333445 Caramel sighed, and found the smile had finally left his face. "You don't have to lie. You just said yourself it was awkward."

333446 "Ah ain't lyin'" Big Macintosh said "Fact of the matter is, ah only hired ya because ah wanted some company for once..." He paused a moment "It is awkward... but ah still don't mind that... it's botherin' ya more..."

333448 A smile slid onto Caramels face once more. This time it was genuine, and much softer. "I'm overreacting huh? Sorry." He took a deep breath. "Alright, so what would you like to talk about then?"

333449 "Ah..." Big Macintosh paused before his face let on a small smile and he began chuckling before turning to Caramel "Ah don't even know what ah wanted to talk 'bout!"

333450 Caramel laughed in response. "Well I suppose it doesn't matter anyway," he said turning to face Big Mac," It wouldn't have lasted long if we dd start up again." He proved this point by gesturing to the rather small amount of wall the pair had left to scrub.

333453 Big Macintosh nodded. "Yeah, after this ya'll can leave." He said. "Ready to get it done?"

333454 Caramel nodded and turned back to the wall. It suddenly dawn on him that his forelegs were starting to hoof. The conversation must've made a for better distraction than he'd thought.

333458 Big Mac placed the rag on the wall and began to drag it down on the dirt. A small smile was on his face.

333459 Caramel stopped scrubbing just before bumping into Big Mac. He admittedly wasn't sure what to say now, so he simply stepped back and waited for the crimson stallion to finish his own last sweep.

333461 Big Macintosh gave one final wipe before smiling at his work. "Guess we're done." He said.

333462 "Yeah I guess so." Caramel sighed and trotted back to his saddle bag to toss the rag back in. "So um...when can I expect the pay?" he asked quietly without turning back to Big Mac. He surprised himself with his own shyness. He couldn't think of a good reason not to ask for the pay, but for some reason it still came out with difficulty.

333463 "Oh, sorry." Big Macintosh mumbled. He pulled out a small sack of money and handed it to the tan pony. "And... ya don't gotta be shy about it." He smiled with a small blush as he said this before turning away out of embarrassment.

333464 Caramel nodded and threw the pouch into the bags. Normally that would've been it. He would've thanked Big Mac and waltzed out without another word, but today he found his mind wandering back to the coin. One more test couldn't hurt. "Thanks," he said, still without turning," So are you doing anything after this?"

333469 Big Macintosh whipped his head at the tan stallion. "R-Really?" He asked. His voice had an obvious flutter of passion in it, and his cheeks met the excitement by turning pink. He blinked several times. "S-Sure..." He said. He turned away, his poker face returning.

333474 Caramel paused. "S-sure what?" he said turning back to the stallion.

334107 I derped.
Big Mac blushed "A-Ah mean... no... got a little 'head of myself." He chuckled softly.

334166 Caramel grinned. "Well then I guess my next question has already been answered, but..." the tan pony closed his eyes and cleared his throat. This time he spoke with confidence. "Big Macintosh, would you like to grab something to eat with me?"

334170 Big Macintosh gave a small, shy grin. "A-Alright!" He said, confidence in his voice despite the shyness it clearly held. His poker face from before was nowhere to be seen.

334220 Caramel nodded and tossed his saddlebags onto his back. He then shot Big Mac a confident smile just before turning away and saying, "Alright then. I'll pay." With that he started walking out the door. He moved more quickly than he probably should have, but he was suddenly too nervous to think about what he was doing and his grin showed it. He figured it was probably best if Big Mac didn't get too good of a look.

334229 Big Macintosh's hooves started to move, following Caramel the same as before.

334272 Caramel remained completely silent until the pair had left the farm. Then it suddenly dawned on him that he didn't know where thy were going. "So," he asked nervously," Where do you feel like eating?"

334282 Big Macintosh shrugged "Know of any good places?" He asked.

334309 Caramel stopped for a moment to think. "Well there's always Sugar Cube Corner, but they don't have much in the way of lunch," he said, thinking aloud," Then there's that one outdoor place I can never remember the name of. Or we could go to that little cafe in the market." He chuckled. "Come to think of it there aren't that many restaurants around here."

334315 "Yer right." Big Macintosh mumbled. He paused for a long while "Someplace outdoors would be nice. Ah ain't fond er bein' cooped up all day."

334319 "Alright," Caramel responded," It shouldn't be far from here then." With that said he continued walking in silence towards the restaurant.

334322 Big Macintosh picked up speed and began walking along side the tan pony, occasionally glancing at him as they exited the apple field and entered Ponyville. They stayed silent, yet the stallion seemed happier not being put on the spot so much.

334327 As Caramel predicted, it wasn't long before the pair reached the restaurant. The pair was welcomed to sit down by the host, and managed to find a table quickly as well. Caramel simply stared quietly at his menu rather than speak. He really wasn't sure where to go from here. It was finally starting to dawn on him that he was on a date with Big Mac.

334341 Big Macintosh imitated Caramel in the same manor of silence, hoping the tan pony wasn't too uncomfortable at the moment sitting here with him... he didn't want anypony to get the wrong impression of the smaller stallion.

334426 "So..." Caramel start, once again nervously trying to force conversation, "What are you getting?"

334692 Big Macintosh glanced up. He could sense the nervous tension in the other's voice. "Daisy Sandwich..." He mumbled. "Nice change from apples." He paused "How about ya?"

334695 Caramel lowered his menu and shot Big Mac another smile. "I'm thinking I'll get a mushroom burger. I could use something hearty."

334703 Big Macintosh shrugged. He paused for a long time before setting down the menu. He looked like he was thinking for a long time before opening his mouth. "So... er..." He paused a moment longer, contemplating on how to word the conversation. "Weren't ya datin' some pegasus? Light green one?"

334897 "I was. We broke up about a month ago." Caramel sighed. "She was just a bit more...serious than I was. So to speak." The tan pony paused for a moment to think. "Now that I think about it, whatever happened between you and Cheerilee?"

334906 "That one is a 'tad complicated..." He said, rubbing his temple with a hoof, memories of the love potion returning.

334993 "Sorry I didn't mean to reopen any recent wounds."

335060 "Ain't that." Big Macintosh mumbled "It was sort of... a blind date..." He tried to explain it as simply as possible.

335084 Caramel smiled and nodded. "I've been on a couple of those. Funny though. I figured Cheerilee would be just your type."

335228 Big Macintosh shrugged. "She was nice an' all... but I don't really like... ponies like that." He mumbled.

335347 "I understand," Caramel responded. The tan pony turned away from Big Mac and waved down a waiter. "I think it's about time we get some food here," he said with a good-humored smile aimed at the stallion across from him.

335513 "Y-Yeah." Big Macintosh said confidently. He sat up as the waiter came over, only half listening to Caramel's order before saying his own.

335816 Once the waiter had left Caramel cheerfully waved him on and turned back to Big Mac. "Look's like we have a bit of a wait. In the meantime, what should we talk about?"

336280 Big Macintosh paused a moment. He glanced up and looked into the other's eyes for a full five seconds before mumbling. "Er... how did ya get that cutie mark of yours?"

337311 "It's not that much of a story truth be told," Caramel said, "All three of us got them at the same time, me, my sis and my brother that is, during a game of hide and seek. Well sort of anyway."
Caramel chuckled as he thought back. "You see me and Toffee got into a fight over something at the top of the stairs. I think it was something about cheating but I can't really remember, anyway it's not important. You see what is important is that while we were fighting we somehow managed to fall right over the banister, and when we landed we were miraculously unharmed," the tan pony raised his arm in the air to emphasize the miracle. "And to top it off we both noticed a little later that we had our cutie marks."

338329 "That sounds a lot more thrillin' than me." Big Macintosh mumbled "I was last in class to get mine, everypony else used ta call me slow and dumb cause of it. Though when I finally did get it, they backed off... mostly because I learned by buckin' a new apple record."

341282 "That's way more impressive than mine," Caramel cheered, "I didn't even know there was an apple bucking record."

341372 "'Tis more of a family thing than anything else." Big Mac mumbled, blushing a little through his red coat. "A-Ah mean... 'tis been goin' on in the family for generations."

341391 "Still something worth bragging about though. I'm guessing it takes alot work to stand out like that."

342414 Big Macintosh found himself shrugging. "Ain't like anypony expects me to do anything else with my life." He paused briefly "It's always buck apples, reproduce, die in my family. Sure we have the odd duck once every while... but ah was always a litle scared to be that one..." The stallion shook his head. "Sorry, ya don't want me ta ramble on 'bout my life, do ya?" He asked.

342683 Caramel shook his head. "You're more interesting than you think Big Mac," he said.

342867 Big Macintosh blinked a few times "First time somepony ever told me that there..."