CHAPTER (16 part 2) 17 June 25th/02/10:36 AM/3rd person.

Silence fell over them, Big Macintosh donning a surprised look on his face for a few moments at hearing what she said. Quickly getting a hold of his shock, Big Macintosh spoke up before Fluttershy got the wrong idea.

"Why would Ah think yer an idiot for askin' me ta dance?" he asked as he cocked his head to the side slightly.

"I just...I don't know why you'd want to go with me," she responded.

"An' why would y'all think that?" he asked with a curious expression of inquiry on his face.

"We haven't known each other very long and there's so many other girls you could pick and I'm not that pretty an-" she was saying before Big Macintosh cut in.

"Hold on, let me stop ya there for a moment," he interjected, continuing a moment later. "First, yer one of the most beautiful women Ah've ever seen, haven't we already been over this?" he asked seriously, referencing all the way back to the first day they met.

She didn't respond.

"Second, what makes y'all think other girls would ask me ta dance, or vice versa?" he asked.

I just, I mean I guess...since you're really handsome, I figured girls throw themselves at you all the time."

He chuckled in response before speaking up a few moments later. "Y'all must think Ah'm super popular with the ladies or somethin', but the last girl ta ask me ta dance was my ma," he said, continuing a moment later. "Ah ain't as sought after as you seem ta think."

Once again, she didn't respond.

"Listen, Ah ain't the most confident guy, Ah'm pretty introverted and shy around strangers, most of the time. That's usually why Ah never really got much ta say. So, when it comes ta askin' a girl ta dance, that hasn't happened and Ah'd be too scared or freaked out about it ta ask in the first place," he said, continuing after a few moments of silence. "Yer not an idiot, Fluttershy; yer a sweet an' kind woman...any guy would have ta be out of his right mind ta refuse an offer ta dance with you," he said honestly as he smiled sincerely down at her.

She looked up at him with a dumbstruck look on her face, at a loss for words.

"If yer sure y'all want me ta be yer partner at this dance, Ah'd be honored," he said sincerely.

"Do you...do you really mean it? Are you sure?" she asked curiously in an unsure tone.

"Fluttershy, Ah'm sure it took a lot of courage to muster up the nerve to ask me to dance with y'all...Ah'm happy ta see that my odd methods of teachin' y'all ta be more confident haven't gone ta waste; Ah'm proud of you, Fluttershy and Ah'm glad y'all asked me ta be yer dance partner," he responded as he continued smiling down at her, continuing a moment later. "There's no way Ah'd say no, even if Ah don't like bein' in large crowds, Ah'd do it if it's with you."

After a moment of silence, a huge smile spread across Fluttershy's face as she rushed forward and hugged Big Mac around his neck, laughing with glee as a couple of already welled tears fell out of her eyes.

"Hehe, never thought a girl would ask me ta dance," Big Mac said absent-mindedly.

Pulling her head back, she quickly planted a kiss on his cheek and continued hugging him.

Big Mac then began blushing hardcore, finding her behavior super out of the ordinary, but embracing it anyway.

After realizing what she just did, Fluttershy began blushing just as heavily as Big Mac as the two were now standing in a stiff bodied, semi-awkward embrace.

Chuckling nervously, Big Mac pulled away and offered his hand to Fluttershy, who looked down at it with a somewhat confused look. "If we're gonna do this dance on the 4th of July, we better start practicing, right?" he asked, a smile still adorning his face.

She laughed softly for a moment before taking his hand, "I'd say so, let's get to it!" she said with a wide teeth bearing smile on her face.

A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know this chapter is super short, I've noticed. I consider this more of the continuation of the last chapter, a part 2 if you will. So, I'm sorry it's short, I just want a little more suspense before the end. So hey, do y'all want any filler before the finale? If not, the next chapter will be the last one. So make sure you voice what you want. Also, let me know if you want an Epilogue type thing after the final chapter, a "how are they doing now" kinda thing (and yes, that'll be a chapter itself)