#hoofburn

Hoofclid called them Brain Weasels. Braeburn hated them.

Those were nothing like Miss Fluttershy's critters, playful and cuddly. They were not like the feral ones of the Everfree Forest either; those were shy and secretive. No... those weasels lived inside Hoofclid's brain and they were nasty, sneaky, harmful and they whispered horrible thoughts in his mind.

And they always came back, waiting the right moment to strike down the poor stallion. And Braeburn could do nothing about that.

That was probably the worst part for him: the powerlessness. He was a simple farm pony used to simple problems with simple solutions, and this was clearly not one of those. When things had gotten serious with Hoof, he had promised himself he'd take care of him, he'd protect him like he was the most precious apple tree in the orchard, heck, like he was the whole darn orchard and all its apples... And yet here he was, being forced to stay on the side while his Hoofy fought those nasty things. No matter how he tried to turn that around, it sounded like a betrayal of this promise.

Braeburn shook his head. Darn weasels are trying to take root in my mind too, he thought. I'm here. I'm helping. Hoof's a strong unicorn. He can do it. And I'll be right next to him.

"You okay Hoofy?" he asked softly.

The unicorn didn't answer. Braeburn wondered if he had fallen asleep and stopped stroking his mane.

"I'm okay, Brae..." the unicorn finally let out. "Could you... continue please?"

"Of course," he said warmly, stroking the chestnut hair again.

"Thanks," the unicorn whispered.

"Hey, Hoof?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

Hoofclid didn't answer, not with words anyway. Instead, he clung his lover tighter for a few seconds.

"You know, I'm no unicorn with fancy magic... I can't fight those darn weasels for you. Heck, I can't even fight 'em by your side. I wish I could giv 'em a good old fashion buck between the two eyes... but I can't."

The farmer stopped talking for a moment, passing his hoof deeper into the mane, careful not to pull his hair. The unicorn relaxed further, appreciating the moment.

Braeburn continued after a time. "It's okay though. I know you. You're a strong unicorn with a good heart. You're stronger than you let on. I know you'll get through this. And I'll be there for you."

The hoof let the brown mane to caress the unicorn grey fur.

"If I can't fight the weasels for you, then I'll just hug you until they get calmer. I may not make them shut, but maybe I can make them less audible. I'll do it as many times as necessary."

"And if I never stop? And if..."

Braeburn gently took Hoofclid's face into his hooves, making the unicorn face him. The green eyes fixed the mathematician. Those comforting eyes that seemed to see only the best about him. At that point, Hoofclid had already stopped talking, but Braeburn did not take any chance. The farmer closed the gap between them, sealing his lover's lips with a kiss.

It lasted one eternity, maybe two, but was still over way too quickly. Braeburn broke the kiss, slightly out of breath and simply said:  

"It's a good thing I'm never planning on leaving your side then."

Rainbow Dash was a pony of few habits. She liked to keep things exciting and she had vowed at an early age that she'd never settle to the routine and so far she'd kept her word.

Except when it came to her naps in Sweet Apple Acre. These were sort of an exception she wasn't ready, nor willing to break.

Well, this was the case until a couple of ponies barged in asking for her help and not the cool kind of help like "there's a hydra invasion". Nah. There was a "snugglemergency".

"Please Miss Dash!" Braeburn pleaded.

"Come on Dashie!" Pinkie Pie added.

"This is stupid," Dash stated, still trying to get back to sleep. "Hoofclid has been gone for what? Two days? He was just at an egghead conference or something... he'll be back in a few hours."

"But he's gonna miss the 4 PM snuggle!" Braeburn complained.

Rainbow Dash hears perked. "You've got a 4 PM snuggle?" the speedster asked, finally opening her eyes but still not moving from her resting position.

"It's a snugglemergency Dashie!" Pinkie insisted.

Rainbow Dash wondered about it for a couple of seconds. She just wanted to nap and this whole thing could possibly be ground for more interrupted naps... She had to be firm and tell them no. She opened her mouth to do just that but Pinkie didn't let her.

"Oh well... I guess there's nothing we can do about it... I really thought you were up to this prank but I guess not even the Great Rainbow Dash can pull it off..."

Rainbow Dash was fully awake now. A tiny part of her knew that she was being had. The rest of her mind didn't care. A challenge had arisen. She /needed/ to answer it.

"What's the plan?" she asked.  

Somewhere in Canterlot, a happy Hoofclid hummed contentedly. The annual gathering of the math ponies of Equestria against the number two had been very educational. Cathartic too. And now he was on his back to Ponyville where he would enjoy sweet, sweet snuggles from a certain Apple Pony. Life was good.

"Quick Hoofie, don't move!" said a cheerful and familiar voice.

"Wha-?" he said trying to understand. "Pinkie?" he called, finally identifying the pink blur running around him.

"No time to explain! My Pinkie sense is tingling!"

Hoofclid knew he shouldn't try to understand but he was an inquisitive mind... and he was puzzled on how one could not move quickly. Or which one of her science-defying sense had been ticked off. Or more plainly, what she was doing here...

"What... is happening?" he asked hesitantly.

"I came here to rectify a terrible wrong!" she explained as she slowly herding him toward a cross on the ground. The unicorn was however too distracted by the whole situation to really notice. Or care.

"Oh... mind telling me what it is?"

"Nopper... but if I were you, I wouldn't move from this spot."

"Why...?"

"Because if you move you won't get hugged silly!"

"Wha-"

And so, at exactly 4 PM that day, Hoofclid got hugged by a Rainbow-Dash-Dropped Braeburn.