//------------------------------// // Ch. 2 Blind Date // Story: Crisp Summer Love // by zerozoner //------------------------------// Wiping the sweat from his brow Big Mac glanced up at the crystal clear sky above. A pair of swallowtails danced in the light summer breeze. Slowly he began to feel the hairs on the back of his neck start to rise. He was being watched. The piercing gazes coming from behind him was unnerving, even though he knew their source. One pair belonged to Granny Smith who was skipping her weekly cooking class. The next pair of eyes came from Applejack, who had insisted that the cellar be checked for the tenth time this week. Finally there was Apple Bloom who had stayed home 'sick' in order to watch. 'Those girls need a hobby.' thought the stallion, as the glare from three sets of binoculars danced on the tree in front of him. Turning his attention back to the sky he couldn't help, but wonder how they had found out about his date with Summer Crisp. The Cakes were to busy with the shop and the twins to venture out this far for idle gossip, Pinkie Pie had taken the day off to visit her family on the rock farm, and the crazy pegasus mare hadn't shown up yet. So who told his family? "Rarity!" grumbled Big Mac under his breath. That romance obsessed mare. Of all the mares in town, barring his sisters, there couldn't have been a worse witness. By now the entire kingdom knew what had happened at the Sugarcube Cornor. The stallion's contemplation was interrupted by a sudden cacophony of noise from the tree tops. Before he could blink a brown case bashed him in the skull. This was quickly followed by the shrieking form of his date. "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!" screamed the princess as she crashed into her date. Celestia winced in pain and blushed in embarrassment as Big Mac did his best to treat her injuries. The disinfectant stung horribly against all her cuts and scrapes, but it was nice being treated like a normal mare for once. No thirty doctors for a simple paper cut. Putting her thoughts of past experiences aside she decided to go test the waters. "So Big Mac, ever have a mare fall for you like that?" Glancing up from his work the stallion chuckled. "Mare? Yes. An Angel? No, but there's a first time for everything." The princess felt her heart flutter. 'So he does know how to play... wait other mares?!' "Done." said Big Mac as he put away the medical kit. Lifting her injured leg gingerly the princess gave it an experimental bend. The numerous cuts and scrapes still burned slightly. "Good as new." smiled Celestia putting her leg down softly. "May I ask why you have a medical kit ready to go? Does it have to do with the other falling ladies?" "Yes you may ask." started Big Mac, "Secondly, kind of. My youngest sister and her friends end up needing it a lot. So I just started carrying one." 'Awe you're so sweet.' thought Celestia as she opened her traveling case. The previous smile quickly disappeared as she grimaced at the jumbled mess that had been the lunch. Potato salad was in the key lime pie, the soup and cesar salad had made an ocean with miniature fruit smoothie islands floating in it. Only the shepherd's pie was safe. Slowly she scavenged the surviving dish and placed it on the ground. "Sorry, but this is the sole survivor of my trip." whimpered the princess rubbing her foreleg sheepishly. "Don't let it get you down, I came prepared." replied Big Mac who was holding a large wicker basket. Celestia gave her date a small curtsy. "Then I'll humbly partake." Immediately she wanted to die on the spot from embarrassment. Mares hadn't used that line in several hundred years, for when being covered by their date. It was so old that it was something her sister Luna still did when the chef brought food out. 'Humble?' thought the stallion who was to busy laying out the checkered blanket to notice his dates red face. 'Didn't think the bold girl knew the word. Considering what she did...' the stallion stopped his thoughts there. Just recalling what the mare had done sent his blood racing. If he didn't already have a red complexion he would've now. Shaking his head vigorously he tried to chase the unwanted memories away. "Hey, are you okay there big boy?" asked the princess who was giving her date a puzzled look. "Eeyup. Just fighting back a sneeze." answered Big Mac placing the last dish on the blanket. Celestia feared that her sweet tooth would drop out of her mouth like a vampire's fang. Every last dish, but her's, was full of sugary goodness. Roasted sweet potatoes, baked apples, honey milk tea, and a deep dish apple crumble slathered in fresh cream. The scent of which assaulted her nose to no end. 'Looks like he knows sweets are a girls best friend.' mused the princess, who laughed as she accepted a plate of food from her date. "You really are a farmer aren't you? These portions are enormous." Big Mac took a look at the mountain of food on his plate. "Hmm, they are a tad big. Is that a prob..." his words were cut short as the princess shoved an empty plate towards him. Grinning ear to ear the pegasus fluffed her wings happily. "Seconds please." Filling the plate high with another round of food the stallion couldn't help but wonder who or what this mare was. She called herself a flower and had an appearance to match, but was aggressive as a tiger and could eat like one too. To the rest of the spying family the picnic looked less like a date and more like an eating contest. Before this Applejack would've sworn that Pinkie Pie was the only girl that could shovel food that fast. Meanwhile Apple Bloom was busy trying to stop Granny smith from charging out and smacking her grandson across the head. Not for his manners, but for using the supplies meant for her skipped cooking class. Shouts and desperate pleas for help rang out from both sides for Applejack. Putting down her binoculars the eldest sister made her way down stairs. Giving her brother and unknowingly private moment for the rest of his date. In the span of only a few minutes the feast was gone. Leaving only a basket of dirty dishes behind. "Whew, I'm stuffed!" declared the princess as she laid down in the rich green grass. "Can't eat like that in the capital." Tossing the folded blanket aside the earth pony joined his date on the grass, only with some distance between them. "You sound like my sister. Is the food up there that bad?" The princess felt like puking as she rolled over on her full stomach towards the shade and her date. 'The things a girl has to do to get a guys attention.' "Wouldn't say bad... I think puny is a better word. Just scrape our left over crumbs onto a single dish and they would call it two full course meals." leaning up against the stallion she continued. "Expensive is another word that comes to mind. Bottom line don't try to eat in the capital on a budget." Big Mac felt himself chuckle as Summer Crisps words brought back memories of his sister's rant about the gala and the capital. "So is that why you were at the Sugarcube Cornor?" "Bingo." chimed Celestia. "Since I can fly I decided to eat out of town for lunch. Just can't work out why it took years for me to figure that out." "Sometimes the simplest solutions are right under our nose. Just wish that my sisters could see that." The pegasus saw the gloomy expression that her date wore and decided to avoid the subject for now. Though as the Princess of Equestria she had a good idea what he was talking about. About four of every seven letters from Twilight seemed to involve at least one of his sisters. Applejack was to stubborn for her own good and Apple Bloom was causing a disastrous amount of damage looking for her cutie mark. "Easier said than done." began the princess turning her gaze up to the heavens. "I've flown over this place more times than I can count, but just because its under my nose so much doesn't mean I know what it is. Before today for all I knew these could've been pear trees instead of apple, and don't even try to make me guess what all those buildings are." Big Mac found himself joining his date in staring into the blue world above. Having never been there himself he found it hard to imagine what the farm looked like to a pegasus who could fly above the clouds. Even looking out from the hilltop didn't help shift his perspective. It was just something that was alien to him. Which made it all the more amusing. "Guess you're right. What seems obvious to one pony is a mystery to another. Though if you're that baffled I should give you a tour of the farm, but you probably need to get going." Celestia was about to protest when a magical alarm went off inside of her head. Telling her that it was indeed time to head back. "Let's do that next time. How does this Friday at six sound." asked the princess ruffling her wings nervously. "Good to me." answered Big Mac. Happy that he was not caught off guard this time by Summer Crisp's request. "I will have the grand tour ready for you to enjoy." "It's a date!" declared the princess pecking the stallion on the cheek. "See you then and thanks for the wonderful picnic." Caught up in a daze of summer warmth Big Mac watched as Summer Crisp flew back to the capital. "I guess, dating a tigress like her isn't so bad. Just glad she didn't do anything crazy like at the Sugarcube Corner. Still I can't believe there's another mare that can eat me under the table." A sudden dilemma hit Big Mac like a stick of dynamite. He only had two options. First he could go back to work only to have the ladies at home keep him up till the crack of dawn with questions. Or he could go back now and get nothing else done for the day, which would only add to tomorrow's work. "Decisions, decisions." laughed Big Mac. "No sleep for me tonight."