//------------------------------// // Part 6 // Story: Slow to Realize // by Captain Unstoppable //------------------------------// Slow to Realize Part 6 Mac and Rainbow leaned against one another for what felt like an eternity, an eternity that ended all too soon when the pair realized it was getting darker and the dance was to start soon. As they approached the small town, the pair could see other couples heading towards the park for the dance. Each one was like them, leaning against their date for the night, ready to dance with just them for as long as they could stay on their hooves. The town was something else in the lowering sun. Even Rainbow, who had looked at the town with so much disgust that day, had to admit it now looked amazing. The red and pink hearts that were decorating the town were now softly glowing as candles had been lit inside of them, casting a red and pink glow on to the street below. The silver and red streamers were reflecting the sun’s magnificent light, making them a bright orange that complimented the glow of the hearts. The town had been transformed almost entirely into a true lover’s paradise. Looking out, Mac and Rainbow could only stare in awe of the town, till he noticed somepony out of the corner of his eye. Coming down a path leading out of the forest came Braeburn and Fluttershy. Braeburn was holding a picnic basket in his mouth, and Fluttershy looked flustered; the feathers on her wings were sticking out in random directions, and her mane looked like it had not been brushed in a week. The pair didn’t seem to take notice of Mac and Rainbow, for Braeburn was leaning close to Fluttershy, and looked like he was whispering in her ear. Even from a distance, it was clear that whatever the wild west stallion was saying to Fluttershy was making the every so shy mare give little squeaks of surprise, but looked happy all the same. Rainbow and Mac watched at the two walked into the town, side by side and, as they did, so Rainbow gave an audible gasp, which she quickly tried to cover up with a fit of coughing. Mac looked from Rainbow to the pair heading into town, nothing seemed to be strange about them. They just seemed like a normal couple. Looking back at Rainbow, he could tell that something was one her mind, but she was trying to look cool and collected. “Somethin the matter?” he asked, still looking back, trying to figure out what Rainbow could have seen. She looked up at him in surprise, a split second of disbelief came over her as she eyed him carefully. “Didn’t you see it?” “Is there somethin wrong with Miss Fluttershy datin ma cousin?” Mac asked. He sounded more confused than anything else. Whatever Rainbow saw completely went over his head. She just stared at him in total disbelief till she pointed at the spot again. “Her tail! Didn’t you notice her tail?!” She shouted, she was now hovering right in front of him, her wings like a hummingbird's, moving so fast that they were a transparent blue blur. “Dash,” Mac started, looking at her with pure confusion present on his face. “Ah don’t have the foggiest idea what yer goin on about, so ya might want to explain it to me.” Rainbow gave a growl of frustration as she reached out and grabbed Mac’s face with both of her hooves. “She had her tail over his flank! Come on, you have to know what that means! That’s the way a mare tells other mares to back off! This stallion is taken! They! Are! Mine!” she shouted, shaking his head a bit. Mac just gave her a questioning look as she shook his head, not about Fluttershy claiming Braeburn, but more in the fact how close their faces had come. His green eyes just kept looking into her eyes, a hint of embarrassment and unease about them. Rainbow didn’t seem to notice this for a few seconds till a light blush covered her face. “Shut up, Mac!” she said, landing back on the ground and beginning to trot into town, “We’re going to be late if you keep getting lost in how awesome I am.” Even though Mac couldn't see her face, just from her tone, he knew she was still blushing and a bit embarrassed about how close their faces had gotten. After what had just happened between the two of them, he would have thought she would have been okay with that. Yet again, Rainbow wasn’t the most predictable mare, which might be why as simple farmer like him would be attracted to her. The two of them walked into town side by side heading right for the large park that would host the dance. Everywhere a pony would look,  couples could be seen, all either heading for the dance or preparing for it. Every street, road, and ally had a couple or two in them, all getting in those last minutes of private passion before heading off into the dance. One of those couples was Pinkie and Caramel,  who were nuzzling one another, eyes closed and both having wide grins on their faces as they stood there lost in each other’s company. Half of Dash’s mind wanted to go over there and beat Pinkie for sending out those damn party invitations, but the other half was too busy enjoying the warmth of Big Mac to even care. With a content sigh, she leaned into her stallion as they walked closer to the park. Being so close to Mac, she could hear his slow and steady heartbeat; a true testament to his athletic ability. Also, being so close to him, she could rub against his soft red coat. It was hard to believe that a stallion like him would have such a soft coat, but it felt great against her face. As she thought about how she could get lost in the sound and feel of Mac for the rest of her life,  he came to a sudden stop. “We’re here,” he whispered, his head bowing down a bit to reach Rainbow’s ear. Rainbow looked around and saw that the park was as transformed as the rest of the town and was holding what looked like almost the entire population of Ponyville. Everywhere Rainbow saw familiar faces in the crowd. She saw Rarity and Thunderlane standing close to the stage, Rarity obviously wanting to show off her prize in front of the town, while Thunderlane seemed to be in a state of bliss,  just happy to have Rarity leaning against him. Rainbow could almost imagine a jealous Spike hiding in a tree somewhere with the CMC under him, trying to make him come down. A few feet away from her was Mr and Mrs Cake with their twins, the married couple was each holding a foal and were using foaltalk to them, but were leaning against one another all the same. It was hard to find a couple like them, who could keep the magic alive between them for so many years. Finally she spotted the funny sight she had seen that day. Twilight was standing next to that orange Pegasus, but was glaring at her brother, who was glaring at the terrified Pegasus. Rainbow had to suppress a laugh as she looked at the two sibling’s glares; it was a wonder how the poor Pegasus was able to be that close to Twilight at all. “Ready to find a spot?” Mac asked, once again reminding Rainbow why she was here. With a smirk, she looked up at her stallion. “I know the perfect spot. Follow me, stud,” she said with a laugh, watching Mac’s body give a light shake at the word. To his credit, he recovered quickly and started to follow Rainbow into the crowd, pushing through them till Rainbow came to what she thought was the perfect spot, while Mac slightly paled. They were standing in the dead center of the entire park, right in the center of attention. Rainbow looked around excitedly as she walked over to Mac and nuzzled herself under his large head. “Right where we need to be,” she said with a grin. “A-are ya sure?” he asked, looking around to see the strange looks they were getting from all the others there. Before Rainbow could assure him, Mayor Mare’s voice broke over the crowd, making all heads turn towards the source of the sound. “Welcome, one and all to Ponyville’s annual Hearts and Hooves Day Dance!” Mayor Mare shouted, standing on the stage that had been set up for the day. Standing next to her was Time Turner and Octavia, the later sitting, and holding a cello in her hooves. The crowd gave a cheer at the announcement, but was quickly silenced as Mayor Mare held up her hoof to silence them. “Now as you all know, this dance is a hour long. The first half is to take place with the setting sun, and the second at night, to symbolize that love goes on forever,” she said with an almost dreamy look. “Now without further ado, Time Turner,  start the clock!” Everypony turned their attention to the master of clocks, but the stallion was not paying attention. Instead,  he was looking out into the crowd,  smiling and mouthing words to somepony. Mac followed the stallion’s line of sight till he found where there was a small clearing where a grey pegasus with a blonde mane was standing, smiling at him and mouthing words back. Silence reigned for a little bit, as everypony watched the two ponies interacting, neither one of them noticing that all the attention of the situation had been turned towards them; that was, until Mayor Mare cleared her throat as loud as possible to get Time Turner’s attention. Time Turner looked up in surprise, looking around to see that everypony was now staring at him. He smiled sheepishly as he swallowed a lump in my throat. “Um...yes, Mayor?” he asked, as he did so a chorus of laughter erupted from the crowd. “The clock, Time Turner, the clock! Start  it now! You and your own special somepony can spend the rest of evening talking later,” she groaned, rolling her eyes as she did so. Time Turner gave a little jump in surprise, seeing that he had missed his cue. “Oh! Oh right!” he exclaimed galloping over towards the magnificent clock. The clock was a large grandfather clock with two large hourglasses on either side of it. Giving the lever a pull, the two large hourglasses turned over, and the Grandfather clock gave a large tone signaling the beginning of the dance. Once that tone had ended, Octavia began to play at once using her mastery of music, creating a sound perfect for the atmosphere. The rhythm was slow, but not so slow that one could not dance to it, but that perfect pace that when a couple dance; they could get lose in one another without much interference. As soon as the  music would start, each stallion would comply with the tradition of the dance. Each would take a step away from the mare they came to the dance with. This would take place in almost in perfect unity, and each one bowed to the mare to ask for a dance. From there, the mare would step forward to close the gap left by the stallion, to symbolize that they accepted their partners invite to dance. Mac was planning on following this tradition, as an Apple and a gentlecolt. As the music started to play, Mac took a step backwards like many of the stallions around him, but before he could fully bow Rainbow Dash had already stepped forward and started to nuzzle her head against his thick neck. Mac was startled by this action;  a shiver made it’s way up from the base of his neck all the way to the tip of his tail. Looking around, he saw that the stallions had just finished their bows. Several mares were giving Rainbow glares, one of them being his own sister. “Uh, Rainbow,” Mac said, looking around. “Yer supposed ta wait till Ah bow to-” Rainbow pecked him on the cheek as she took a step forward, making Mac take another step back, Rainbow taking the lead in the dance. “Screw tradition,” Rainbow said with a laugh, taking a step backward so Mac would have to step forward if he wanted to keep her resting on his neck. “It’s more fun to mix things up like this.” At that Rainbow leaned up and kissed him on the cheek before resting her head on Mac again, as the two began to move back and forth in the space they had chosen to dance. Mac had no choice but to follow her lead. One would think being a big stallion such as himself he would have more control over the situation, but between her forceful nature and how amazing she looked that evening; Mac was just putty in her hooves. Bowing his head a little, he nuzzled himself against her mane as the two danced back and forth. Her mane smelt like the air right after a good rain, a deep smell that meant life to a farmer like Mac. Combining it with the fact that the smell was coming off the mare that he had fallen so hard for just made things even better. “Take any deeper sniffs of my mane and I might start to think you're a stalker,” Rainbow laughed, making the poor stallion’s heart beat faster in embarrassment. Rainbow just laughed to herself as kept on leading the stallion in their dance. Mac could just feel his face lighting up like a Hearth’s Warming tree. Embarrassment was rising in him as he thought of his action, how odd and creepy it was to be taking such long inhales of a mare’s mane. As he went to open his mouth again, Rainbow once again interrupted him, a habit that Mac was starting to like more and more. “But why should I care? I like the smell of your mane as well,” she said, with such a tone of honesty that Mac felt that too familiar goofy grin take over his face. Nuzzling in a bit closer to her Mac got his lips close to her and whispered. “Well Ah’m glad ya like the way Ah smell. Otherwise you would of been in bit of trouble, seein that Ah’m a farmer and Ah usually tend to stink after a hard day’s work.” he said, he saw her eat twitch under his hot breath, and for some reason she just pressed her head against his neck more. “Heh, if you think that’s bad you should see me after practice,” she laughed, and in turn making Mac laugh as well. “Well that be the strangest thing Ah’d ever heard,” both ponies looked over in surprise and horror as they noticed Applejack and Soarin had somehow gotten closer to them in their own dance. “Two ponies goin on about how they like the way the other stinks, must be a pair made by Princess Cadence,” Applejack said with a grin, as she lead Soarin around the dance floor. Just like Mac, the Pegasus stallion had become nothing more than putty in Applejack’s hooves. Rainbow just rolled her eyes as Mac’s face got hotter, being overheard during an intimate conversation, and by his sister no less, was no stallion wanted to face. “Mind your own business,” Rainbow growled as she pushed harder against Mac, trying to lead him away from his sister and her best friend. Applejack just kept pulling Soarin around with her, chasing the pair in dance. “Ah was, Sugarcube, but hearing yall yapping like that, Ah just knew Ah had to break it up,” she laughed as she pulled out a little piece of paper. Mac recognized the piece of paper as the one he had given Soarin earlier that day listing rules he was supposed to follow during his date with his sister, most of the rules he had already broken with Rainbow Dash already. Mac gave a low groan as he noticed the look in Applejack’s eyes. “Accordin’ to Mac here, you're not supposed to be dancin’ any closer than five inches. Then all this flirting has to stop, but most of all, no kissing the date at all,” she said with a smirk. “Now seein as you two have already kissed and broken all these other rule, Soarin and Ah are free to do what we want to do,” she said as she dropped the paper and stepped on it, and as she did so she leaned up and kissed Soarin on the lips. Soarin, who had seemed to be in his own little world, seemed shocked to find Applejack’s lips on his, and quickly returned the kiss. Mac gave a deep grunt, but was pushed back by Rainbow who took the opportunity to try to get a bit further from Applejack. The grunt also seemed to have been heard by Soarin, for he looked for the noise and went pale when he saw Big Mac glaring at him. “Stop that,” Rainbow said stepping on Mac’s hoof, making him wince. “Just let them enjoy the night like we are, besides the only mare you need to be protecting here is me,” she said, as she rubbed her head against his large neck. Mac didn’t look down at Rainbow, but kept on glaring at Soarin, who Applejack was leading away. “And why’s that?” he asked, still not looking down. “First off, look at your marefriend when she is talking to you,” she said raising one of her wings and pushing his head back toward her. “And second, look around us,” Mac wasn’t sure what shocked him more: the fact that Rainbow had just announced she was his marefriend, what his sister did right in front of him, or what he saw when he looked up. Looking around, he could see a few mares glaring at Rainbow as they danced with their own partners. Many of them seemed to be angered to see Rainbow dancing with Mac, and were trying to get either closer or further away from the couple. “Some of dem don’t seem to happy ta see ya with me,” he said smirking, as he lowered his head and kissed her on the forehead. Rainbow just giggled lightly as he did so. “So are you going to protect me from the horde of angry mares for taking the towns best looking eye candy?” she asked, as she made sure give each mare a good look at how close she was to Mac. The stallion just gave a deep chuckle as he rested his head on top of her’s. “With ma very life,” he said laughing. “But Ah doubt Ah need to do anythin’” he said as he rubbed the side of her face with his muzzle. “Look fer yerself,” Mac said as he pushed lightly on Rainbow’s face so she would turn a look. Looking around, a smile spread across Rainbow’s face. Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and even Derpy had led their partners towards Mac and Rainbow and were now surrounding them, keep all of the other couples away. Even Shining and Cadence were part of the small barrier, even if the only reason they were there was to keep tabs on Twilight and Flash. “Ya got some pretty good friends,” Mac whispered in her ear, as he slowed down the pace of their dance till they were just swaying against one another. “Eeyup,” Rainbow said, mimicking the catch phrase of Mac. “And also a pretty good coltfriend,”