Rainbow Dash paced to and fro in her house. Her mind raced faster than her hooves stepped on the cloud floor, her eyes darted from the wall to the floor and back again. Her breathing was attempting to be calmed down and her heart was making audible thumps against her chest. This was a rather odd feeling for the pegasus, normally she was only this nervous before a competition or before performing a new trick. In a way though this may have passed as both.

Dash continued her quick trotting.

Yeah, that's really all this was! Just a new trick called dating that she hadn't yet practiced well enough. Or for that matter in a very long time. Maybe she was a bit out of her game. Maybe she should just call it off! Yeah, that was it. She would just politely show up at the red stallion's door and let him down easy; then, come tomorrow, they would both act like none of this ever happened!

Just think, what if she screwed up? What if during the date she started stammering and couldn't come up with anything to say! Then she'd not only embarrass herself, but also give Big Macintosh a terrible night out! And then he'd never want to speak to her again and she'd go back to being all alone and sad and depressed and she'd grow old by herself and die in some pitiful hole.

But she did have friends. It's just that those friends wouldn't be the same, after all, she wanted somepony to love her. Somepony to take care of her when she was sick, somepony to be there when she had a terrible day, somepony that wouldn't mind just doing nothing.

Hadn't she already gone through all of this? Great. Now she was repeating the same thoughts over in her head, going in circles, like chasing her own tail and never really catching it.

The sun was beginning to start its descent, harkening the time called evening, when ponies would begin their intimate conversations. Ponies like her, only more humble, would be out at pubs and clubs, searching for their potential mates for the night. Though that wasn't what she was looking for at this point, no, she was looking for something a little more mature, or rather, less shameful.

There were also ponies that would be getting off work, trotting down the lanes of some far-off city, happily eager to return to their loved ones. They probably have a family, two kids and a partner, maybe they are just starting dinner, nothing too fancy, just some quickly tossed salad and an assortment of garden vegetables, then they would pour some wine for their lover and settle down for a warm night spent in each other's arms, engrossed in some silly sitcom about ponies in a city very much like their own. Then, they would bathe the children and send them off to bed, with a kiss and some encouraging words they would bless their pride and joy with bright thoughts about life. Then the two lovers would turn to each other and make their way to their own palace of comfort and solace to spend another night in the embrace of another.

By this point Dash had worn a trench into her floor. It would probably take only half of a day to rework the soft substance into its original shape, but the pegasus was still distraught. After all, this was just one more sign that she was worried about something. She, Rainbow Dash, was worried about something! That was like Pinkie Pie being normal. Actually, that was a terrible analogy. If anything, Pinkie Pie would have been acting calmer in this situation. Heck, she would probably just tell Dash something about dates being not worth worrying over because it was just one pony and only one date.

But it was more than that to Dash; it was more than just one date, it was the invitation to future chances at building a relationship! She wanted to be that pony in the city! She wanted to waste her time watching stupid sitcoms with the pony that she loved! She wanted to go to sleep knowing that the next day she would wake up next to somepony that cared about her and that she cared about just as much!

No, this wasn't just a normal date to Rainbow Dash. This was the beginning of a whole new period of her life!

If he wasn't late.

For a brief moment, Rainbow Dash's pupils retracted to the point of being a dot in a vast white expanse called eyes.

He wasn't anywhere close to being late; if anything he had to wait extra time for her to finish. It was worth it though.

Rainbow Dash came down the pearl white stairs of her house and put a stop to the poor stallion's heart. Her evening dress for the night was far from gaudy, but the red material draped itself elegantly over her flank, drawing itself to an end midway past her back legs. The dress continued itself up her barrel until it stopped just below her neck, coming to a point on the upper region of her chest that accented the pearl necklace she wore. Her lips were styled with lipstick, red as the sunrise, and her eyes were surrounded with a black liner that was only enough to bring out her two portals to the soul even more than usual. Her hair was only combed; the full length was left to flow freely down her right side.

Rarity would have died to be given this sight and the stallion wasn't in the best physical state himself.

"A-Are you okay Big Mac?" Concern overtook her face.

It was only a few seconds before he found his mind again, but those few seconds stretched for an entire lifetime. "Yes, just a little, er, shellshocked." The choice of words was by no means eloquent, but they conveyed his feelings as best as they could be. There were too many going through his mind. First and foremost was pure admiration; he had never seen a mare look anywhere near as stunning as the one before him. She was, how would his sister say, charming? Wait, he had the word, it was right on the edge of his tongue, ready to leap out.

"You look divine." Wow, that even amazed him, and clearly the mare was just as so. A blush overtook her face and her eyes found their old friend the floor once again.

"Thank you, it took longer than it really should have...Sorry."

"There is no need to apologize Miss Da-"

"Please, tonight, it's just Rainbow Dash."

"Then we should be going Rainbow Dash, your chariot awaits."

Hold on... How did he get up here in the first place?? Rainbow had wings, obviously, but Mac had legs. Unless...No way...
Oh definitely. Big Macintosh had specifically called, on short notice, one of his oldest compatriots and asked for a very special favor. Considering that Macintosh had helped him out of more than just a few troubles, the middle-aged pegasus was eager to lend his service.

So there waited a grand chariot, held upright by a team of four burly pegasi lead by the friend himself. The chariot was laced with gold along its edges and shined like a beacon of brilliant orange-tinted light, polished to perfection. The two red seats were practically calling for a pair of souls to grace them with their presence.

The chariot flew across the heavens above the clouds, held aloft by the winged chauffeurs. The two ponies sat in silence for the first portion of the trip, but due to either the cold wind that drew itself around them or the proximity to another body, or both, the two had gradually shifted until their bodies were enclosed in a close embrace.

"Where are we going?" the pegasus ventured.

"Hmm, just a little outside of town, not too far, but I wanted us to have some privacy, just for tonight." His accent didn't show through, it had hid itself for the night so far, and Dash was beginning to wonder why.

"Say, Big Mac, you haven't really been talking, well, normal, or at least as you normally would say is normal, tonight." She really should have paid attention when they taught Equestrian in class.

The stallion smiled. "Well Rainbow, let it suffice that not every book is as easily read as its cover."

"See, right there! That's not normal."

"Rainbow Dash, how long have you known me?"

"Well..."

"It hasn't been very long, has it? And that whole time you were more inclined to be with my sister, rather than with me."

"True..."

"It takes more than a passing knowledge to know another pony. Me talking like that was for appearance, more or less, but I'd rather just be frank with you for tonight."

"I never said that was wrong."

"No, but you said it was not 'normal'"

Great. They weren't even at the restaurant and she had already made him mad. This night was only confirming her fears; she was going to die alone at this point.

"Sorry..." she mumbled.

"Do not take my words for anger, Dash, but I would appreciate if you tried to not let my public appearance cloud your judgement. Just as I would imagine you would want me to do for you."

Well, at least somepony understands her predicament.

"So you won't mind if I just act completely natural?"

"Never. On the contrary, I implore you to act as natural as possible."

She breathed. Wait, had she been really holding a breath in this whole time?

"Thanks, I guess."

They exited the chariot, naturally the stallion had held the door and his hoof for the lady and thanked the team for their service.The four pegasi, including Macintosh's fellow, trotted off to find some quiet respite before they were needed for the last time that night.

The pair, hoof in hoof, walked into the restaurant, which Rainbow was shocked to find was rather prestigious, though she had never ran the restaurant circuit. The front door was shaded by olive trees, so they must have traveled some ways south, and the entire front was bathed in light form a pair of jeweled lights. They were way out of her league at this point, so it came to Macintosh to lead her.

The Maître d'hôtel seated the two and left in a flourish.

"Macintosh, this is quite, um, fancy, don't you think?"

The stallion looked up from his menu at the stunning mare across from him. She was looking in awe at their surroundings, something which brought no small amount of satisfaction to the stallion.

"Yes, it was introduced to me by my cousins from Manehatten. They were quite just as surprised by my accent change as you were."

Rainbow blushed a little at the memory, she had intended to forget it.

The waiter arrived to take their orders, which only occurred after some miscommunication between Dash and the unicorn. Thankfully, Big Mac had stepped in to redirect the doomed inquiry and had ordered for the two of them.

"I hope you didn't get something too fancy."

"I wouldn't worry about being fancy, considering where we are."

He seems to have a way with words. It's kind of funny, actually, he normally never talks and now here he is being as fluent as possible. Heh, fluent. Now there's a word she never used. Maybe more than just Twilight was rubbing off of her. It was kind of weird, actually; if he was intent on hiding this part of himself, then why did he accept her invitation? Wouldn't it have been easier to simply decline and then not risk anyone else knowing about this side of him? Really, who else knows about this? Does Applejack just keep it a big secret for her brother? Maybe she should actually start asking this, rather than just fretting over it all.

"So...Why did you come on a date with me?"

The stallion's eyes gained a quizzical quality, "Isn't it a bit early in the date to wonder about that? Normally that's reserved for the latter part of the evening, after some small talk and getting to know each other."

"So who made you the king of dating."

"Well I have been around the proverbial block before Rainbow Dash, you're not the first mare to have sought my affection, though you are one of the more competent ones...So far."

"So far?"

"Yes, there is more to this than just dinner, I thought you would have guessed that."

She didn't know if it was his deep voice, which was further stressed by his new fluency, or his particular implied meaning, but Rainbow Dash was feeling a feeling which had not been in her experience for some time now. Rainbow Dash was feeling passion. Not just any passion, no, this was the kind of passion that drove young lovers into lust and led them to much wanted consequences of that lust.

Really Dash, he had just said one little phrase and here you are getting all flustered. Though it was hard not to. She had been feeling a strong sense of loneliness and now here was a prime stallion sitting before her, obviously intrigued with her, and now implying more to follow after their dinner date.

The food soon arrived on the table and with it the signal to begin small talk. It wasn't really anything important, hence the name, but it was enough to break the ice, which saved Dash from having to draw up some emergency topics, namely the weather and her job.

"So you haven't always talked like that in public?" The conversation seemed to always come back to Macintosh's dual personality, if it could be called that, and refused to move anywhere else.

"Well no, I use to be just as articulate as I am now, but on a whim and a rather juvenile dare I began to change it. The whole concept behind it stuck and gradually I just used it as a barrier. I am not always so extroverted around others. Unlike you, Dash, I can't draw seemingly endless amounts of conversation."

"You'd be surprised how hard it is, I mean, most of the time I just talk about me and it never really goes anywhere."

"Is that on purpose?"

"I guess so. Like you, I just sort of grew this barrier around me to try and keep others at bay. I'm more expressive, but the reason remains."

They talked about their own private feelings for quite some time. It revolved in a circle of sorts, Rainbow would bring up a topic which was common with Mac, who would then comment and discuss before returning the favor. Most of the conversation kept in this similar manner, each pony consumed wine throughout, and the flow began to move towards the more amorous side of life.

"Y-You mean, you've only slept with 4 others?" The red stallion was beginning to lose his poetic rhetoric.

"Hey! Don't judge me, I can't just have sex with anypony, ya' know?" The cyan mare was in a similar position.

"Oh believe me, I do! I have only been with another just a dozen times."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It is though! I've been searching for that stability for some time, and here I have tried and failed more than I can count on my hooves."

The pegasus puzzled over that for a second. "You mean, y-you have been trying to settle down too?"

"Well of course! There comes a time in every stallion's life when one night stands just don't fulfill that void."

The similarity was electric.

"I've been thinking the exact same thing!" She was nearly shouting that; that realization sparked another.

"How long have we been here?"

"Some time now, I believe this is our third bottle?"

The two ponies agreed that time was flying too fast for them at this point and it would be best to retire from the restaurant.

The flight home seemed quicker, at least relatively. Maybe it was because the two laid in each other's comfort, smiles spread across their muzzles. Heats in synch, or at least emotionally, who knew that one date could elicit such response? The whole situation seemed too perfect to be true, yet they sat in a pearl dot bounding across the heavens, holding tight to the other.

The chariot delivered them to Dash's home as the moon was lighting the sky. Mac bid the pegasi to head home for the night. A smile crept its way up the leader's face. Big Mac simply let him know that he had his own plans for the night and with a wink sent the fellow off. The pegasus flew away with a grin, glad that his friend had found someone to stay with for the night.

Dash had groggily opened her own door and was about to take a step inside when she was alerted to the presence of a certain stallion behind her. She quickly turned around, her mind suddenly flashing the signals of arousal in a burst of activity. Even as she stood facing him her nethers were beginning to prepare themselves.

"Um...What are you still doing here, and how can you walk on this cloud still?"

Actually, he had never clued her in to why he was able to walk on her cloud in the first place!

"Well, I have some friends that were more than willing to grant me a certain ability for the night."

"You must have some great friends."

"Indeed, I do."

Since when had he closed the gap between them? His eyes were practically a wall in front of her own. Staring down into her very soul through glass portals.

"I, uh, guess this is where that other stuff comes in." Damn, he was really hot. She had long ago given up thinking with her intellect, instead, something was awakening from a long sleep inside of her, something which she had felt tenderly scouting beforehand. A fire was being lit that would ignite the passions of their night.

"Yes, Rainbow Dash, this is where that other stuff can come in, but only if you want to, though I think I know that answer."
Her whole body was readying itself for the primal dance of mating and so the phrase which she had thought would stay submerged in her conscious came forward.

"Big Macintosh, would you like to stay the night?"

His chuckle reverberated in her ears for what seemed an eternity.

"Of course."

Author's Note

I promise the next one will be sexy!

So, I'm trying to explore different sides of some classic ponies on the show. So far, the experiment is going rather well! I'm enjoying the feedback, and the writing, and as it goes things can only get better!

Right?

Anyways, my clop writing abilities will be tested next time, so stay tuned! It will be steamy.

Edited by the magnificent, the wonderful, the fantastic... Corwin Freiss!