Slow to Realize Part 2
Big Mac was still looking up in the sky long after Rainbow Dash had disappeared from his view, though no matter how far away she got, the big goofy grin was still ever present on his face. His heart was still pounding harder and faster than if he had been plowing and bucking apples all day. Asking Rainbow Dash out was probably the hardest thing had ever willed himself to do, but he had done it! His hooves felt lighter than feathers as he trotted back to the farmhouse. All the stress that had been on him all day was finally relieved as the path to the house came into view; now all he needed to do was get cleaned up and get ready for his date.
Just as he was getting onto the path, he saw a familiar brown stallion walking the path with a large smile on his face. The stallion looked up to see the large red one and started to pick up his pace to meet up with him.
“Hey there, Big Mac!” Caramel said with a bright smile on his face as he started to walk next to Big Mac. “So, have you had a good Hearts and Hooves day so far?” he asked as he trotted along with Mac. It was easy to tell from how much Caramel was smiling and was practically skipping that his Hearts and Hooves day was going very well. Seeing his friend’s excitement he just went with signature phrase.
“Eeyup,” Mac said as he flipped the piece of straw in his mouth.
“That’s good. So far my day has been going amazing!” he said, almost jumping with excitement. Mac remembered that Caramel had been just as nervous as he was when he was asking Pinkie Pie out last year. The poor stallion didn’t know how to even approach the party mare and it looked like he might not even have the confidence to ask her on a date. Caramel didn’t need to, for Pinkie Pie asked him out when she jumped out of the bags of seed Caramel had just purchased. Nearly gave the poor pony a heart attack, but it was quickly remedied when he realized she was holding up a banner asking him to be her date.
“I tell you Mac, that girl is crazier than a bag full of weasels, but I think that what draws me to her,” he said with almost a dreamy look in his eyes. “It seems like she is always smiling and ready to have fun with her friends anytime, but even she gets down in the dumps at times,” he said looking at Mac who kept his stoic face. Though the thought of a depressed or unsure Pinkie Pie didn’t seem possible, in fact, it was hard to see that mare ever having doubts.
“That’s when I know she really likes me though,” he added as he looked ahead of them. “When she is down, she comes to me to cheer her up. Sure, I am not great at parties or anything of that sort, but I like to feel when I try to do something for her, she really enjoys it,” Caramel said as he gave out a sigh as he remembered the parties he tried to throw for her. “Can’t think of another mare I rather be with than her.”
“Ah’m happy for yea then,” Mac said with a nod, knowing that Caramel was not the kind of stallion to let his emotions run free. The stallion was normally cautious of relationships, afraid that every little thing he did would put the relationship in jeopardy, and resulted in him being dumped, again. Since he had been with Pinkie Pie, though, he had become more open, and much more cheerful than before. It must be true what they say: opposites really do attract.
“Thanks Mac,” Caramel said as he smiled back at Mac as the two kept walking down the path towards the Apple Farm. Mac was starting to enjoy the silence of the walk back to the farm. Everything seemed to be shining in a different light, making everything around him seem more beautiful. Even the singing of the birds seemed to be even more angelic now. Was this how it always felt when a stallion asks the mare that been haunting his every thought out? Before he could ponder the situation more Carmel decided to break the silence.
“By the way Mac, I saw you running around town all day like your hooves were on fire,” he said, eyeing the big red pony for a reaction. “What could have you of all ponies running around such as that?” Mac didn’t reply as he kept looking ahead, fighting back the blush on his face. The whole morning was something he didn’t want to remember. Caramel, however, seemed to be enjoying the slight discomfort in his friend. After knowing Big Mac for a few years, a pony could tell by the slightest twitch in Mac’s normal stoic behavior that they were on to something.
“Watching you run around like that picking up flowers then some chocolate; it was quite the show to watch,” he added as he watched as Mac shook his head as if he was trying to clear a thought out, a telltale sign he was on the right track. “So does somepony have a special somepony this year?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Eeyup,” Mac replied as he saw how interested Caramel was. He was afraid that if he didn’t give him a somewhat honest answer, he would keep digging. This did the opposite of what Mac wanted to do, for Caramel's grin grew wider as he picked up his pace to keep up with Big Mac, who was now walking a bit faster trying to get away.
“And who is the lucky mare?” he asked with a wide smile as he looked at Mac ready for an answer. Mac, however, gave no reply as he tried to quicken his pace. He knew that if he kept this pace, his poor friend Carmel would wear out eventually. Mac didn’t like to use his friend’s weaknesses against them, but he didn’t need Carmel to tell Pinkie, and therefore everypony in town, that he and Rainbow had a date before they actually were on a date. Knowing that crazy mare, Mac reckoned that she would throw a party saying that they were officially dating before anything else happened.
This did not slow down Caramel, who just kept on walking faster. Was he really this interested in who Mac might be seeing? Or was there another purpose? A much darker purpose that might involve his marefriend giving him a reward for bringing her new information?
That would actually make a bit of sense. Mac thought, looking down at the oh-so innocent stallion. Whenever Pinkie Pie was around, ponies learned to keep their mouths shut and stopped any form of information that might lead the mare into thinking there needed to be a party of some kind. Caramel, on the other hoof, could walk through a crowded room and nopony would notice him. Could it be he was the one actually getting the information for Pinkie Pie?
“None of your business,” Mac replied dryly as he saw the outline of the farmhouse. “Now Ah gotta get ready for my date. So Ah would suggest you do the same,” Mac said to his friend before trotting off. He didn’t wait for a response; if Pinkie Pie was using him a spy, he had already given her too much information.
After his departure from Caramel, Mac was coming close to the farmhouse when he saw a light blue pony sitting on the front porch. Getting closer, he noticed it was Soarin, the Pegasus that was second in command of the Wonderbolts and dating his sister. Now Mac hadn’t had met this suitor to his sister officially; she had made it damn near impossible for Mac to do so, but that didn’t mean Mac hadn’t done some research on the celebrity.
By all accounts, it seemed that this Soarin feller was a kind, well manner, caring and honest stallion. The only ill words that seemed to follow him were from rivals or former marefriends who didn’t like the fact he was now with an Earth Pony. From listening to Rainbow Dash, it only seemed to cement the fact this was a stallion that would treat his sister with all the respect and kindness a suitor should treat a mare. This, however, did not escape the fact that, as Applejack’s older brother and oldest stallion on the farm, he had the duty and privilege of threatening the suitor and making sure he knew who was in charge.
Soarin was sitting on the front porch of the Apple House, whistling a tune that had been stuck in his head for the better half of two days, waiting for Applejack to get ready for their date. Normally, Applejack would have been ready for a date with Soarin a good twenty minutes before he arrived or they were to meet, to avoid Big Mac. Today, however, Applejack assumed that, with Big Mac leaving to do some ‘errands’ in town after asking what Rainbow Dash liked, that they had plenty of time to get ready. He was in no rush; he didn’t mind waiting on her, just as long as they could spend the night together. With that thought in mind he looked over the farm again to see all of the wonder of it; that was, until he saw a large red figure approaching him.
Mac would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy how Soarin’s face slowly morphed into fear when he saw him approaching. At first, a look of disbelief came over him as he saw the red figure approaching, shaking his head in hopes that he was seeing things. When the image did not fade, but, rather, got closer, his eyes grew wide as his mouth hung open slightly. Mac chuckled slightly before he got the house taking up his stoic expression. He crossed in front of Soarin and sat down next to him, still chewing the piece of hay in his mouth.
“Howdy,” Mac said casually as he looked out over the farm.
“Go-good af-afterno-noon,” Soarin stuttered out, looking more worried than Mac had been a few minutes ago. He saw out of the corner of his eye Soarin straighten up, now sitting at looked like full attention as he stared ahead of them. Beads of sweat started to run down his face as he kept glancing at Mac, not sure what to do. It was becoming hard to hide the smile that wanted to creep out, seeing how much fear Soarin had of him.
“So, Ah understand your dating ma sister,” Mac said simply, still looking out over the farm not turning to face Soarin. He could see Soarin almost jump at the comment, obviously dreading this moment for a while. Swallowing a lump in his throat, Soarin took a deep breath as he tried to come up with a reply.
“Y-yes I a-am,” he stuttered, still afraid to make eye contact with the big brother. Mac could almost see the Pegasus who had performed in front of millions of ponies shake a little as he replied.
“Well, Ah’m happy for the two of ya,” Mac said, allowing his grin to show a bit, breaking the stoic look on his face. “You seem to be a fine stallion and if Ah know ma sister she wouldn't be spenden her time with a stallion she wasn’t serious about,” Mac said with a nod. Soarin had turned to Mac, staring at him to make sure he wasn’t joking. He saw that Mac was just grinning as he looked over the farm.
“Y-you mean that?!” Soarin asked in complete disbelief. From what Applejack, Granny, Applebloom, and any other pony that knew the Apples had said, Mac was very protective of his family and had already chased off a few suitors before him. Applejack did go into detail about the time he actually bucked a stallion off their property and that stallion was never able to walk the same again.
“Eeyup,” Mac replied as he flipped the piece of hay in his mouth effortlessly, dealing with the whole situation as if it was discussion about the weather. Soarin’s grin started to grow wider as he started to imagine telling Applejack that Mac had given them a blessing of sorts. Now maybe they could stay out a bit longer or even kiss in public.
“However,” Soarin gulped as he turned to face Mac again, who was now looking straight into his eyes with a glare, Mac’s face taking on that of one of danger. “If you do anythin to hurt ma sister well…” Mac looked out of the farm again and chewed on the piece of hay in his mouth flipping it a few times making sure he had the Pegasus's full attention. “Many accidents happen out here on the farm. Then there are lots of places one could hide a body if they really wanted to,” Mac said, turning back to Soarian.
To Mac’s pure pleasure and delight, he saw that Soarin was wide eyed once more and was visibly shaking in fear. Taking a small piece of folded up paper out of his yoke, Mac passed it to him. “Now these are just some simple rules Ah want yea to follow when you're out dating ma sister,” Mac said, patting Soarin on the shoulder a few times with his large hoof, each pat harder than the last. “Now Ah will be down at the dance tonight as well, so Ah will make sure you're following them. Understand?”
“Y-yes sir!” Soarin replied, turning to Mac and saluting him. Now Mac visibly laughed as watched the nervous Pegasus's reaction. It seemed that Applejack had found a good stallion for a coltfriend, and Mac was personally going to have fun with this one. Now he was almost hoping that Soarin and Applejack might be in love so that Soarin had to ask him for permission to marry his sister. Hopefully, he will get word of the soon to be proposal beforehoof so he can make sure Braeburn and a few other Apple stallions were in town to really scare the Pegasus.
Just at that moment, Applejack walked out of the front door smiling and humming a tone similar to the one Soarin had been whistling before Mac’s arrival. She had washed all of the dirt and dust out of her mane that came from a hard day’s work, and was looking her best for her date. She had even changed the normal red bands she had in her mane with blue ones. She turned to face her date with a smile, but it instantly faded when she saw that Big Mac was with Soarin, and that her coltfriend was still visibly shaking.
“Mac, what did ya do to ma date?!” Applejack demanded as she kept an eye on Soarin, who was still too afraid to move.
“Notthin, just haven ourselves a little chat,” Mac said with a smile as he walked passed Soarin and his sister, who was now glaring daggers at him, making him chuckle. “Now you two have fun on your date,” he said, pushing the door open for himself. “And Soarin,” Mac paused as the Pegasus looked back at him, still wide eyed in fear. “Lots of space out there.” And, at that, Mac closed the door, laughing to himself.
As Big Mac went to prepare for the date, Rainbow Dash was still flying through the air doing flips, corkscrews, and every other trick she could think of other than a Sonic Rainboom. She did not remember feeling this happy before in her life; was she really becoming sappy like Rarity about this whole romance thing? As proud as Rainbow was, she could not help but giggle at the thought, because right now she did not care. She was going on a date with Big Mac! The only way this day could get any better was if she was accepted into the Wonderbolts.
Distracted by her own thoughts, she did not notice she was on a direct collision course with a grey mailmare, and before anything else could be done, she and the mare had crashed into one another. The pair started to spin out of control and were speeding towards the ground. Rainbow, who was now all too used to crashes, was instantly aware of the situation and was pulling out of the spinning dive. Thankfully, there was, for once, enough space between herself and the earth in order to pull out of the dive. Leveling off, she looked around for any trace of the pony she had crashed into. Once she found them, she was going to give a piece of her mind for potentially ruining her date!
“Boop!” came the familiar voice of Derpy Hooves as she booped Rainbow Dash on the nose. Instantly, all the anger and rage that was filling Rainbow Dash vanished when she saw the gold strange eyes of Derpy. Rubbing her forehead where the point of collision had happened, she gave a glare to the mailmare.
“Derpy, why didn’t you warn me that I was coming right at you?” Rainbow asked, certain that Derpy would have seen Dash coming at her a mile away. At this, Derpy just gave out a laugh as the two hovered in the air.
“Well, you looked really happy, so I didn’t want to bother you!” she said innocently as she shook her head making her eyes spin slightly. “Also I thought you were wanted to play a game of chicken,” she laughed. Dash just rolled her eyes as she glared at Derpy. She was about to give her a verbal lashing about playing chicken when only one pony knows, when she noticed something strange in the pony’s blond mane.
“Um, Derpy, what’s that?” Dash asked, pointing to the strange clip in Derpy’s mane. The clip looked to be an hourglass that was just clipped onto Derpy’s hair with no intention of holding back any hair or anything of the sort; just to be there and be shown. Derpy reached for it with her free hoof and a light blush covered her face as she rubbed the clip, the other hoof still holding the mail sack.
“Just a special gift from a special somepony,” she said, blushing even more now as she gave out a fit of giggles. Dash looked at her in confusion; it was hard to see Derpy with a special somepony. It wasn’t because she wasn’t pretty; in fact she was quite pretty, but just because of her klutzy manner. If this conversation was taking place indoors, she was sure something would have been broken by now.
“Really?” she asked in a confused manner. “Who is it?” This was answered by a fit of laughed and another bop on the nose.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Derpy asked as she smiled bright at Rainbow Dash, who only shook her head, still confused. “Time Turner!”
A little bit of Rainbow Dash’s mind broke at that statement. Time Turner and Derpy Hooves dating? They were special someponies? That idea seemed so ridiculous, that to even pair the two together was just insanity. Time Turner was supposed to be one of the smartest ponies out there; some even said he had invented time travel and used it whenever he wanted to. Derpy, on the other hoof, was always breaking things and could not fly in a straight line to save her life. The idea of the two of them was just crazy it would be like a….
Farmer and a Racer dating. A smile crossed Rainbow’s lips as she looked to Derpy, who was still smiling and giggling. Was this town really full of ponies that were attracted to their opposite? With a smile, Rainbow Dash returned the bop on the nose.
“Well, I am happy for you!” Rainbow said brightly, before gaining a bit of altitude. “As much as I would like to stick around and talk, I got to go get ready for my own big date,” she said with a grin.
“You mean your date with Big Mac?” Derpy asked, before turning to her mailbag and started to ruffle through it. Rainbow Dash’s face fell. How did she know about her date with Big Mac? It only happened just a few minutes ago and Derpy knew of it? Was she spying on them?! No, stealth and Derpy did not mix. Then how did she find out about it? The answer was revealed when a pink invitation was shoved in her face.
“Pinkie Pie stopped me on my way back from Sugarcube Corner to deliver these!” she said with a wide smile. The invitation was covered with rainbows, green apples, and hearts. It was an invitation to ‘Rainbow Dash and Big Mac are Finally Dating Party!’ that was being held the next day at the Sweet Apple Barn. Rainbow Dash was frozen; her wings stopped flapping for a moment, making her start to fall.
“How the buck did she find about this?!” Rainbow Dash shouted, as she gave a powerful flap of her wings, shooting her back into the air. Looking around, she saw that Derpy Hooves was already gone and was out delivering those horrible invitations. Giving a growl, Rainbow Dash flew back to her house at top speed, almost creating a Sonic Rainboom. If she didn’t have to prepare for her date, she would find Pinkie Pie and beat her within an inch of her life!
“How does she even get this information?” she asked, flying over Ponyville back to her cloud home. She was unaware of a certain pink mare showering a brown maned stallion with kisses in the streets below.