//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: "When's the Wedding?" And Other Rumbaloo Tales // by Candy-Sweets_12 //------------------------------// The next morning, Scootaloo was the first to wake up. For an instant, her mind was blank, only filled with the soft touch of the bed, and Rumble's protective grip around her. The day before resurfaced in her mind, and she suddenly remembered the reason why her eye still felt a bit sore. She heaved a sigh, shutting her eyes for a moment. She jumped when she felt a hoof tap her shoulder. She turned to see it was Rumble, who was throwing her a smile. "Morning." he greeted. She returned it with a small smile of her own. "Morning." she replied. "You want to do anything today?" he asked, shifting so she could have a bit more wiggle room. She sighed. "I've got a few ideas." she hinted. "Does it have something to do with Rainbow Dash by any chance?" "And Sweetie, and Apple Bloom." she finished. "What else?" "I could apply for a job too." she answered. "Now that High School's over, I can sign up for weather control." "So you want to be my colleague then?" Rumble asked flirtatiously. "In a different department," Scootaloo replied with a smirk of her own, playfully pushing him to the side. He chuckled as he rubbed his arm. "What about you? Any plans?" "I was wondering if you were up for another date today." he stated, giving her a questioning glance. She shrugged. "Maybe, it depends on how the day goes I guess." she said. "Somehow, I knew you would say that." Rumble smirked. "Then why'd you ask, lover boy?" Scootaloo teased, raising an eyebrow. "Just to clarify." he simply stated. Later that morning, Rumble and Scootaloo were just about ready to head out, with their saddlebags in tow, they made it out the door, deciding to stop by the office for weather control. It was one of the many stations sprinkled across Equestria, they were always on the outskirts of towns, and almost always had a displeased pony working the front desk, some of which, like the sunny maned one Rumble approached, tended to be abrupt and dismissive. "Hey Sunny," Rumble greeted, leaning against the front desk. "Hey," Sunny replied with a bland tone, setting his head in his hoof. Rumble wasn't surprised that the stallion already seemed to have forgotten his name again, even though he was always called to the front desk, what with how he was new to the weather team. "What brings you here today? You don't work today, do you?" "No, I'm just here with someone." Rumble answered. "Where are they, exactly?" "She's coming, she just needed to get so-" Right then, Scootaloo came in, opening the glass doors. She shook her mane, for she somehow managed to get tufts of clouds in it. She stepped over to the desk, smiling at the pegasus. Sunny seemed to be in a bit of a daze, he stared directly at Scootaloo, trying to keep his mouth from hanging agape. Scootaloo's smile shrunk, and she looked to Rumble for a split second before looking back to him. "Um..." she started. Sunny snapped out of his daze, blush tinting his white coat. "What? Oh, sorry. Excuse me for staring, I'm Sunny Days, but you can call me Sunny." he said, his tone now welcoming, as if he were greeting a princess. "Scootaloo," she replied. "I'm here for that job opening?" she asked. Sunny nodded, "Oh yes, hold on a second please." He proceeded to dunk underneath the desk, flashing her a smile once he slid the papers over the desk. "Just fill these out, and we'll look into it." he said. Scootaloo nodded and took it, glancing around the front desk. "You have a pencil?" she asked. "Oh! Yes, you want a pen or a pencil? I have quills too, if you prefer those." he offered. "A pencil's fine, thanks." Scootaloo said. She took the pencil Sunny passed to her and gave him a friendly smile, walking over with Rumble close behind, to a nearby table, which seemed to be specifically made for signing paper work. Scootaloo mostly fell silent, unaware of Sunny's eyes flickering her direction. Rumble couldn't help but frown, and Scootaloo noticed the displeased look on his face. "Something wrong?" she asked, looking up from the paperwork. "I think he's hitting on you," Rumble said. "Really?" Scootaloo asked. She then proceeded to roll her eyes. "Are you sure you're not being paranoid?" "Trust me, I'm sure." Rumble stated. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and shook her head. 'Colts,' she thought. Why were they suddenly giving her so much attention? Was it her Cutiemark? That usually pulled a lot of ponies' attention. Or maybe it was something about her hair. She couldn't quite place it, but either way, she decided to banish the thought. Finishing out the work. It didn't take her long, within five or so short minutes, she returned with everything. "Thanks," she smiled. "We'll keep in touch." Sunny stated. "-The company, I mean." he quickly added. "Okay." Scootaloo said. "See ya later then." "Thanks for stopping by," he said with enthusiasm. He gave her a big grin, and waved as they made their way out the door. He didn't seem to see Rumble's defensive glare towards him. "Let him be, Rumble." Scootaloo said, she didn't even need to look to know he was doing it. "But-" "He's just being nice, it's not like he knows about us." "Well he better know soon. Because he wasn't so nice before you came in." "Is that jealousy I hear?" Scootaloo teased. "I'm not jealous." Rumble assured her. "I just don't like the way he looked at you." "You sound like my Dad," Scootaloo grinned. Rumble cringed, and she laughed. "Don't say that." "It's true, and you know it." Scootaloo giggled. "Whatever, can you blame me for getting defensive? What with everyone suddenly taking attention to my girlfriend? I don't want anyone picking up on you." "It's not like I'm going to let them win my oh, so precious heart over Scootaloo said in an over exaggerated damsel-in-distress voice. Rumble couldn't help but laugh. It was so different compared to her original attitude, it just didn't fit, yet she pulled the voice so well. "Yeah, you're right there." he admitted. The two sparked another topic for conversation, talking about other job options in the event weather-pony didn't work out for them. It didn't last very long, for they eventually reached their destination. Rainbow Dash had asked to meet with her in the park, and Scootaloo took the courtesy to invite her friends over as well, so that she wouldn't have to travel to two or three different places. She landed on the checkered picnic blanket, Rumble landing swiftly behind her. Sweetie Belle trotted up to her and embraced her friend in a near bone-crushing hug, letting out a squeal. "Nice to see you too, Sweets." Scootaloo grinned. "I'm so glad to see you guys!" Sweetie Belle explained, pulling away. She took a step back and examined them. "You look so different." "You literally saw me like a week ago, I hardly changed at all," Scootaloo grinned, rolling her eyes. "But you do! You look like a body builder or something, just look at your wings!" "We were training all week, I may have built some muscle, but not that much." Scootaloo stated. "But it's nice to see you too. Where's everyone else?" "Funny you should ask that," she heard. She turned, finding Rainbow Dash there. "Rainbow Dash!" she exclaimed. "'Sup, Squirt?" the pegasus grinned, giving Scoots a side hug. She smiled at Rumble. "How was the Academy?" "Drilling, hard, Excessive, Exhausting," Rumble listed. "So the usual?" Rainbow smirked. "Yep." Rumble nodded. "I'm glad to see you to made it. How was the class session?" "It wasn't as bad as you said it was. I actually thought it was interesting." Rumble replied. "I can't say the exact same for myself, but it wasn't that bad." Scootaloo shrugged. "Whatever," Rainbow replied. "Anyway," Sweetie chirped, interjecting. "I'm glad you brought Rumble, guess who decided to tag along?" "Button." the other four, now including Apple Bloom, who just arrived, stated plainly. Sweetie blushed, and cleared her throat. "Yes, he originally had plans, but they were cancelled, I hope that you don't mind if I invited him here?" Sweetie asked sheepishly. "It's fine," Apple Bloom stated, the others nodding in agreement. She set a picnic basket down and went over to give Scoots a hug, "we don't usually mind." "Just keep it PG." Rainbow teased. Sweetie blushed a bright red, as she turned East, where Button was approaching. She went over to him, and the two seemed to engage in conversation. "So how've ya'll been?" AB asked, setting the pie she was balancing on her back down. "Pretty good, I'm still a bit sore from the Academy, but otherwise we're fine." Scootaloo said. "That's good to hear, did ya meet anyone?" Apple Bloom asked. Scootaloo and Rumble exchanged a glance. "I guess you could say that," he said. "There was this one mare, Cloud Chaser, she was my wing-pony." "What about you, Scoots? Who was yours? And I have I heard of him?" Rainbow asked, as Sweetie approached with Button, listening in on the conversation. Rumble gave her a glance, as if to ask if she wanted him to say, but she spoke anyway. "Some guy named Comet." she shrugged. "Not much to him, to be honest." The rest of the group shrugged, adding a few replies of their own to the statement, as they all went to sit on the blanket. Rumble and Button went off to the side, letting the mares start a conversation of their own. Rumble wasn't quite sure of what to say, he knew Button for a long time, and they were friends, but he couldn't quite relate very much to him as he could with his closer friends. But that didn't mean they shared no interests, both were fans of some video games, though Rumble wasn't as in to video games as Button was, but then again, no one was. The stallion was a hardcore gamer, and he apparently had as much of a talent for making them as he did for playing them. "How's it going?" Button asked, turning to him. "It's going," he replied. Button chuckled at the remark. "So I'm guessing you're tired," Button stated. "Why is that?" "The Academy and all, that place has a reputation for breaking spirits and necks." "You got that right." Rumble agreed. "What about you? How's the new job?" "It's awesome, I'm still an intern, until I can finish the courses and all, but the behind the scenes to making these games are awesome. I've already met a ton of ponies who are gamers." "That sounds cool." "It is cool. To me anyway. I'm glad Sweetie Belle supports it, but then again, she'd support me for anything I do." "You must be pretty lucky, then." Rumble replied. "And you aren't?" Button asked. "What do you mean?" "I've known Scootaloo for a while, I've been in school with her before you have, and I know she supports everypony." "You're point?" "You make it sound as if she doesn't." Button explained. "Maybe so," Rumble admitted. "I guess I'm still not that used to it." "You'll get the hang of it," Button said. "I know it took me a while to." "Yeah, I know you've dated Sweetie for years." "Not only her, there were a few others, though it wasn't dating dating, it was more of a friend thing, I actually started getting more serious when Sweetie Belle came around. She just has this sort of glow, you know?" he said dreamily. "I guess so. I see it more in Scootaloo though." "That makes sense. It's a good thing too, otherwise I'd have to go all Megalovania on you for hitting on my girlfriend," Button smirked. "Please, Sweetie's nice and all, but I'm not a player. Scootaloo's all I need." Rumble said. "And I'm impressed, I'd have expected Super Smash Bros, or Street Fighter, maybe even Mortal Kombat X, but Megalovania?" "Yes, and 'You're gonna have a bad time.' I don't mess around when it comes to Sweetie Belle." "Trust me, I don't doubt it for a second." Rumble assured him, recalling a previous memory of when Button grew angry with someone. He shuddered at the thought, prompting Button to smirk. "Good." he replied. "Speaking of games, you want to hang out sometime?" Button asked. "I mean, we already know each other and all, but I'd still like to get to know you a bit more." "Sure." Rumble shrugged. "I'll see if I can." "Great," Button said, giving Rumble a smile. "You boys having fun over there?" Apple Bloom asked, prompting the other mares to turn their direction. "We're just talking, I guess." Rumble shrugged. Apple Bloom smirked and looked to the other three, before they all started to giggle. Button and Rumble exchanged a glance as they all went back to their own conversations. "What's that all about?" Button asked. "I have no idea." Rumble stated. "Fillies," Button said with a roll of his eyes. "They've always got something to giggle about." "Yep." Rumble agreed. "But Sweetie's Belle's laugh is an exception," Button added. "it's like the chiming of bells." "Of course you'd say that," Rumble chuckled, rolling his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?" Button asked defensively. "It means that you and Sweetie are pretty close." Rumble stated. "You two are always together." "Is that a bad thing?" Button asked, his voice slightly tinted with concern. "No, I don't think so," Rumble assured him. "But I wouldn't really know, I'm not exactly an expert with dating, you know." "You sure? You and Scootaloo seem to hit it off pretty well." Button added. "Yeah, I guess. But you don't think we seem more like close friends than anything else? Not much has changed ever since we started dating." Rumble said. "That may be true, but you say that as if it's a bad thing." Button said. "So you're saying it's okay that we treat each other like friends?" "I'm no dating expert either, but I think you two treat each other as more than that. For all I know, you may be one of those couples that keeps it to themselves more than anything. Believe it or not, Sweetie Belle and I started off like that for the first couple of months." "Really? Wow!" Rumble said with over enthusiasm. "Shut up, and yes, we just became more comfortable with each other quickly, even in public. Though, at least most of the time, we don't really kiss or anything like that in public." "Most of the time?" Rumble asked, cocking an eyebrow at him, trying to hold back a smirk. "Okay, some of the time." Button admitted. "But there's nothing wrong with a couple that keeps to themselves." "I guess you're right. I just don't want us to be so distant from each other, though. I want us to be more open, and I'm not sure if we are." "I see." Button replied. "And at the same time, I don't want to rush into this, I'd like to take it slow too, ya know?" "That's a lot to ask for, ya know. Just to give you a heads up, no relationship ever works like that. They just sort of, flourish in their own way, the relationship I mean. If it works out, it'll be in it's own way, it may not be like you want it to be, or expect it for that matter, but as long as you two are happy with each other, it'll work out." "I guess you're right." Rumble sighed. "But I can't help but think there's more I could do to make it better." "I feel that way all the time too, and I'm sure that Scootaloo feels the same with you, and Sweetie feels the same with me." Button stated. "But we all have the time to work on it, you guys especially, now that you live together." "Yeah." Rumble agreed. He smiled. "You're right, we should hang out some time." "Good." Button grinned.