Dash felt giddy. She couldn't sit still, and she found herself pacing around her house aimlessly. Tank watched her go this way and that, his head swaying side to side as she passed. It was funny that she was giddy about any of this. A kiss wasn't anything she hadn't done, but the way Mac had looked afterwards had etched itself into her brain. She could still make out his blush, his scared face when she said that he should make a choice to end it.

He didn't reject her, and that made her feel good for a change, a high point on the roller coaster of emotions she'd felt over the past couple days. She hadn't gotten mad at him, which was a little surprising to her. She was expecting that she'd go off on him given the chance, accuse him of playing with her emotions or some crap. But she hadn't, and she didn't know why. She just felt so relieved that it wasn't true and that her voice hadn't wavered. That was probably for the best anyway.

She was also just remembering the feelings she had last time she was in a relationship. This barely counted as of yet, but it was still something she could put her mind behind. Dash felt like she had more energy than she knew what to do with, and almost deliriously excited. Her eyes caught an open window, and she decided to do a little flying.

The cyan mare got a running start, folding her hooves close to her chest as she sailed through the cloud window and into open sky. She stuck out a wingtip, rolling as she followed the parabolic descent. Wind slid over her muzzle as she neared the carpet of dark grey clouds below. Dash spread her wings, finishing a final roll as she pulled out of her dive. She dipped a forehoof into the surface of the cloud, drawing a long line in the surface as she shot past.

The air was nice for flying today. Perfect for storms as well, a nice low pressure system to allow her that little bit of extra speed. Dash laughed to herself, wondering why ponies could control the weather itself, but not the pressure systems that compounded their effects. It explained why they had a quota at the end of the year for rain as opposed to a schedule. It was easier to build storms during the times the atmosphere helped them out. The thing fed on itself a little bit that way, and they ended up with a lot fewer issues.

Dash banked, drawing a large semicircle in the clouds with a wingtip. She gave herself a line, staring at a mound of clouds not too far away, and decided to see how well she could keep it. She picked up speed, banking herself upwards until she was about vertical.

Her wings folded in, a wingtip creating some asymmetric drag and beginning a slow spin as she decelerated. Dash flapped with the same wing, spinning faster as she came to a halt and the food she'd eaten a minute ago lurched. The sky and clouds mixed together in her vision, blurring as she felt herself turn upside down. She was just counting the spins, attempting to find her position as she fell.

She counted down from three, splaying her wings and stopping her spin as she pulled out of her dive. She watched the mound of clouds go by just to her right a moment later, shaking her head in slight annoyance. Eh, she couldn't really get annoyed right now. She was in way too good a mood.

Dash slowed, watching the mound of cloud rise as it developed into a thunderhead. She flew lazily around it, wondering how large it would grow before the rain started. If it didn't begin by eight, she would have to start it manually, but that was usually avoided by following the weather patterns anyway. She really didn't like the fact that things worked on their own, but it gave her an excuse to be lazy.

Besides, she had several hours to burn before she had to meet Mac, and she could just see what happened with the storm as she flew. It seemed like the perfect compliment to a hectic morning. She got some flying practice in, and got to think about a guy that she was sure was interested in her. Well, ninety percent sure.

Dash would take those odds any day.

Dash chuckled to herself, adjusting her mane a little bit. It was the first time she'd beaten Mac to a date. She could see him walking towards her, ponies moving out of the way respectfully. With the momentum he had, they'd probably end up sprawled out in a head on collision anyway. He looked tired, maybe a little under the weather. It reminded Dash of how he had looked earlier today.

Mac stopped in front of her, and she wondered if she'd just been in thought the entire time he'd taken to draw closer. She grinned up at him, forcing her thoughts away. "Hey Mac!" She exclaimed, her voice sounding a little shaky through her excitement.

He looked down at her, sending a slight grin back. He pulled off his silly looking top-hat, and removed a rose from inside. He held it out to her, and she almost let out a noise of surprise. "Ah got ya this on the way here." He said shortly, pausing for a moment before following up, "Ah saw what a bright red it was, and ah just thought of ya." Before she could take it out of his hoof, he reached over and gently placed it behind her ear, weaving it through a few fibers of her mane. It didn't have any thorns, luckily.

"Thanks, Mac." Dash said, looking at the rose out of the corner of her eye.

Mac wasn't finished, however, and with a sigh, put a hoof to her chin to get her attention. "Ah'm sorry about last night, if ya thought ah was blowin' ya off, or if ah didn't like ya, but-" He sighed. "Ah dunno, I was just a little scared."

How could he possibly be scared of anything involving romance? He had it the easiest, and he didn't even know it. But scared of what? That she wouldn't like him? Hadn't it been obvious enough?

"Dash?" He asked, and she snapped out of her thoughts. "Ya hear me?"

"Yeah." She replied, "I can't say I'm the most experienced with dating either, so I guess we'll just work through it together, alright?"

He nodded, smiling. Dash had a quick mental argument in her head before she decided to lean forwards and hug him around his neck. Mac didn't resist, putting his heavy hooves around her back a moment later.

She couldn't get over how thick his neck was. He smelled of apples and dirt, and something else she recognized but couldn't quite place. It was so faint it just wafted away with the breeze, and she gave up on trying.

"So, we've got a nice dinner ahead of us," Dash began, releasing him, "and I say we put this stuff behind us and enjoy it for what it is."

"Ah second that notion." Mac replied, walking with her towards the pony taking reservations. "Ah thought you'd misspoke when ya said this place. Ah don't know how ya got a reservation."

"I pulled some strings." Dash replied cryptically, smirking.

"So long as ya don't expect ta be payin' the bill." He replied, looking away. Some part of Dash recalled the conversation she'd had with Thunderlane about pride. She could relate to that especially.

"Rainbow Dash, I assume?" The doorman asked, looking down a list and crossing off her name. "Right this way."

As he opened the door to the restaurant, Dash couldn't help but feel underdressed. She couldn't find a pony that wasn't nicely dressed, look as she may. Her only consolation was that Mac was as naked as she was, minus the silly hat. It was a good hat, but it just looked way too small to not be a joke. She got a laugh out of the thing and decided to let herself drop it.

The waiter pulled out a chair and she sat down, as Mac waved her off and did the same. Another pony walked up, standing at the table and waiting for their attention. "Warm towel?" He asked, and Dash shared a look with Mac. Yup, definitely underdressed.

"Yeeeeaaaaaah…" Dash said, taking it out of his tongs tentatively. Mac was staring at his with an equal level of complete confusion. "Hey-" She began, but the pony was already gone.

Mac looked nervous. He picked up a piece of silverware that shimmered in the light, and she knew what he was thinking. Take him somewhere where you can be yourselves. Where you can show him why you're better than they are, she thought to herself. Besides, his insistence on paying would just make him flat out broke.

"Hey Mac, let's get out of here." She said, and he diverted his gaze from a gold rimmed bowl, carefully setting it back on his plate.

"It takes months ta get reservations here. We can't just leave."

She waved her hoof dismissively. "I got them yesterday."

Mac let out a breath of air that sounded like a mixture between 'how?' and 'what?' She wondered if his world was about to crumble around himself. But with a shake of his head, he set down his little towel and stood.

"Ya ready?" He asked, and she nodded, standing up as well. A waiter walked by and Mac grabbed her, pulling them both behind a privacy wall. "Gotta move all secret like." he explained, and Dash giggled. She peeked around the wall, ducking backwards as a waiter passed by. She turned, an irritated look from a stallion in a booth making the both of them chuckle.

Mac tapped her and they reversed, moving through the group of tables slowly, heads turning in every direction. Dash failed to stifle a laugh, watching Mac try to act stealthy when he was huge and red. Like there was anything more obvious. To her surprise, he bumped through a door labeled 'employees only', and with a little bit of trepidation, she pushed through as well.

"Mac, what are you doing?" Dash asked, and he only grinned back, looking at the cooks bustling about.

"Ah know a pony that works here." He said, as if that explained much more than the bare minimum. It would've irked Dash is she wasn't used to it by now. Or expecting it, for that matter.

He walked a few steps forwards, a cook drawing notice. The busy pony murmured something to another, who's head snapped to one side. "Macintosh!" He exclaimed. "Never thought you'd cash in on that favor!"

"Ex, at your service." Ex said with a bow. "It's short for Exquisite, but that's no fun to say. 'Sides, ex sounds cooler."

"'Less he breaks up with a marefriend." Mac said.

Ex batted a hoof at Mac. "That's still fun for me, because then they'll sound stupid trying to explain who they dated!" He paused, grinning ear-to-ear. "So what can I do for ya?" He asked.

"Ain't callin' in that favor yet." Mac replied. He leaned over and whispered something to the stallion, who nodded.

"I wish I could say I was responsible for that stuff. It's definitely worthy." Ex replied. "But look, don't be a stranger, alright? It's been too long since we did something."

"Ah'll stay in touch." Mac replied, turning to Dash. "Ah got a plan uh action." He said confidently, and Dash almost verbally expressed her excitement. Something was happening, and it wasn't even due to any prompting by her, other than that they should leave. She was looking at a Mac that she'd never knew existed or expected, and she liked him a little bit more every second that passed.

"Dash!" He exclaimed, and she shook herself out of her thoughts. "We've got places ta be, come on!" He grabbed her hoof, pulling her through the busy kitchen and through a back door. The rain had started, lightly drizzling onto their backs. It wouldn't be long until this thing became a complete downpour.

"How do you know him?" Dash asked as he let go of her hoof and slowed down.

"We were buddies back in school, never really lost touch. Probably helps that we both live here in town still."

"Yeah, but about what you asked him…" She trailed off, trying to extract some information. His hoof pressed to her lips, and Dash stared.

"Ah'm gonna keep that a secret, 'lil lady." He replied, a hint of humor running along his voice. "'Sides, if'n ya kept yer hooves on the ground a little more, ya might have a bit of ah clue." With that he turned and took a few steps away, turning his head to beckon. Dash broke into a trot, catching up with his pace. She found that even at what looked like a leisurely pace for him, she had to trot every couple seconds to stay side by side.

"Mac, I've got short legs!" She exclaimed, laughing as she caught up again. "Slow down!"

He snorted in amusement, allowing her to walk a few steps past him so that he could attune his pace. They were going down a side street, passing several ponies here or there. It was nowhere near as busy as Main Street, and she couldn't say she ventured into much of the town other than the places she needed to go. Mac seemed to be one to do the same thing, but it looked like she might be wrong.

Mac took the top hat off his head, situating it over her mane. He nodded in approval. "Looks better on ya."

"Where'd you even get a top hat?" Dash asked, giggling as she pulled it a little more onto her head.

"Ah won it." He replied. For a moment she thought he might actually continue.

"How?" She followed up.

"Well, Ah-" He stopped, peering up at a sign. "Here we are. Come on." He turned into an alleyway, the sign marking it as the 'Hole in the Map.' It seemed shifty to put things lightly, despite the sounds of activity filtering through it. But she trusted Mac, at least somewhat.

"Mac, are you sure this is where we're supposed to be going?" She asked, and he nodded.

"Better be, 'else Ah'm just goin' crazy." They turned a corner, and the alley opened up into a square filled with ponies and storefronts. A fountain stood out in the middle of the opening, perfect arcs of water stemming from its statue into a larger pool.

"How have I not seen this before?" Dash asked, ducking under a paper lantern as they walked across the stones that she just now noticed made a rather pretty mosaic.

"Ya looked up yet?" Mac asked, and she did. Graceful arches stretched from either corner of the square, creating a dome over the covered courtyard as rivulets of rain streaked across the somewhat translucent ceiling. "They call it the hole in the map because this block used to be one big building, and in the Ponyville map, it got adjusted when everything changed. But the ponies that built the new stores covered it like this, trying to make something new and interestin', Ah guess. Yer not the only pegasus not to know 'bout it, it's mostly earth ponies on account of the produce that goes through here. So it looks like the hole was just a mistake from the air."

"Yeah, but it's just so-" Dash trailed off, her eyes wide as she took in the lanterns, wobbling as a slight breeze swirled. "I'm really glad that somepony finally showed me this, Mac." She leaned into his side, stiffening slightly as she remembered the outcome last time. But besides a slight jump, he let her stay. Why was he different tonight? What had changed?

Dash took a quick breath, picking up the same smell that she recognized, but couldn't place. As soon as she picked it out, however, it was gone. The lights and pillars extending towards the ceiling far ahead quickly regained her concentration.

"We've still got to get dinner." Mac said, pulling her away from her view. They trotted across the square, stopping in front of one of the storefronts. It had a row of stools out front, most of which were empty. Mac took one, giving her a hoof onto the next stool over.

"This is where your friend said to go?" Dash asked. Mac did a half shrug.

"Ah only asked him if he thought the food was actually good. Ah'm not one known for culinary mastery." He chuckled to himself. "Mah opinion says that it's the best in town, but that don't always mean as much as it sounds like it does."

"The usual?" A pony said, pulling off a small hat to wipe his brow. "What about the lady friend?"

"Get me the same." Dash replied, giving Mac a playful punch to the shoulder as the pony turned away. "You had this all planned out, didn't you?"

"No." He replied, keeping a straight face only briefly before it turned into a grin. "Well, since the restaurant." He sighed, a quiet laugh following his breath. "Ah suppose that Ah always wanted to take a mare here, but Ah just…" He twirled a hoof, and with an internal chuckle, Dash wondered if he'd run out of words to use for today. He really needed more than a hundred any other day. "Didn't have any mares." He finished suddenly.

"If you don't mind me asking, how come you don't date more often?" Dash asked. Probably not the best question. "Why me in particular when the whole of Ponyville is attracted to you?"

"They aren't attracted to me. Not really." He replied, a long silence stretching on. Dash rolled her eyes, something Mac luckily missed. "Ah guess, what Ah'm tryin' ta say is, they only really go after me cuz Ah'm good looking, apparently. Ain't nothin' more than a physical romance goin' on there. Ah don't want one-night stands, Ah want somepony that cares about the parts of me they can't touch."

"Mac!" A pony exclaimed, throwing a hoof around the red stallion's neck. "It's about freakin' time you get a mare!" The random stallion looked her over, grinning at Mac. "At least being picky got you somewhere, Mac." He laughed as the red stallion pushed him away with a hoof. "Fine, I'll let you have your night."

"Sorry about that." Mac said nervously.

"It's no problem." Dash replied. "I'd do the same if I saw one of my friends anyway. A bowl slid in front of her, and she gasped. It was a simple bowl, filled with noodles of all sorts and covered with vegetables and bits of seafood. The smell reached her nostrils and her mouth watered. She hadn't realized how hungry she was. "Oh, this was sooo worth leaving that other place."

Dash eyed a bit of a shrimp still at the bottom of her bowl. "If I believe in myself, I bet I could eat that without exploding." Mac looked at her, then the bowl, and laughed. He took another mouthful of his dwindling meal. He hardly seemed to be slowing down, though she supposed he was bigger and worked more, so there was that.

"How am ah supposed to explain that ta mah sister?" He asked, grinning. "But Ah guess it'd keep the mares from ogling' as much if a mare exploded on her third date with me. Carry on." He went back to his food, his ear perking as she chuckled. His smile grew a little wider.

"I trusted you, Mac." Dash replied with feigned disappointment. "You know I've broken my food addiction for almost four hours."

Mac let out a noise that sounded like a cough, and he turned away quickly, continuing to laugh.

"You okay?" She asked, but he waved a hoof at her. He pulled a napkin from the table and blew his nose, shuddering as he tossed it into a garbage can behind the counter.

"Try not ta make me laugh while Ah'm eatin'." He said, pushing at his muzzle with a hoof and making a face of complete disgust. "Eeew." He exclaimed, blowing his nose into another napkin. "Noodles."

"Didn't think I could make you laugh that hard." Dash cringed, looking towards him with a bit of worry.

"No harm done." Mac replied. "Ah should've been expecting' that." He clapped his hooves together, smiling. "Hows about a little desert?"

"Mac, I can't-"

"Eh, I've seen how you eat. Ya can find space."

Dash laughed, hopping off her stool. Her stomach sloshed uncomfortably. "You seem to be confident in a mare that seemed to know she would explode a minute ago."

"Or Ah planned this night a little more than Ah should have." He said, scratching the back of his head. Mac led them across the square again, stopping in front of what appeared to be an ice cream parlor. He pushed some bits onto the counter, looking to her. The pony behind the register followed suit a moment later.

"Number three?" She asked, and Mac made an arm movement that she almost missed. "What?"

"I just wanted the same thing." He replied. "Never gonna branch out from chocolate if I don't have to." He grabbed a couple of cones from the vendor a moment later, handing one to her. His top hat almost fell from her head, but she pushed it back on.

"I would say that I'd drink to that, but I guess it's not applicable." Dash replied, grinning. She walked over to the fountain, sitting on the side with her cone in hoof. She took a long lick, surprised at how good it tasted. It covered her tongue in a film of delicious flavor, and that was just the first lick.

"Ya look like yer enjoyin' that." Mac observed, taking a bite out of his ice cream.

"Says the guy who bites ice cream."

He looked at his cone, then at her. "Do ya not?"

"I just get brain freeze." Dash replied, grabbing a drip of the soft-serve with her tongue as it threatened to seep over the side of the cone. "And I'm pretty sure you're supposed to enjoy ice-cream, not act like it's the only food you've had for weeks."

"Ah don't tell ya how ta live." Mac said, smirking. He took another bite of ice cream.

"So, Mac, you never did say why you chose me over those other mares…" Dash trailed off. She didn't want to put him into another situation where he would get scared, but then again, she wanted to see how far she could push her luck. "And then brought me on such an amazing night." She gestured around to the shops, the decorations and the buildings.

Mac thought, as if trying to decide whether or not he should let her in on a secret. Dash watched a bead of perspiration slide off his forehead and hit the ground. It wasn't even hot, so she wasn't sure how he could've possibly worked up a sweat.

"You okay, Mac?" She asked, and he nodded.

"Just tryin' ta formulate mah words into somethin' that actually makes sense." He replied.

"I meant with the sweat." Dash persisted. "Are you feeling okay?"

He turned to look her in the eye, and he took a nervous swallow. "Ah'm fine. Anywho, Ah chose ya because ya never seemed to care about me that much before ya got ta know me. Maybe ya ogled or whatever. Ah don't care. But ya got ta know me, ya got past mah sister, and we're here. That's more work than anypony's done before, and that's enough for me."

"Really?" Dash asked. "I don't want to play myself down, but I mean- it wasn't that hard."

"Ah saw how tired ya looked after last night, and it kinda scared me. Ah'm not good with mares, but Ah didn't think ya'd loose sleep over me." He looked away, and some ice cream dripped over his hoof.

"Is that why you did… this?" Dash asked, gesturing around. "Because you don't need to feel like you're making anything up to me, I just-"

"No, that's not it…" Mac interrupted, sighing. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to figure out what to say. "Ah said Ah wanted ta do this with a mare, and Ah didn't just come up with it last night." He set balanced the flat bottom of his cone on the edge of the fountain put his head in his hooves. "Yer tough ta act right around, Rainbow Dash." He said.

Dash was taken aback. "What?"

He looked her in the eye, sitting up straight again. She leaned a little closer. "That whenever yer around, Ah just have trouble actin' like Ah want ta. Ah know Ah'm not usually talkative, but during our dates Ah've felt like Ah needed ta say somethin' because Ah feel like you'll lose interest in me." He looked at his hooves for a second, glancing back at her.

Dash's brain argued with itself. Kiss him. No. Yes. Wait for it. He had to say something, or initiate it. Or did he? She waited. He didn't say anything. Her move. It was her move. Things were slipping away. She needed to come up with something, anything!

Mac continued, and she jumped. "The problem with that is that Ah feel like Ah need ta fill these silences, and ah never did before. Ain't nothin' comin' outa' mah mouth but gibberish now anyway." He swallowed. "But if ah know one thing, it's that ah've had a lot of fun these past two days, whether it seems like it or not." He scratched the back of his neck. "Ah guess ah can really say that I do like y-"

Dash's lips met his, and he stopped. Mac jolted backwards, his breathing heavy. Dash felt a couple of anvils collect in her stomach. She wanted to just run off the longer he stared back, but she felt stuck. His mouth gaped a little, but he closed it after a second. His lips turned upwards a fraction of a second before they mashed into hers.

The change in emotions was almost painful. Her heart soared, and Dash felt a hoof touch the back of her head, pushing her closer. She happily joined into the kiss, opening her lips just slightly to see if she could push her luck. As soon as she did, Mac was way ahead of her. It was a bit of a surprise that he was a good kisser, or that he even wanted to take the lead, his wide tongue becoming a dominate but not overwhelming presence in her mouth. Dash playfully pushed it back, fighting into his mouth. As soon as she did, he cut off the kiss, breathing heavily. She could've sworn one of his hind legs twitched. It had just been a kiss, but like the one from earlier today, it seemed to have a huge effect on him.

He was grinning, and she hugged around him gently. His hooves wrapped around her, and he let out a hum of contentment. Dash got a strong whiff of the smell she'd kept getting all night, and pushed herself out of the hug gently. She still couldn't place it, which annoyed her like crazy. She recognized it so much it wasn't even funny.

"You're pretty good at that." Dash said with a giggle. "I thought you said you haven't been with any mares."

"Only one when Ah was still in school." Mac said, smiling as he thought about it. He sounded happy thinking about it, but his face almost looked pained. As happy as she felt, a bit of her was ticked off that she still couldn't figure him out.

"It's gettin' late." He said. "Ah don't want to sound like Ah'm gettin' distant, but Ah do have to get up tomoarrah." He leaned forwards, and she accepted a peck against her lips.

Dash smiled, nodding. "Gotta do what you gotta do, right?" He helped her up, picking up his melted cone with a napkin. "This can definitely go into the books as my best date yet." She said, leaning against Mac. "Thanks."

"Ya shouldn't be thankin' me." Mac said. "It was a pleasure." They walked back through the alleyway, staying in contact the whole time. Dash split off as they exited, her joy threatening to burst from her body as the rain, now a more respectable downpour, covered her fur. She couldn't care less. She felt so unbelievably happy, not least because she had managed to confirm her feelings and his, even if she still had more to figure out.

"Man, this rain feels good." Mac commented, looking up and extending his tongue to catch a drop of rain. A few tendrils of steam extended themselves off his back.

"You sure you're not getting a fever?" She asked. He shook his head.

"Ah feel fine."

Dash nodded and looked at the clock tower in the distance as it came into view, going rigid. "Ah, crud! I've got to get up early tomorrow to make sure this storm starts to wrap itself up!" As if on cue, lightning struck off in the distance, a resounding thud sounding as the sound caught up. "Will I see you again tomorrow?" She asked, and Mac thought for a moment.

"Eynope." He replied. "'Sides mah job."

Dash smiled, giving her wings a flap to free them of water. "I'll look forward to it." She said, leaning forwards to give Mac a kiss on the cheek before she took off, ascending towards her house. All in all, it would have been hard to have had a better ending to her day.

Now she just had to see if she could make way for a more awesome tomorrow.

Author's Notes:

People like this story a lot more than I thought they would. Thanks for all the favorites and such.

But honestly though, how am I already to a hundred up votes? Anyway, just drop a comment telling me how I'm doing, if you've got the time. It's much appreciated.