• Published 25th Nov 2013
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Slow to Realize - Captain Unstoppable



It's Hearts and Hooves Day in Ponyville again and Rainbow Dash is alone again this year, but not from a lack of trying. She had set her sights on the non-talkative brother of her best friend? Will she find a way to get the Earth Pony's atte

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Part 5

Slow to Realize

Part 5

The shock of the whole ordeal started to dim as Mac walked next to Rainbow on their way to the date. The sun was just setting over the hills beyond the orchard, casting shades of oranges and reds over the green fields. An artist could paint the sight a thousand times over, but they would never catch the true beauty of the scene that Mac saw. Maybe it was just because he and his family were responsible for the orchard there, and only those who worked on the orchard could appreciate the work. To know how much blood, sweat, and tears went into making that orchard as beautiful as it was.

As wonderful as the orchard was, it could not compare to the sight next to him. Looking behind him, he started to fully take in Rainbow Dash’s appearance. He was unable to appreciate it since they were trying to get away Granny, but now he could marvel in it. Her mane had been done up in a ponytail, bringing some of her mane off her face, accentuating her natural beauty and putting it on display. The red ribbon in her hair made her look very cute, though he would not dare say that to her; he knew she was a tomcolt and that the complement could be taken as an insult, but still he found it cute. Her mane itself looked amazing, with the front keeping that wind-blown look it always had, but the back looked like she had brushed it out. The effect was nothing short of breathtaking for Mac; it showed the athlete side of her, and the mare side at the same time.

Then there was the green mane clip that almost looked like his cutie mark; seeing it made him blush a bit. Knowing that she might have picked it out because of him was honored the stallion. It also made him think about she might be actually serious about this. Just thinking about that brought that unfamiliar grin to his face; anytime he thought of her or was around her that grin would appear, he didn't know where it came from but he liked it.

Mac looked around and took in his surroundings again. Between the sunset descending on the orchard his family worked so hard on, and Rainbow Dash right next to him, he felt like the luckiest stallion in all the world. When looking back at the mare who was making him feel this way, he found that she was a few steps behind him now, and was looking down at the ground. Immediately Mac slowed down to walk beside her again.

Did he already do something wrong? Sure, the whole ordeal with Granny had to be horrible experience, but she had seemed to have gotten over it. Racking his mind he tried to find another reason why she might now seem downtrot. Was it because he wasn’t talking? He knew that ponies sometimes were unnerved by how quiet he was; it wasn’t because he was shy or anything, he just didn’t like to be the center of attention a whole lot. Deciding to be the one to break the ice he took a deep breath and hoped for the best.

“Ya’ll alright Dash?” Mac asked, bowing his head down a bit to be the same level as her. Rainbow gave a start as she looked up at Mac. She gave a forced smile as she tried to act like she had never seemed down at all.

“Of course I am!” she said, with a air of confidence that just seemed to be hollow. Mac just stared at her as she started to trot a bit more quickly, try to show that she was completely alright. This did not fool the stallion as he took a step in front of her to stop her from proceeding. Rainbow looked up at Mac, and found herself staring right into his green eyes, the eyes she found to be the most attractive part of Mac’s entire being.

“Yer talken to a stallion who grew up in a house of mares,” Mac said, chuckling slightly at his proclamation. True though, growing up in a house of mares could be a hell at times, it did have it’s advantages when it came to reading mares. “Somethin’s up, and Ah want to know,” Mac said, sitting down in front of her and lowering his head a bit to be on eye level with Rainbow. “Ah want this night to be special fer both of us.”
Those last few words made the tomcolt’s heart melt. The idea that he was wanting this night to be special, brought up so many emotions that she didn’t even know she had. Turning her head away she gave a grunt before looking back at him, a smile forming on her face.

“Between those eyes and living with mares, you have an unfair advantage,” Rainbow laughed. She saw Big Mac just nod as he sat up straight again, his eyes never leaving hers for an instant.

“So yer goin to tell me what’s up?” he asked, not letting the conversation divert at all. If there was something wrong, he wanted to know and try to fix it. As a gentlecolt, he felt it was his duty and honor to fix a mares problems if he could. Sure it was old fashioned and mares today didn't need a stallions help for every little problem they had; Mac just felt it was just the nice thing to do, especially for a mare such as Rainbow.

Blushing again, Rainbow looked up at Mac, who was smiling so kindly right now that she just wanted to lean forward and kiss him. Suppressing that urge ahe took a deep breath and let it slowly, trying to collect her thoughts.

“Well, I guess I am wondering why you asked me out?” she asked, trying hard to fight back the burning in her cheeks. As she said this, a strange transformation started to take place on Mac’s face. From a gentle smile, to a look of pure confusion; one eyebrow rose up above as his eyes went wide. For a few seconds the pair just stood there, staring at one another; one with a look anticipation and worry, the other contorted in confusion. Soon the lapse between the time Rainbow asked to Mac’s answer was getting on the racers nerves.

“Well?!” she finally shouted, in such a tone that it could be no doubt that she was demanding an answer. The sudden shout brought Mac out of his confused state Mac and back to the present. He looked down upon a Rainbow Dash who looked as if she was giving much thought of running away. She looked hurt about how long it had taken the stallion to answer her.

“Ah’m just surprised that’s all,” Mac said slowly looking down at Rainbow. “Ah thought it would be as plain as water, as to why Ah asked yea out.” Mac chuckled at this. Rainbow, however, just looked confused as ever as Mac stood back up and walked up besides her. “Ah’ll tell yea why on the way there,” Mac said as he nuzzled the side of Rainbow neck. Mac’s face was burning as he did this; such a bold move to do, at least to him, on a first date. As he pulled away, he could see a light blush on her face from the action.

Soon their hooves started to move, and together they started for the dance once more. Licking his lips, Mac tried to figure out the best way to tell her why he asked her to the dance. All those reasons why that burned in his mind just a few short hours ago, all those thoughts that lingered in his mind for days, and weeks without end seemed gone now. Rainbow Dash kept looking up at him, expecting him to start talking, to tell her why he asked her. With one shaky breath, he uttered the words that only seemed to sum up why he asked her.

“Ah guess, Ah was just slow to realize what yea meant to me,” Mac said, keeping his eyes forward, afraid if he looked down to meet hers, his thoughts would turn to mush after looking into those eyes. “If you want the honest Apple truth, Ah guess it all kinda started when Ah first met yea, back before Ah really knew yea. Wouldn't call it love at first sight or any of that nonsense; you were just a pretty face to look at,” Mac started, trying to recall the first time he met Rainbow Dash. “Many ponies around town say that Rarity is the darn prettiest pony they gone ever seen, but Ah thought you were when Ah first laid eyes on yea.”

If Mac was to look down at Rainbow at that moment, he would have seen her face turning scarlet at his words. She would never admit it, but she was a bit jealous of the attention Rarity would draw from a crowd when she entered a party or other gathering. Not that she ever tried to look as pretty as Rarity, but she wouldn't mind it if she was told she was pretty from time to time. Sure, the tomcolt in her would sucker punch the person first, just to show that she was not a mare to be wowed by compliments, but still she was a mare and she didn’t mind somepony to taking the time to tell her she was pretty.

“Now Ah doubt yea want to hear me ramble about that,” Mac chuckled lightly, but before he could speak again, Rainbow Dash zoomed in front of him, stopping him dead in his tracks!

“Buck yea I do!” she shouted at him. For the last few weeks she had been trying to get him to notice her, and now she was finding out he had noticed her from the very beginning. Her heart was beating so fast, it almost felt like she had been flying at top speed for hours, and then performed a Sonic Rainboom. Her eyes were fixed on Mac, waiting to hear what he had to say about her, to praise her for something. Somehow, his opinion on whatever she did meant more than any pony’s, even the Wonderbolts, at that second.
What she saw though was his shocked expression. Either from her sudden burst of speed to cut him off, shouting at him, or how she was now sitting there, staring at him with all the attention she could give him, had thrown the stallion off balance. Her face turned pink as she looked away, trying to keep her eyes off him and at the ground.

“If, If you want to that is…” Rainbow trailed off at this last part, her eyes darting back up to him every few seconds, as a deep red blush started to overtake her face, obviously becoming embarrassed from her sudden action. Mentally she was face hoofing herself for it; she must have looked like a idiot in front of Mac now, some desperate mare probably! He probably saw her as a basket case, never wanting to go on a date with her again, let alone talk to her. As she contemplated about moving out of town to escape the shame, Mac gave her a little surprise of her own.

Leaning over, Mac kissed her on the cheek as she tried to keep her eyes focused on anything but him, missing the big stallion moving closer to her. The minute his lips pressed against her burning cheek, her eyes went wide with surprise.

“Yer awfully cute right now,” Mac said with a nervous laugh, his red coat unable to hide the blush that was covering his face now. The two ponies locked eyes once again; Mac still wore the same gentle smile, as Rainbow looked up at him wide-eyed and nervous. Licking his lips, Mac took a deep breath to regain his composure before reflecting on that day for the mare in front of him.

“Well, to be blunt Rarity is a pretty filly, but to me she just seemed a bit too plain. Ah know that might seem strange comin from me, but as much as Ah love ma normal life, sometimes a change is needed, yea know?” Mac asked, not really expecting an answer but knowing it was a good way to start his story. “So when Ah saw yea, well you were the most exotic thing Ah’d ever done seen. From yer rainbow mane to those stunning magenta eyes yea have.” Now a really deep blush was covering Mac’s face. This was the first time he had ever said these thoughts out loud, and telling them to the mare he found so attractive was just another level of embarrassment. “Anytime you were out at the farm, Ah’d try to get a look at yea. Ah’d wanted to talk to yea but Ah guess Ah was just too afraid to. Didn’t want to ruin yer’s and A.J’s relationship if yea knew her big brother had a crush on yea. Then Ah guess I was a bit afraid of rejection as well,” Mac kicked the dirt here, and looked away.

Rainbow was finding it hard to believe in everything Big Mac was telling her. From what she could tell, from the very first time she met Big Mac, that he never expressed any interest in her. She never even caught the stallion looking at her! Now, here he was telling her how from the very first time he saw her, he thought she was the prettiest mare he had ever seen, even when compared with Rarity! As Rainbow listened to Mac, her smile kept growing, feeling each complement that he gave her was going to make her heart explode with joy. Mac saw her smiling up at him, giving him the courage to move forward with his story.

“Tellin maself it was to protect A.J, Ah never tried to push thing with yea. Anyway, Ah doubted you really even knew Ah existed. Besides, Ah didn’t know the first thing about yea; except for what Applejack told me. Didn’t find it proper to ask yea out without knowin yea. But during the Iron Pony competition, and that whole mess with them Flim Flam brothers Ah got to see a whole nother side of you Rainbow.” Mac closed his eyes, reflecting on those incidents. Each one playing out before him, for this was the first time he felt he saw what kind of mare Rainbow Dash was.

“You went in with everythin you got, and didn’t stop given it till the end. Even when you were at yer breaking point, yea just kept goin. Never seen anythin like it,” his mind was thinking of how the two of them were working the treadmill during the incident with the Flim Flam brothers. “Heh, when we were wokin together on that treadmill, took every ounce of will Ah had not to look over and stare at yea, seein somepony as stunning as you work so hard made ma heart skip a few beats.” Once more Mac gave out a chuckle.
“We did make a really awesome team, didn’t we?” Rainbow asked, as she leaned against Mac like she had seen other mares do that day. She needed to know this was all real, that this date wasreally happening and that everything that Mac had just said was his true thoughts. If this was a dream , this action would either turn the dream to a nightmare, or she would fall out of bed. Neither happened , she just felt the warmth from Mac’s body against her own. She did feel him stiffen a bit, after a few deep breaths, he was able to relax.

“We sure did,” Mac said, as he started to lean against her some as well. “After that, Ah felt like Ah knew you a bit better, but Ah was still too afraid to talk to yea,” Mac said. “Felt like yer were out of ma reach even more then, how could Ah possibly impress a mare like you? Yer on the fast track to fame, got everythin goin for yea, but for some reason you accepted a date from some dirt-kicking, farm pony like me,” Mac let some of his doubts about this date slip through. He was still trying to figure out why she accepted a date from him.

“Trust me, Mac, any mare would want you to ask them on a date.” Rainbow stated, looking up at the big farm pony. Mac looked down at her, a questioning look in his eyes. “Trust me Mac, and I will tell you latter. I want to hear more about how you fell for me,” she said grinning, pushing against him more. “But discribe me using cool and awesome more,she said, smirking as she looked at Mac who was grinning at her again.

“Ah hold that to yea Dash,” Mac laughed, looking down at the mare he so admired. “And believe me, Ah do think you are cool and awesome, but Ah like using the words cute and pretty more,” he said, returning the smirk she had given him. Rainbow grumbled a bit by this, not liking the fact that he was using words that mares like Rarity wanted to hear.

“Fine, but don’t say any of that around other ponies!” Rainbow growled, hitting him slightly with her wing. “I have a reputation to hold you know?” With that she took to the air, flying a circle around Big Mac before landing in front of him, striking a pose that she thought was worthy of being a Wonderbolt.

Mac watched her do the quick flight as he walked up beside her again. “Ah promise,” he said, as he nuzzled her slightly again. Rainbow let out a filly-like squeal of delight as he did this, which she tried to cover by coughing. “Ah thought that was cute,” Mac said with a laugh as he kept nuzzling her. Rainbow just groaned as she returned the nuzzle.

“Shut up, you big oaf,” she said, pushing up against him again. “Now get back to your story,” she said, taking in his warmth again. With a nod Mac tried to remember where he was in his memories.

“Well, after that Ah kind of lost hope. Tried to focus on ma work, seein that it normally clears ma head. That worked till a few weeks ago, that is,” Rainbow went wide eyed at this, and started to listen as close as possible. He had finally gotten to the part where she was trying to get his attention to ask her out. “Don’t know why you were doin it, but you were doin all your flying right above the farm and it seemed that every time Ah was out there workin, there you were flyin. Ah tried not to watch you, but just watching you watch you do it just made me want to talk to yea more, to ask yea out. But that fear of rejection just kept creeping up, so Ah kept my eyes on ma work.

“As the day’s went on, though, you just kept comin back and doing more tricks. Never did Ah see a Pegasus move so graceful, and as fast as you. Even at night yer movements were in my dreams; it was like watching an angel,” Mac was feeling his face grow so hot now that it felt like it was on fire. “Didn’t help you were joinin us for supper as well and sitting right next to me. Ah was so nervous around yea, and when you asked me anythin, Ah couldn't think of darn thing to say to impress you,”. Looking down, he saw those amazing eyes looking right into his. She was like a goddess to him, he would do just about anything to impress her, just to know she felt the tiniest bit for him as he felt for her.

“Next thing Ah knew, Applejack was tellen me yer we're goin start payin fer yer meals with farm work. Instead of teaming herself with you, she placed me in charge of what yea had to do,” Mac was really grinning now as he reflected on doing farm work. “Now as graceful as you were up in them skies, that didn’t transfer to farm work the slightest bit,”. For this, Mac was given a punch the shoulder, as Rainbow gave out a grunt.

“Thanks Mac, you really know how to kill the mood,” Rainbow said, looking away from the stallion, but before she did, Mac saw a grin on her face.

“Ah ain’t sayin that’s a bad thing, in fact it’s what impressed me more about yea.” Rainbow whipped around at this comment, one eyebrow higher than the other, giving him a questioning look. Mac could not help himself as he chuckled slightly at her face, that once again earned a slug to the shoulder.

“How could I have impressed you more with farm work?” Rainbow demanded, her face growing red with anger. “I pretty much screwed up every job you gave me, and you had to fix it! How does that impress you? Do you have a farm work fetish or something?” At that, Mac burst out laughing as Rainbow came to a full stop, glaring angrily at him. “Here I thought you were a gentlecolt, but here you are laughing at me.” Rainbow felt her heart break a little bit; she really tried to impress Mac with that work, and here he was laughing at her for it.

“Ah ain’t laughin at yea so to say,” Mac wezzed out between laughs, “Ah’m laughing because you don’t realize how awesome and cool you were to me when you did all that work,” Mac brushed a tear from his eye, before looking down at Rainbow, trying to look as sincere and honest as he could. Obviously it worked, for the minute Rainbow made eye contact with him, she couldn't look away.

“Workin out there in the morning with me is no easy task, Rainbow. In fact, most mornings A.J. is not even up by the time yea got there. Yer so determined to be the best, that you give every task yea do a hundred and ten percent. Ah guess ya can say Ah got myself a farm fetish; fer when Ah watched yea work out in them fields, it just made ya look more beautiful and stunning to me.” Mac bent his head low so he could be on almost equal level with Rainbow, who was turning scarlet.

“Ah thought Ah fell hard fer ya Rainbow the first time Ah saw ya, but out in the field and seein you try so hard...well...Ah really fell fer ya. That’s why the day ya stopped showing up Ah felt lost; all Ah could do was look up at the sky every few minutes hoping to see a trace of you.” Mac was spilling his heart out to her, something that a pony shouldn't do on a first date; but he was a honest Apple, and if she wanted to know why he asked her out he was going to tell her everything. “After a few days of not seein ya, Ah couldn't get ya off my mind. It felt like Ah lost a part of me, so Ah made up my mind then and there to ask you out on a date, luckily fer me it was Heart and Hooves day so the timin was jus right.”

Rainbow just stared at Mac. Those last few words he said shook her to no end. She had really reached the stallion in those days of trying to impress him, but not only that, he sort of told her he loved her. She stood there just staring at him, as if she had seen nothing like him before because in truth, she really hadn’t.

Mac swallowed a lump in his throat, he felt as though he had said too much. Licking his lips out of nervousness he cleared his throat. “Ah know that’s a lot to take in, but Ah jus-” Mac was taken off guard as Rainbow leaned in and pressed her lips against his in a surprise kiss. A shiver ran up and down his spine as he felt the warmth of her lips against his, as a deep warmth seemed to come from his chest. Mac had always heard that during one’s first kiss they are supposed to see fireworks or something, but he much prefered this feeling than anything fireworks could bring. Before he could react, she pulled away and nuzzled her head under his chin.

“For a non-talkative pony,” Rainbow sighed, as she continued to rub her head under his, “you really know what to say.” The pair sat like that in the fading sunlight, lost in their own world.The dance could wait for a few more minutes because to the both of them, this was already the best date ever.

Author's Note:

Special thanks go to jszellmer as always for editing my work, and to Jake the Army Guy who went over it a few times.

Now to warn everyone there might be more than the normal amounts of mistakes in here because google docs has been acting odd. So if there are, just PM me don't review it.

Thanks for staying with me all this time, I hope to maybe have this done in two more chapters. Keep an eye out for a sequel to 'You Got Ma Sister What?!' maybe another chapter to 'Dash Can't Cook', and the MacDash wedding! If you have not read that yet...you are dead to me till you do.

Love yea guys!