huh?~” he asked coyly with a raise of one of his brows. “Heh heh heh… I remember you mentioned that story to me last time you came by here~”

Braeburn shrugged and rolled his eyes bashfully to the older pony’s statement. “Hey, what can Ah say?” he replied in a playful tone of voice. “It ain’t too often Ah get to meet a whole group of stallions as fun as you~”

All three ponies watching the screen turned wide-eyed while growing looks of apprehension. Given how it was all three of them watching the spell this time, the idea of it turning sexual felt unbelievably awkward. However, none of them seemed to consider being the one to undo the spell first. Instead, the three remained in their seats while Twilight muttered under her breath, “Huh… So Big Mac was right about his cousin’s reputation…”

“Mmmmmghhh…~” Just as the train began to make its departure, Burnt Oak picked up Braeburn’s duffle and said with a more sultry tone, “Well, I’m glad you brought that up, Braeburn… ‘cause I have a rather interesting proposition for you while we’re here~”

The brown stallion’s suggestive tone made Brae’s brows raise with a look of intrigue on his face. “Oh, really?~” he asked as the two began to leave the station, just as the train began to depart and encase the two within another heavy cloud of steam. Fortunately, the three ponies could still hear the two talking over the rumbling of the train’s engine. “And just what were ya thinkin’ there, big guy?~”

“Weeeelllllll…” Burnt Oak’s voice lingered a little as the two left the station under the heavy fog, almost as if they were going to disappear from the surveillers’ sights. Luckily, the spell was able to actually move from its spot and follow them out of the station. Like the third-person view that’s used by cameras in more artistic films, Twilight and her assistants were given a bird’s eye view as they followed the duo out of the clouds of steam. “What I was thinkin’,” said Burnt as he walked alongside Braeburn and carried a sky-looking grin, “is that you could help me find a possible third wheel for our fun while you’re here~”

“Ooooohhhh~” Braeburn looked absolutely delighted with such an idea, and grinned wide as he shuddered between steps. “Straight to the point as soon as Ah get off that train, huh? Ah gotta say, you can be quite the dirty old man sometimes~”

“Hey, if I recall correctly, you like it that way,” purred Burnt Oak in response with a light snicker. Braeburn giggled with a heavier blush as he walked into town with him, but didn’t seem too offended by his crass reply. Instead, the younger pony kept a look of interest on his face while listening to his Friend with Benefits. “But yeah, I kinda figured you could show off those… persuasion skills you brag so much about~”

Even though he looked flattered, Braeburn couldn’t help but scoff while eyeing Burnt with a smirk. “So… after all the months we spent havin’ fun, and you gettin’ all paranoid about me askin’ out other guys when we go out together, you’re suddenly wantin’ me to do just that? ‘Cause if so, Ah kinda feel like Ah should make sure you ain’t no changeling or nuthin’.”

“Well, what can I say?” Burnt replied with a light shrug of his shoulders. “After hearing all of those ‘grand tales’ involving you and the countless stallions you brought back to your bedroom, it seemed only fair to actually see it in action~”

Judging by Braeburn’s coy-looking smile, it seemed that he wasn’t against the idea by any means. However, he still narrowed his eyes back at Burnt Oak with a long pause, and took a breath before asking bluntly. “You’re just wantin’ to make up for plowin’ my grandma, ain’t cha?”

Burnt Oak winced through gritted teeth as he looked away from the stallion, hating that he actually admitted that in his most recent letter to Braeburn. Even though he knew the pony deserved to know what he and Granny Smith did, he carried a remorseful skew on his muzzle while trying to respond. “Well… Okay, maybe a little. But I was curious about doing this too. The stuff involving Granny kinda just… happened, I guess.”

Braeburn wanted to be peeved about his Friend with Benefits screwing around with Granny Smith, but he couldn’t necessarily judge him when the age difference between himself and Oak was about the same as Burnt and her. Not to mention, he heard that last sentence stated several times in relation to stallions who had a roll in the hay with him over the years. So despite the awkwardness, Braeburn was able to sigh before replying honestly, “Well, Ah ain’t gonna lie, it is kinda weird knowin’ you two went at it. But…”

During his pause, Brae glanced back at Burnt Oak and finished his response with a cheeky grin. “... Ah’ll admit it’ll be mighty interestin’ ta see who might be interested around these here parts~”

Upon seeing that knowingly sly-looking smile, Burnt couldn’t help chuckling with an enticed expression of his own. And since Ponyville was still in full-swing as the evening skies grew darker, the older stallion seemed just as curious as his buddy as they trotted into town together. “Well, Braeburn,” he said while looking back at him with a grin, and motioning his head towards the main square buzzing with activity. “You wanna get a quick dinner first, or are ya wantin’ to show me what you got?~”

Braeburn could sense a challenge when he heard one, and shot a determined grin back at the older stallion with narrowed eyes. “Oh, don’cha worry about buyin’ me dinner just yet. Ah already ate on the train. Besides…”

He then glanced back out at the vibrantly unique township before them, and smiled at seeing how many creatures were roaming the streets underneath those hanging lanterns. With several choice options already being locked on by his senses, Braeburn licked his lips and said, “... Right now, Ah think Ah’m hungry for somethin’ else~”

With that, Braeburn trotted off on his own to better “socialize” with the townsponies of this quaint community. Meanwhile, Burnt Oak leaned against a nearby streetlamp while watching with a piqued smirk. Twilight and the other ponies stayed silent as they watched Braeburn as well from their surveillance spell. Even though they were unsure what might occur, they tried to stay optimistic due to how crowded Ponyville was; unless Braeburn was planning to get arrested, they doubted he would do anything too lewd for their recordings. However, their expressions grew slightly worried when they saw where the stallion was walking towards.

“Ho boy,” muttered Starlight under her breath, and had to readjust herself in her lawn-chair as she and the other two saw Braeburn trot up to a popsicle stand. “This is going to be inappropriate, isn’t it?”

“Mmhmm,” replied Twilight with a wary nod of her head. However, neither she or Sunburst lit up their horns to stop the recording just yet. Instead, they just watched as Braeburn bought himself a thick, bright pink popsicle from the vendor. After shooting him a thankful smile and a wink, the golden Apploosan trotted over to stand beside the statue of Celestia in Ponyville square.

“Oooh, doggy~” purred Burnt Oak to himself with a pleased chuckle of his own. Despite how juvenile Braeburn’s plan may have been, he shrugged with an impressed look as he watched Braeburn begin his work. “Dang, why didn’t I think of that?”

Like some lewd intro to a porno movie, Braeburn let out a sultry-sounding hum as he licked his lips, and eyed that pink treat glistening atop his curled hoof. Even though there were countless ponies around (thankfully mostly adults from Twilight’s view), the stallion didn’t seem to look nervous or ashamed as he brought that popsicle up to his grinning muzzle. He closed his eyes as the faintest blush grew across his cheeks, and he brought out his tongue to slide up the side of that smooth ice. The sugary sweet taste of artificial watermelon instantly hit his tastebuds, which prompted Brae to easily moan out a little during that first lick. Even though it was obvious he was only licking a popsicle, the way he was doing it could lead to some ponies easily envisioning something more suggestive.

Braeburn took his sweet time as he slowly, and teasingly licked up every inch of that icy rod with a blissful look on his face. His eyes may have been closed while lapping up the drips that cascaded down the sides of his popsicle, but it seemed that his enthusiasm was catching more eyes than just Burnt Oak’s. Caramel, who was trotting across the square with his girlfriend, almost tripped over his hooves upon seeing Braeburn’s faux-fellatio; fortunately, he was able to regain himself and continue walking without her noticing much (aside from a deep blush across his cheeks). Mister Cake almost did the same while carrying several boxes of baked goods on his back; however, after stumbling a little without dropping anything, the slender stallion paused for a second as he saw Braeburn bobbing that popsicle in and out of his tempting mouth. Despite the fact that he was married and a father of two, Carrot Cake’s muzzle clenched with a conflicted expression before huffing through his nostrils, and resuming his delivery away from the sight of that pony.

Burnt Oak raised his brows with a bemused scoff upon seeing that, and shrugged with a thoughtful look on his face. Meanwhile, Twilight and the others had slightly concerned looks of their own after seeing Mr. Cake’s brief moment of uncertainty.

Meanwhile, Braeburn began to really go out as he tended to that popsicle with an even lewder undertone. The stallion pulled his head back, and held that icy treat over his raised muzzle while pumping it in and out of his mouth. Due to his standing position, any pony who walked past could get a prime view of the Apploosan’s throat as the bulge from that popsicle slid up and down repeatedly. By that point, the excuse that he was just “enjoying a popsicle” would’ve raised some brows due to how suggestively he was sucking it in a public space. But alas, the only responses Braeburn received during his “snack” were a couple confused glances, and a particular stallion stopping in his tracks a few feet in front of him.

Burnt Oak’s head tilted curiously as he gazed at the fit, muscular pegasus who stopped to stare at Braeburn’s semi-exhibitionist act. Due to his charcoal grey coat, his golden eyes shone rather vibrantly as he raised a brow towards the stallion. But instead of walking away, or trying to ignore the pony’s antics with a blush like others, he merely smirked a little and stood more comfortably. While waiting for Braeburn to reopen his eyes, the pegasus used a hoof to brush back his blue and silver mohawk momentarily.

“Mmmmmmm…~” Braeburn finally pulled that popsicle out of his mouth after what felt like a couple of minutes, and sighed contently as his chilly breath tasted strongly of watermelon. However, his brows rose immensely the instant he brought his head back down, and came face-to-face with the built pegasus eyeing him with a curious smile. Instead of looking embarrassed or nervous for what he was caught doing, Brae shamelessly smirked back at him and said, “Well hey there, big fella~”

The dark grey pony huffed with a light shrug, and tilted his head while locking eyes on Braeburn. “Hey,” he replied rather casually. “So, ummm… how long did it take you to get used to eating popsicles like that?~”

“Not as long as ya think~” said Braeburn with a coy expression back at him. He then shrugged his shoulders before wriggling his brows and adding, “Of course, Ah ain’t never had much of a gag reflex growin’ up~ But Ah suppose that ain’t too important right now…”

Despite the overbearing suggestiveness in his tone and expression, Braeburn brought his hoof out towards the stallion and introduced himself warmly. “Name’s Braeburn. Just got off the train from Apploosa, and Ah was… hopin’ to see what Ponyville had to offer~”

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” replied the pegasus as he shook Brae’s hoof with a friendly-looking grin. “My name’s Thunderlane. My buddies and I just finished up training at Cloudsdale, so we figured this town would be fun to visit too.”

“Well then,” said Braeburn with an enticed smile after he finished shaking Thunderlane’s hoof. “Ah gotta say, from how strong your grip is, Ah’d guess you were trainin’ with the Wonderbolts or somethin’~”

That was when Thunderlane’s grin grew wickedly wide, and he chuckled giddily enough to make Braeburn tilt his head in confusion. But before the Apploosan could ask what was so funny, Thunderlane kept a cheeky grin as he asked, “Oh, really?~ Weeeeeellllll, would you believe me if I said you were right?”

Braeburn’s head jolted back for a second as he grew a look of surprise on his face. Burnt Oak couldn’t overhear what Thunderlane just said, but he was able to see the rare flustered expression his buddy made in response. Meanwhile, Braeburn blinked repeatedly before asking with a doubtful smirk, “Uhhh… say what now?”

Instead of just repeating his statement more clearly, Thunderlane kept his grin as he motioned his head back towards a nearby bistro. Braeburn looked over to where the pegasus was hinting at, and gasped with a heavy blush the instant he caught sight of Soarin at one of the tables. The light blue athlete was unmistakable as he sat in one of the seats, and kept a friendly smile while signing a book for the teenaged stallion at another table. Meanwhile, the blue gryphon sitting across from the recipient of that autograph seemed fairly unamused by how wide his date’s smile looked towards Soarin.

Braeburn’s jaw dropped with an awestruck look on his face, which was quite a contrast to the flauntingly shameless demeanor he previously possessed. And as soon as two more stallions emerged from the bistro to take their seats at Soarin’s table, Braeburn’s left eye twitched a little. Even though the group was quite a distance away, the green teenager could be heard audibly squeeing at the sight of Fire Streak and Silver Zoom. Meanwhile, Thunderlane merely chuckled while keeping his eyes on Braeburn’s stunned and heavily blushed expression. “Sooooo… I take it you’re a fan?~”

“Hmm?” In the heat of his momentary shock, Braeburn almost forgot about the newly-revealed Wonderbolt standing right next to him. Because of that, he jolted a little as he had to do a double-take and try to re-focus on Thunderlane. “O-Oh! Uhhh… A-Actually yeah! Ah… Ah’ve been a Wonderbolt fan for years!~”

“Well, I’m really happy to hear that!” chirped the pegasus with a cheerful grin on his muzzle. Of course, Thunderlane also carried an evident hint of sultriness in his golden eyes as they narrowed on the overwhelmed stallion. Burnt Oak looked on from his spot with a confused expression, clearly not expecting to see his Friend with Benefits being the blushy and timid-looking pony in the scenario. However, he kept his distance as he saw Thunderlane lean his head in with an increasingly lustrous smirk. While Braeburn kept his muzzle shut and slightly wrinkled in flattery, he struggled to keep himself looking confident when the Wonderbolt said, “I will say though… it’s kinda cute to see how quickly your demeanor changed the instant you realized it was us~”

“Oh! Uhhh… S-Sorry ‘bout that,” Brae said rather meekly before closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath to settle himself down. His cheeks were still deeply blushed in intimidation, but he was able to appear a bit less flustered when he re-opened his eyes and smiled confidently back towards Thunderlane. “But, ummm… If you don’t mind me sayin’, it’s quite an honor to receive such a compliment from somepony as handsome as you~”

Thunderlane could tell that the Apploosan was still fighting some internal sheepishness with that statement, but he kept any teasing to himself as he eyed him with a raised brow. “What can I say?” he asked as he showed off his pearly whites for Braeburn. “It’s not too often I get to see a stallion giving such a display in public like what you were just doing~”

While Braeburn looked away from a split-second and tried to fan his growing blush, Thunderlane shrugged his shoulders and added with a slightly more honest tone of voice. “In fact, it… It kinda reminds me how I first got the attention of Soarin and his buddies to get an ‘Internship’ for the Wonderbolts~”

Upon hearing that surprising admission, as well as the inflection Thunderlane gave to the term “Internship,” Braeburn was quick to look back at him with his brows raised. Even though he could tell from the pegasus’ smirk (and also his own faint blush) that he wasn’t lying, it took the Apploosan a moment to realize what Thunderlane was getting at. Fortunately, Braeburn only needed to blink his eyes a couple times before he asked puzzledly, “Wait a minute. Sooo… You’re tellin’ me that you…”

Instead of waiting for Braeburn to finish what was likely to be an awkwardly-worded question, Thunderlane huffed through his nostrils and said non-chalantly, “That I’m an open-minded pony like yourself, who knows what he wants in guys and isn’t afraid to show it off?~ Because if so… I can safely say that yes. I am~”

The Wonderbolt’s smile grew wickedly wide with that last part, which caused Braeburn to shudder with a tickled smile of his own. “Ooooohhhhh… Ah have a feelin’ Ah just made a new friend~”

“You know what? I was thinking that same thing~” With that, the two similarly promiscuous stallions chuckled while giving each other knowingly cheeky stares. Burnt Oak, who was able to notice Thunderlane’s familiar expression even from afar, grew an intrigued smirk before deciding to trot in towards the duo. Meanwhile, Braeburn was looking much more confident while eyeing the pegasus and hearing him say, “So, Braeburn? How do you feel about getting a couple more popsicles?~ Because if I know Soarin and the others as well as I do…”

Braeburn giggled with an antsy blush, and couldn’t resist saying, “Oh, lemme guess… Ah take it you do know?~”

“Mmmhmmm~” hummed the Wonderbolt with a prideful grin as his chest-fur ruffled out. “And believe me, dude. Those guys would love to see the two us indulging in a playful… popsicle-eating contest~”

Burnt Oak was close enough to overhear that line, and grew a very interested smile as he came in and stood beside his grinning mate. “Oh, really?” asked Burnt as he wrapped a hoof around Braeburn’s back and nodded in approval towards Thunderlane. He then looked over at Brae and said with a befuddled huff, “Ya know what? I think I owe you an apology for doubtin’ how good your skills were~”

While Thunderlane stood with a slightly confused glance at the new stallion, Braeburn giggled bashfully and gave Burnt Oak a small nuzzle. “Oh, it’s alright,” he assured sweetly. “Ah’m just glad Ah got to meet this guy here. Oh! Wait…” After sighing in slight embarrassment, Braeburn looked back towards the pegasus and introduced his friend. “Thunderlane, this is Burnt Oak. My… Friend with Benefits here in Ponyville~”

“Oooh, I’m charmed~” purred Thunderlane with a smirk back at Burnt, clearly not taken aback by the mustached stallion’s aged appearance. Instead, he appeared rather intrigued as he glanced over at the Wonderbolts’ table briefly and asked, “Weeeelllll… If you don’t mind, Mister Oak, would you be okay with... getting us some popsicles, perhaps?~”

After turning back towards the curious-looking Burnt Oak with a smile and a wink, the cheeky Wonderbolt added rather coyly, “Because if so, we’d love to have you help judge who’s the best~”

Just as the three began to trot back towards the Wonderbolts’ table, the screen began to dissipate before anything else could be shown. In response, Starlight shot up from her chair in frustrated panic as she shouted, “No, no, no, no, nooooo!!”

But alas, before the unicorn could even light up her horn to try and maintain the surveillance spell, the screen disappeared from sight within that glowing orb. Starlight groaned with a disappointed scowl as she hung her head low, and eventually fell flank-first onto the floor while pouting. Sunburst and Twilight didn’t say anything, but the two shared a look with each other that indicated they were equally grateful they didn’t see the conclusion to that scene. Although, given how the surveillance spell only recorded in public places, it was doubtful the three would get the chance to see anything too wild involving that group. That was, unless the Wonderbolts were the types to do anything lewd in the skies with those two Earth Ponies (which wasn’t exactly improbable given their wild stunts and aerobatic finesse).

Nevertheless, Sunburst decided to speak up after hearing the mare sigh bitterly to that premature ending. “Oh, it’s alright, Starlight… These visions are usually pretty short anyway, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, but still,” she muttered with an upset expression on her face, “I really wanted to see where that went.”

“Well,” retorted Twilight as she sighed, and gave a quick zap to that orb to re-vamp its magic properties for another scene, “I’m highly doubtful we’d see anything too… invigorating in the setting they were at, Starlight. It’s pretty likely they’ll continue in a private space that can’t be recorded anyway.”

“You don’t know that!” said Starlight defensively as she turned around to see the ponies’ hesitant expressions. “Besides, can you really blame me for wanting to see more?! It’s not too often you get to witness a possible Wonderbolt Orgy!”

While Twilight scoffed with a roll of her eyes and a shake of her head, Sunburst shrugged apprehensively while blushing a little. “Well… Okay, you might have a point there…”

Twilight gawked towards the stallion briefly, which was unnoticed by Starlight as she got back into her lawnchair. Just as the next scene was about to come up within the orb, the mare whinnied with her forelegs crossed over her chest. “Darnit. Hopefully Rainbow Dash has some intel I could learn about after this…”

“Ugh,” groaned the Princess while looking away from her student. Since the screen was almost coming up to reveal something new, Twilight tried to focus on that as she replied, “Starlight, I really don’t think you should use our findings for personal gai--W-W-WHAT THE!!!”

The first two scenes watched that night may have been fairly safe, but the third one was shocking enough to make all three ponies gasp with unified blushes and bulging eyes. Sunburst looked especially worried as he crossed his hind-legs and darted his eyes nervously. “Ohhhhhh boy…”