Rumble trotted along happily, following the trail that led out of Ponyville Park and towards his special little spot on the western outskirts of town. He hummed to himself, letting his backpack bounce up and down his back as he went. Scootaloo joined him on her scooter just as he passed the hardware shop. He couldn’t think of why, but he had a smile on his face that just wouldn’t go away. Maybe it was the sunny weather. Maybe it was the prospect of sharing his hideout with somepony new.
Or maybe he just liked the company. Scootaloo rolled her scooter along, not bothering to flap her wings just yet. “So where are we going, exactly?”
“A pond near Turtle Hill. Fluttershy’s the only other pony who really goes there, and she only needs it for when the hatchlings are coming.”
Scootaloo had never heard of such a place, or of Fluttershy’s hatchling duties. “Turtle Hill?”
Rumble kept up his eager smile and shrugged. “It’s a hill, with a lot of turtles. Not where we’re going, though; the water’s a little too cold for turtles, and there’s kind of a cliff they can’t get past.”
Scootaloo didn’t press the issue. Rumble led the way past a line of trees, a field of clover, and eventually past a rocky hill that was covered in turtles and tortoises. There were brown ones with claws on their feet, green ones with flippers, and a few with red cheeks and a weird mix of claws and flippers. They didn’t pay much heed to the two little ponies, aside from a few who hissed at them.
“Don’t get too close to them. Fluttershy said they’ve got a nasty bite.”
Looking at those beaks, Scootaloo was inclined to agree. She followed him past the turtle sanctuary and towards the edge of a small waterfall. He flew down a short distance and landed in the shadow, motioning for her to do the same.
Once Scootaloo had parked her scooter and helmet where she wanted, she took stock of the place. The waterfall wasn’t too high, the pond that it fed was fairly deep, and the rocks and trees nearby gave the place a constant source of shadow and cold, not unlike the kind of colds she’d felt on her short trips to the upper echelons of the Equestrian skies. Rumble unpacked his bag and took out a notebook. “Here. You can compare notes, if you like.”
“Oh, sure,” Scootaloo nervously accepted the book and flipped through it.
Rumble watched as she leafed through it. She’s not impressed. She probably can’t make heads or tails out of my writing. She didn’t even bring her own notebook. She probably doesn’t even have a notebook. She probably doesn’t even need a notebook. This is never going to work out. Why did I even do this in the first place?
“Wow. Rainbow Dash was right: you do have a really tight schedule.”
“Umm, thanks?”
Scootaloo gave him the book back. “So what do you want to do?”
“Well, what do you usually do on a routine?”
The girl smiled nervously. “Er, I guess, I kind of, sort of, don’t have a routine? I just make things up as I go along.”
Rumble arched an eyebrow at her. This was supposed to be the strongest athlete in town, at least of his age. Rainbow Dash had assured him Scootaloo was on his level, and very likely better than that even with her delayed growth. And yet the girl had just admitted to not using a schedule for training. This did not sound right. “Oh. Okay, how about you try and do a basic dash, then?”
Scootaloo looked away and rubbed the back of her head. With her arm bent like that, Rumble could see the subtle definition of her body. Her wings, small as they were, were attached to a muscular shoulder joint that he could only imagine felt like rock to the touch. His own wings, though bigger, looked flimsy in comparison. Still, the inconsistencies piled up. “I can’t really do a dash yet. I keep losing my balance and falling down. You saw what happened last time I tried it. ”
“I’ll carry you, then,” Rumble blurted out.
Scootaloo tilted her head back in surprise.
“You know, so you can build up your strength. And I can build up mine with your weight,” Rumble hastily added.
“Don’t you think Chitter would mind?” Scootaloo asked.
The smile that had hung on his face since school had ended finally dropped. “She might, but she won’t, really. It’s complicated.”
“So she is your special somepony, then. Like your little girlfriend?”
Rumble bit his lip. “It’s really complicated.”
“Okay, then, would she be upset if you kissed another girl?” The girl looked away, thinking aloud.
Rumble winced. “I can’t really talk about it.”
“Well, would she?”
Reluctantly, Rumble nodded. “Yup.”
“Would she be angry if you said you liked another girl?”
“That’s personal,” Rumble hissed. “It’s none of your business, Scootaloo. Look, do you want me to help you fly or not?”
Rumble caught his breath when the girl took a step back and flared her wings up. He bit his lip and sighed.
Scootaloo grimaced in sympathy. “Sorry. I just wouldn’t want you to get in trouble, that’s all.”
Rumble let his head hang. “I know, sorry. I don’t want you to get in trouble, either. But Chitter’s fine, really. She won’t mind.”
“Are you sure? She was kind of hanging over you last night.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes at the thought. She hadn’t seen that kind of affection outside of Hearts and Hooves Day. “And what about Thunderlane? Doesn’t he want you to stay away from me?”
“No,” Rumble said coldly. “Thunderlane’s not around now, and he’s not the boss of me, anyway. Now come on, you fly up and I’ll keep you steady.”
Scootaloo went up with Rumble behind and beneath her. She tried to dash, but once her wings to their usual speed, she found herself plummeting. Luckily, Rumble was there to catch her and let her slow down.
Scootaloo groaned as she slowed her descent and just hung in the air with slow, powerful flaps of her wings. “See? This keeps happening, and I can’t figure out why. Rainbow Dash said I’d just grow out of it. What am I doing wrong?”
“It’s a posture thing.”
“A posture thing?” The girl looked incredulous.
“Uhuh. You didn’t notice how you’re hanging now? You need to do more backflips. ”
Scootaloo looked down at herself. Rumble caught himself looking the girl over as well, despite his best efforts. They were both hanging in the air with their hind hooves pointed to the ground and their front hooves at their sides, keeping their backs straight while their wings kept them aloft.
“When you fly forward, you keep yourself on all fours. When you’re just hanging, you’re upright, unless you correct it,” Rumble explained. “But if you’re used to curving your back the wrong way, you end up angling your wings all wrong when you go forward, especially if you’re trying to go fast. You just need to do some backflips.”
“How are backflips gonna fix that?”
“It lets you throw your weight around and curve your back instead of pulling you forward with your belly. Like this.” Just like that, Rumble threw himself backwards and did a dive, hooves first, into the pond.
He surfaced just in time to see Scootaloo roll her eyes again. “Well, obviously. I knew that.”
Rumble found himself pondering that. Scootaloo would know that sort of thing. At least, she should. She did a backflip just like he’d done, then poked her head out of the water with a grimace. “Ow, that kinda hurt!”
Rumble winced. “Right, sorry. That’s just some muscles you haven’t worked yet. It’ll get better if you practise, three times a week for two weeks is fine. And you should try swimming with just your wings, let them get used to carrying your weight up and forward. You’ll feel the difference soon enough.”
The orange filly nodded. “Thanks for the advice, I think I will do that. And umm…” She looked to Rumble again. “Could I ask you something that might be a little personal?”
“Is it about Chitter?”
“Yeah.”
Rumble groaned as he swam to the edge and got out. “Okay, let’s hear it.”
“She’s a bat pony, right?” Scootaloo came out of the water and shook herself somewhat dry.
“The race is called ‘rousettes’.” Rumble clenched his teeth in frustration.
“Okay, is that a touchy subject? Because I’ve asked Lance and Featherweight, and they said you can get pretty scary when somepony brings it up. Is it just ‘coz you like her or is there something else to it?”
Rumble shook himself dry. “It’s a principle thing, that’s all. Rousettes decided a long time ago they didn’t want to be associated with ponies anymore, so they dropped it from their name. A rousette is a kind of bat, and it’s the closest thing to a rousettus pony, which is what they used to call themselves, so now they just call themselves rousettes. That’s the name they gave themselves, that’s what they answer to, and anything else is wrong. You wouldn’t like it if I called Apple Bloom a donkey.”
“Uhuh, and why don’t they call themselves ponies anymore, exactly?”
Rumble rolled his eyes. “You remember when I said the first Blue Moon Bloom ended up with one tribe getting cursed by all the others?”
“Yeah?”
“Those were bat ponies, back when they were still both bats and ponies. I’m not sure what kind of curses they got, but it was the kind that ran in families, and they can still get pretty angry about it.” The boy grimaced. “The day love beat vanity and selfishness for ponies is the day rousettes got cursed because of it. So yeah, they don’t like being associated with ponies nowadays.”
Scootaloo gulped. “Oh, okay, but, err…”
“What?”
“It’s nothing.”
Rumble frowned. “Oh, just say it.”
“It’s nothing, really.” She looked away, idly trying to look at a cloud to avoid the boy’s gaze.
“Scootaloo, what aren’t you telling me?”
Scootaloo bit her lip. “You remember when me and my friends were doing that newspaper thing?”
“Kind of hard to forget; your picture’s in a museum.” He groaned.
“Umm, we tried to run a story on you and…”
Rumble froze. “And?”
“And turns out nopony knows anything about you, good or bad. Nopony has ever seen your parents, not even Miss Cheerilee. So Diamond Tiara wanted to run a story about you being adopted by your brother. She would have if Featherweight hadn’t taken that picture of Princess Celestia and that cake.”
Rumble was not surprised. The boys of Ponyville always had each other’s backs.
Scootaloo idly kicked the ground. “So, umm, I guess what I’m trying to ask is… where are your parents?”
Rumble felt a tight grip on his heart and his throat. He’d never realised the horror he’d dodged when that thrice-accursed tabloid had been in town. “Nopony’s ever seen your parents either, or Apple Bloom’s. Does that mean you’re adopted, too?”
Scootaloo shrugged. “My mom and dad work all the way up in Cloudsdale, that's why no one ever sees them. They have to travel a lot, so they wanted me to go to school here. I just bunk up with my aunt Vinyl and her friend. It’s easier, and a bit more friendly with me being...” She nodded to her wings.
“Yeah, I get that. But you see my point? Just because you haven’t seen my mom and dad around, doesn’t mean they’re not, you know, around.”
“Then where are they?”
“W-well, they’re usually in Canterlot,” Rumble stammered. “With the Royal Guard. I’m pretty sure you’ve seen my dad around, actually.”
Scootaloo’s expression shifted when Rumble’s tone lightened. She shook off some more of the water, before accepting a towel Rumble gave her. “So… you don’t see your parents a lot, too, huh?”
Rumble shrugged. “You might say that, yeah. I’m used to being home alone.”
“Uhuh. And don’t you get… I don’t know, lonely?”
The boy looked away. “Sometimes.”
“Well, at least you’re not always alone, right?”
Rumble chuckled nervously. “No, of course I’m not. That’d be terrible.”
Scootaloo squinted. “Are you home alone all the time?”
He let off an annoyed grunt at that. “My big brother’s gonna come pick me up anytime now, we might as well call it here. I kinda forgot about the time, sorry.”
Given his reaction, Scootaloo decided to drop the topic. “That’s okay. At least you finally talked. Why do you always sit alone in a corner like that?”
Rumble shrugged. “Guess I just never bothered to do anything else. Rainbow Dash says I’m too much of a loner, and that it’s holding me back. Can you believe that?”
“At least you got Rainbow Dash to talk to you. You wouldn’t believe how I finally got noticed.”
Rumble chuckled. “You wouldn’t believe how she noticed me, either.”
The two foals regarded each other, and for a moment, there flashed between them a spark of understanding: some vague sense of kinship, of a shared destiny. For just a second, Rumble clenched his teeth together. It didn’t last, though. He’d made up his mind about Scootaloo.
“Hey, Scootaloo?” Rumble asked. “Since you were asking me personal stuff, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”
Scootaloo gulped. “Sure?”
“If you couldn’t ask me to help you with flying, who would you ask? Featherweight?” The boy looked anxious as he spoke.
Scootaloo shook her head. “Featherweight? Not really, no. I mean, he can hover, and he can get up okay, but he’s not like you.”
“And, just out of curiosity, who else do you know? Suppose I had to move or something, who’d you fly with?”
She shrugged. “Whoever Rainbow Dash says is good enough, I guess.”
“Right, of course. And, umm, just suppose, if it wasn’t for Chitter, would you give me a flower for Blue Moon Bloom?”
Scootaloo looked away nervously. “Well, I might, just to make sure you got one. Why do you ask? You don’t like her anymore?”
“It’s complicated.”
Scootaloo tensed up. “So say something more complicated than ‘It’s complicated’, for peat’s sake! Why do you let her hug you like that if she’s not your girlfriend? Do you want her to stop?”
Rumble felt a quiver in his voice. “Sometimes, I guess. We only hang out after sundown, but she can still keep me up. It’s a long story, it’s nothing to worry about. She is really nice to me, a lot nicer than anypony else I know.”
“But are you going to give her a blue flower?”
Rumble gulped and looked away. “I might, but it’s not what you think. I was just curious if you thought I was cute or anything, that’s all. Just being silly, I guess.” He kicked the ground shyly.
Scootaloo blushed. “Well, you kind of, sort of, are. Cute, I mean.”
“Really?”
“Kind of, sure.”
This came as a surprise to the boy. To the best of his knowledge, Scootaloo had never been one for sentimentality, and she’d certainly never shown any interest in him. Something was very wrong about this. He had to say something, though, it wouldn’t be right if he didn’t.
“So, um, suppose something happened, and I couldn’t hang out with you anymore. Would that be bad?”
Scootaloo grimaced. “Uh, yeah, that’d be really bad. Rainbow Dash said I had to ask you, and if you’re not around, who am I supposed to ask? Wait, are you moving?”
Rumble flashed her a nervous smile. “No, not really, I’m just asking. Just out of curiosity, that’s all.”
He could tell she didn’t buy it for a second. She looked worried, disappointed, even. “Rumble, is something wrong?”
Rumble bit his lip. “No. Not really. Maybe. I’m not moving or anything, I just-”
“Come on, hot shot, time for your big date!” a voice called from atop the waterfall.
Rumble groaned as Thunderlane poked his head out from atop the cliff. You just had to use the word ‘date’, didn’t you?
Scootaloo smiled knowingly at him. “Dinner with Chitter, huh? It’s complicated?”
Rumble looked up and packed his towel. “Yeah, it is, and I gotta go get ready. See you tomorrow.”
Scootaloo gave him his towel. “Don’t forget this.”
“You hold on to it. Try swimming some more, it’ll help. You can give it back tomorrow. Fluttershy’ll come around in about an hour to check up on me, she’ll help you get warmed up again, just in case you’re too cold to get home.”
Scootaloo waved as he went up to meet his brother.
“Helping her out with her flying?” he asked with an edge in his voice..
Rumble nodded, teeth clenched from sheer frustration. “Yes. Just helping out a classmate with her flying, that’s all. Is that a problem?”
“Better not tell Chitter about it. Feeling ready for tonight?”
“No. That’s why I have to get home and shower, isn’t it? And put on some perfume, and a bow tie…”
“Now you’re getting into the spirit of it.” Thunderlane ruffled his little brother’s mane, getting a slight chuckle out of him.
“Sure, maybe a little.”
Thunderlane smiled. "Don't worry. After tonight, everything will be better. You'll see."
Scootaloo did some laps around the pond, getting her wings nice and worked. She did notice the muscles in some places now, where before she hadn’t noticed anything. She knew where the problem with her angle was now, which was a big improvement. Even Rainbow Dash hadn’t fixed that for her.
“Rumble? Are you down there?” A soft female voice called out.
“No, it’s just me, Fluttershy!” Scootaloo replied.
“Oh, hi, Scootaloo. Um, sorry, but how did you find this place? You’re not supposed to be here.”
Scootaloo got out and noted the very marked chill that hung over her body. She was glad Rumble had brought a towel for her, since she caught herself shivering. “Achoo!”
Fluttershy frowned. “Um, Scootaloo, sweetie? You really need to be more careful about changing shape. If you can lose it that easily, somepony’s going to notice.”
The now revealed changeling wrapped herself in the big, warm, fluffy towel, before grabbing her helmet and scooter.
Fluttershy descended to take those off her hooves. “Can you still fly?”
Scootaloo changed back into her pegasus self and took off with the towel slung over her shoulder, despite the cold. Once they were at the top of the waterfall, the sun warmed the girl up. Even her non-existent horn felt warm somehow. She wrapped herself up again to dry off.
“Better?”
“Lots,” Scootaloo replied with a sigh.
They passed by the mound of turtles, who were moving along to continue their turtle business elsewhere. Fluttershy looked to the girl. “This is a turtle reserve, you know. It’s not a good place for little ponies like you.”
“Rumble showed me. He said it was okay. Achoo!”
To Fluttershy’s surprise, Scootaloo didn’t change shape the second time. “You can hold it in?”
“Of course I can. It’s only when I’m distracted that I can’t sneeze.”
“I see. And Rumble took you here, yes?”
Scootaloo nodded. “Yes, honest. I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to be here. He said it was okay.”
“It is okay, Scootaloo, I believe you. I told Rumble it was okay, as long as he brought a towel. A good boy always knows where his towel is, after all. He’s usually alone, though. He must really like you if he took you here.”
“I don’t think so. He just wanted me to learn how to fly right. He’s already got a girlfriend.”
Fluttershy’s ears perked. “Really? You’re sure?”
“Yup.”
The mare blinked in confusion. “But he’s so young. You’re absolutely sure he has a girlfriend? Somepony he hugs and kisses?”
Scootaloo grimaced. “I haven’t seen them kiss, but they hug a lot when they’re together.”
Fluttershy shook her head in disbelief. “Oh, my. I suppose it’s not that unusual. He is a very cute boy, after all.”
Scootaloo felt a pang in her stomach. “Yeah.”
“And he’s a really strong flyer, especially for his age. You should have seen him when we made that waterspout for Spitfire. She even gave him a button and took a picture with him.”
The pang in the disguised changeling’s stomach moved up to her chest. “Wow.”
“And I hear he does tricks and stunts on his own, just like you do. I’m sure a lot of girls would want to get to know him, even if he’s still a little young.”
Scootaloo cleared her throat. “Yeah, I’ll bet any girl would just love to be with him.”
“Including you?”
They both stopped. Scootaloo had walked right into that trap.
“Me? Nah, why would I want to be Rumble’s girlfriend? He’s just some boy in my class, and he’s smelly, too.”
“I’ve noticed. He smells like you.”
“I do not-” Scootaloo sniffed under her arms just to check. She smelled of pegasus sweat and water weeds. “Okay, maybe I have a little more in common with him than I think. Maybe.”
“Good lad, just sink your teeth into the flesh and suck it all up.”
Rumble was barely awake. The deep, burly voice guiding his movements was the only sound his mind could register. There was smoke everywhere, a thick incense that numbed his senses and seemed to nibble away at his memories.
Gotta keep it together. Don’t pass out, don’t stop drinking. Gotta do this right.
Rumble tightened his grip and sucked harder. His stomach churned in protest, and his face was getting messy with the thick, red fluid. The stuff was affecting his magic, he could feel it. A stinging sensation started in his wings, then a pang around his thighs, and then agony in his face. His eyes burned, and two of his teeth felt like someone was holding ice cubes to the roots.
Still, he kept drinking. He had to keep drinking. It was supposed to hurt. He couldn’t disappoint them, not again. He had to finish it.
Time passed in a blur after that, and if anyone said anything to him, it didn’t register.
Rumble’s head was spinning. He couldn’t feel his toes. He’d somehow managed to forget he didn’t have any toes. Or maybe he did, and they were somewhere else. His head wasn’t up for comparative anatomy right now. He was out of the smoke now, that helped. How had he gotten here? Where was here? Ground floor, it looked like.
“You okay, Rumble?” Something pushed into his sides as he moved through the room. Grey shapes loomed overhead, ominous voices grumbled and growled, and yellow eyes seemed to gaze into his soul, but never for long. They just turned briefly, passed their judgement, then returned to their own business. He was nothing here, just a grey little colt no one cared for. He could pass out right then and there and it wouldn’t matter. The red stuff in his stomach churned, almost making him vomit. He could barely keep his eyes open, but he didn’t dare close them.
“Y-yeah, I’m fine.” Rumble shook his head to face Chitter. Even with her dark grey fur, her black dress made her look like a graceful dancer. It was just dark enough to make her own fur look light in comparison, her bat wings went from looking weird or menacing to just looking delicate, and the lack of frills and glitter made it enough to stop her from sticking out too much.
“You sure? Wait, you’ve got a little something on your neck.” Chitter rubbed her hoof against an exposed spot on Rumble’s neck. His own short-sleeved tuxedo matched her dress nicely; the rolled up sleeves made his arms look thicker, for one thing. He still wasn’t sure about the red bow tie, though, but apparently bow ties were cool now.
Chitter got some red stuff off of his neck and licked her hoof clean with a smile. “Well, guess you’re ready as you’ll ever be.”
Rumble looked around. They’d somehow managed to keep moving without him noticing. They were right next to a wall, close to an opening. He braced himself. “Chitter, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’m not sure if I should do this. I mean, last time didn’t end up so great, and tonight’s gonna worse. I feel sick. Am I supposed to feel sick?”
“No.” Chitter draped a wing over his back. “You’re not. You should be feeling better now. You’re supposed to feel stronger, more confident. Don’t you feel stronger?”
“N-no. I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”
“I’m sorry, Rumble. You shouldn’t have let them do this. You should have said something sooner.”
“I didn't have a choice, okay? Can I go home now, please? Where’s Thunderlane?”
“I’m not sure. But look, just take a deep breath and relax.” She reached under his belly and gently stroked in circles. “Burp if you think you have to. I’ve got you, I promise.”
Rumble held up a hoof to block the gas coming up from his stomach. It didn’t help his dizziness, but it made his stomach feel better, at least.
“Okay, good. Now you’re ready to meet the girls.”
“I don’t think I can do this, Chitter. After last time-”
“Rumble, come on.” She put a hoof to the back of his head to push him forward, before kissing him on his forehead. “It'll be fine. It’s just some friends. I’ve told them all about you, and they really wanna meet you. I’ll be right there, you just have to talk to them.”
The pegasus colt sighed. The kiss made him feel stronger, somehow, more lucid. “Okay, I’ll just talk. But what am I supposed to say? What if they don’t like me?”
Chitter chuckled and nudged him along. “Aww, don’t sell yourself so short, Rumbley-wumbley-bumblebee. I’m sure my friends’ll just eat you up.”