//------------------------------// // The Date // Story: Angel Wings // by SeasonTheWiccan //------------------------------// It was now 6 o'clock and Big Mac was walking up to Angel's house with a bouquet of roses and calla lilies, along with a smile on his face and sweat running down his face and neck. He was clearly nervous. 'Alright Mac, you can do this, if all goes wrong, it was worth a try.' He smiled at himself when he remembered hearing her sing for the first time and thinking that he'd have to something big to get her attention; in the end, all she needed to do was ask. He then knocked on her door, after a few seconds, the door opened to reveal Rarity. At first, he was confused as to why Rarity was there, he was about to ask when she spoke instead, "Hello Big Mac, I just dropped by to help Angel get ready. Trust me, your patience will be rewarded." Big Mac waited with Rarity at the foot of the fleet of stairs leading to Angel's bedroom. "Angel! Big Mac's here!" Rarity called. Big Mac then took a deep breath and waited for his date, 'Pull yourself together Mac, just be as calm as a pig in the mud.' He then saw her turn the corner and came down the stairs toward him, her hair was pulled into a side bun with two ringlet curls framing the other side of her face. Another thing he noticed as she came down towards him was how she smelled, 'SHE PUT ON PERFUME?!' He panicked, he didn't even put on any of his cologne! Which he usually saved for special occasions but now he probably smelled like pigs, mud, compost and sweat. 'STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!' he yelled in his mind, while outwardly he was sweating and had a goofy smile on his face. "Big Mac? Are you okay?" Angel asked. "Ah...ah...ah uh...." "Rarity, I told you the hair was too much! I'll just go upstairs and take it down." "NO!" Big Mac yelled as she began to turn toward the stairs. Angel looked back at him, a little surprised as he continued, "It's just...you look...a-amazing." Angel blushed, "Thanks." Big Mac then remembered the flowers, "Oh! Uhm...these are fer you." "Roses and Calla Lilies!" "Ah couldn't pick which bouquet ta get you, Ah'm sorry if it's too much..." "They're perfect." Angel took out the drying roses and gently placed the bouquet in the vase in her dining room, she then crossed over to her front door and feeling a twinge of nervousness. Big Mac smiled as he led Angel out the door, Rarity smiled and wished them both the best of luck as the door closed behind them. They walked through town as the sun was setting, they walked past all the restaurants and cafes and that's when Angel got a little nervous. "We're not eating at a restaurant?" He only looked at her with a soft smile, "Nnope!" They walked for a few more minutes and they were outside of town, Angel turned her head back toward town and couldn't help but notice how peaceful it looked at this time of day. She felt as if every fear inside her had melted away into the ground she smiled at herself, she hadn't felt this way in a long time. The last time she felt like this was when her father took her to the crown of the Statue of Liberty as a filly and saw Manehattan in the same way she saw Ponyville now. She felt the same warmth in her soul that she had felt as a filly, she was soon taken out of her spell when Big Mac called for her. She looked up at him with a grin and gently took his hoof to lead her to their destination. They walked for five more minutes, it was now dusk and in front of Angel was a gazebo of some sorts. There were four trees supporting the two tiers of lime green roofing and under the trees and the open roof was a red and white blanket with a lit lantern in the center, the blanket was set for two ponies and off to the side was a basket. Angel didn't know how to respond, 'What do I say? Oh, c'mon Angel...don't look like an idiot!' Angel could only smile at him warmly as he led her over; with each step, her heart was pounding fiercely. She didn't know what she could say, Big Mac had a reputation for not being the most open about his feelings. He just let certain things slide and not bother him. She sat herself down as Mac went for the basket, he opened it and began pulling food out. "Big Mac I could do that..." "It's okay, Ah've got it." "You're sure?" "Eeyup." "Okay." Angel looked up and saw the dusk light change the color of the roof from lime green to peach. The scene behind her, filled with pinks, peaches and oranges in every shade imaginable and all the while the sky above her was getting darker. Her attention was back on Big Mac as he pulled out an apple pie. He then took her plate and placed a scoop of Fettuccine Alfredo on it, he then did the same for his plate and while they ate, they talked. At first it was a bit awkward, seeing as they hardly knew anything about each other, Big Mac himself was getting especially nervous until Angel spoke up. "I'm sorry if I'm being so silent I'm just not used to this I guess..." "Angel, don't blame yerself...Ah'm the one who forced ya inta this." "Well, I just wanted to make things right...we kinda got off on bad hooves." "So...this yer first date?" Angel then looked as if somepony had slapped her; Big Mac's face held only concern. "Angel?" "Sorry, uhh...can we move on to a different topic please?" "Are you...alright?" "I'm fine." Big Mac looked unconvinced, "I'm fine, really." Angel tried to fight back the stinging tears but to no avail, one slipped out and no matter how much she tried to hide it, Big Mac saw it anyway. "Angel, yer cryin'." "No I'm not Big Mac, it's just the wind is stinging my eyes a little." Big Mac then got up and sat by her side, her face turned away from him. "Angel, what's goin' on?" Angel sighed, "Back in Manehattan, I was going out with this colt and...I REALLY liked him and we'd been going out for a while when..." Angel's sentence trailed off, how was she going to put this? "When what?" Big Mac asked. "There was...a...a crisis...a family crisis and...he abandoned me when I needed him most." She remembered when she told him of her condition. They had just gotten done with a date in Central Park when she told him at first there was shock on his face; then he just looked at her harshly and next came the heartbreak. He was obviously not taking this well. "So, we've been going out for all this time...and you never told me?!" "Look...Blazing Saddle I...I was going to tell you...I just...I didn't know how!" "Oh, and I'm guessing you were just gonna let me know when you DIED huh? Is that it!" "Blaze PLEASE! I-" "You know what? Fine! Die! See if I care!" Angel's head shot up, "What are you saying?" "We're done!" He walked past her as she tried to contemplate what just happened, she then turned and tried to reason with him. "Blaze, please! I need you now more than ever!" "If you needed me so badly...then you wouldn't be leaving me." Angel could only watch in tears as he continued to walk away. Back in the present, her tears were coming out like small streams. She then felt a hoof around her, she looked at Big Mac, whom she had forgotten was there. He looked at her with the face of compassion, he dried her tears on one side of her face with his hoof and the other side by nuzzling her. "He really hurt you didn't he?" She nodded as more tears came out. He gently placed his muzzle under her hers as she sobbed and said, "Ah would NEVER do that to you...Ah'm not gonna leave ya...Ah PROMISE." Angel's heart fluttered, her soul filled with joy, both of them looked at each other for a moment before trying to continue on. "So, is there anything Ah don't know aboutcha yet?" "Well, there is my parents but...I don't know..." "Well, now that you've told me, I wanna know more!" "I don't think it's the best thing for you to know-" "Tell me!" "No." "Tell me!" "No!" He then began tickling her side and she giggled hysterically. "Ah'll stop if ya tell me!" "Okay! Okay! I'll tell you!" Big Mac then stopped and nuzzled her cheek as she blushed and began, "My Mom's a music teacher back in Manehattan." "Does she teach at yer house or..." "No...she...she teaches at a school..." Angel said with hesitation. "Which school?" Angel bit her lip, "Foalliard." Big Mac's eyes widened, "Really?" "Yes, really." "And what about yer Dad?" "He's a director on Bridleway." Big Mac now felt a little intimidated but he put this aside and locked it away, he wouldn't let it ruin his chances with this mare, "Anything he's working on now?" "Uh...some play called 'Henny of the Hills.'" Big Mac raised an eyebrow at how silly the title of the play sounded. "I know it...sounds...silly." "Alright...anything else?" "Okay...since you asked...I'm into hoofball." Big Mac's eyes grew wide, he would have never have expected somepony like Angel to be even remotely interested in a sport like hoofball. "Surprised?" Angel asked. "A little." "All my cousins are boys, and I had to go to all of their games." "How many cousins do ya have?" "6, the two on my Mother's side are twins and the rest are on my Dad's side." "And Ah though mah family was big!" Angel giggled. "My family isn't crazy huge, but it is hard to keep track of all the high society friends that my parents have...especially around the holidays." "Ah can imagine that would be hard." "All these ponies would approach me and ask me if I remember them and I would be polite and say yes, but in all honesty...I'd only seen them once and...well..." "Ya hardly knew 'em." "Yeah." "Is that why ya left?" "No, not really, it's a small percentage." "Oh, then...why?" Angel sighed, "I...I honestly don't want to talk about it." Big Mac nodded and dropped the subject. As the sky turned dark, Angel rested her head on Big Mac's neck and smiled as the moon rose. He looked down at her with surprise at first, he then relaxed and nuzzled her affectionately. A few hours later, after talking back and forth about their favorite hoofball teams and sometimes getting into playful arguments on which team was superior, it was getting close to 10:30. It was then that Big Mac decided it was time to get Angel home by the tired look on her face. Mac let her sleep for a bit while he packed things up and occasionally glancing over at her. The moonlight was hitting her coat and mane just right and gave her an angelic glow, no wonder her parents gave her that name, it suited her. After everything was packed and put away, he nudged Angel gently to wake her up. When she awoke, she smiled sleepily and slowly got up; Big Mac supported her as he walked her home. Once they were at Angel's house Big Mac offered to help her up to her room, in which she declined. Saying she didn't really feel all too comfortable with it and Big Mac respected her wishes and honestly, that wasn't even his intentions at first. He just wanted to make sure she wasn't going to fall down the stairs and get hurt or something. They said their goodbyes for the night and Angel walked to the door, grabbed the spare key from under the welcome mat, unlocked it and entered. As she closed the door, she saw Big Mac leaving, and couldn't help but notice how her heart was beating a little faster. This was the first time she didn't feel uncomfortable with it, Big Mac had worked his way into her heart with little to no resistance from her. She closed the door softly, feeling as though she had just lost her horn, had grown wings and could walk on the clouds.