Rumble sighed as he stared out the window of the schoolhouse, watching the rain fall steadily on the glass. The sky was dark, about as gray as his mane, but that’s what happened when the mayor delayed the local rainstorm for the Nightmare Night festival. He blinked slowly, his mind wandering about aimlessly through the random bits of thoughts that flitted through his subconscious. Things grabbed his attention for mere moments, like that skateboarding trick Featherweight was trying to teach him, but somehow they all came back to probably the biggest thing to happen in his life since moving in with his brother.
Glancing away from the window, he lazily scanned the class. Most of it was the same cluster of ponies he had been with since day one, but they all were different than those silly and innocent little colts and fillies he had met. In front of him sat Sweetie Belle, her long and bouncy mane twitching slightly as she wrote, while next to her Truffles let out a small snore before tossing his head back. Rumble scoffed at that, a sarcastic smile on his face as he looked past him. Up at the front sat Apple Bloom, now sporting a green kerchief instead of her bow, and Ruby Pinch, who really hadn’t changed that much.
Lastly, Rumble stopped once he got to Dinky. He stared at her with the same disinterested look he gave the rain, but his mind whirled about with the thought that his brother and her mother were officially dating. The news had spread across town nearly overnight and the class was no exception. While Rumble would never be upset at his brother for landing himself a mare, the happiness did hardly anything to mitigate the strangeness of being in the same class as Dinky.
Dinky was a strange filly to Rumble. While almost all of the other fillies in his class were cliquey, she never seemed to have any friends. She never doted on her new hooficure, the latest mane style or even the new stud in the Wonderbolts. Books seemed to be her only interest, which made Rumble cringe. One of his major weaknesses was focusing for more than twenty seconds on the same page of endless text, but Dinky somehow seemed to thrive on it.
Rumble shook his head and turned back to the window, sighing again. The rain refused to slow and a flash of lightning lit the town, causing a small gasp to ring out in the class around him. The low roll of thunder shook the schoolhouse, but everypony quieted down and resumed working. Rumble placed his chin in his hoof and closed his eyes, wishing for this to end before he fell asleep again. Mrs. Cheerilee wasn’t too gentle when she woke him the first time he nodded off in her class.
“Oh, no!” came a hushed whisper.
Rumble rolled his eyes back across the room to see Dinky frantically scribbling with a long eagle quill. Her eyes were wide and her pupils tiny, but they didn’t compare to the look she wore when Mrs. Cheerilee asked, “Is everything alright, Dinky?”
“Y-Yes, ma’am,” Dinky said with an audible gulp. “Just made an error on th-the worksheet.”
Rumble turned back to the window, trying not to think about his own lack of studying. As his eyelids drooped, the loud toll of the school bell broke the stillness and everypony started moving. Rumble groaned as he reached for his saddlebags filled with books and loose paper he didn’t want to throw away but refused to sort when Mrs. Cheerilee’s voice rang out.
“Have a good weekend, fillies and colts. Test on chapter fifteen is on Wednesday and remember to bring a new solitary reading book!” she said, shuffling papers on her desk.
A moan rose up from the crowd as they shuffled to the door, but nopony dared voice a rebuttal. Rumble remained in his seat and closed his eyes for a moment, his sleepiness still lingering, when he felt an elbow prod his side.
“Hey, how’s your bro doing?” came Featherweight’s voice. “I hear he’s into MILFs. In more ways than one, if you know what I mean.”
Featherweight snickered at his joke while Rumble rolled his eyes, his mood plummeting.
“Better than you’re doing,” he bit back while pushing himself out of the desk.
“Woah, there. Lighten up, buddy!” Featherweight responded. “I was just joking with you. No need to get all mad about it.”
“Leave it alone, Feather,” Rumble said, doing his best to not face him.
“Hey, I’m trying to be a friend here. Looks like we won’t be skateboarding today, so we’ll do it tomorrow, okay? My mom is a freak about me being out in a storm. She thinks I’ll get electrocuted or something.”
“Whatever,” Rumble said, trotting past. “I got some games I can play at home.”
“At least your brother lets you play games whenever you want. My mom is all about ‘do your homework first’ and ‘make sure your chores are done before you rot your brain’.” Featherweight sighed as he followed Rumble to the front of the rows of desks. “It could be worse, I suppose,” he mused. “You might wind up like Dinky over there, so cherish your freedom while you can.”
At the mention of her name, Rumble looked over to see Dinky fumbling around with some folders and loose paper. Each folder was labelled and arranged according to color in her bag, which made Rumble stare for a second longer than he usually would.
“Yeah, I can see it now. Rumble and Dinky, star students of Ponyville!” Featherweight said while sweeping his hoof in the air. “Prodigies of Derpy, most available mare in town and Thunderlane, most available stallion in both Ponyville and Cloudsdale!”
“Dude, can it,” Rumble said, stomping away from him. “Nothing’s changed. I’m not going to turn into some super smart colt, no matter who my brother decides to date, so shut up about them.”
Featherweight froze in place while Rumble glanced over to Dinky, who was now looking up at him with a curious and concerned gaze. They locked eyes for a brief second before he looked back down at the floor, mechanically making his way to the door. He could feel Dinky still staring at him, but ignored it.
“Featherweight, please stay here after everypony has left,” came Mrs. Cheerilee. “We need to have a serious talk about matters not involving you or your unwelcome input.”
Rumble gave no reaction as he kept walking. All the other students had left already, leaving him, Dinky and Featherweight behind. Since one of them was probably in a large amount of trouble, Rumble pushed open the door to see the rain still coming down in a steady stream. Sighing again, he looked down at the steps and took his first few steps outside. The rain instantly began to soak his coat, but he proceeded onward, acting as if the rain wasn’t there.
The grass was soggy and the dirt path was mostly mud, so after walking to the end of the compound, he could feel his hooves sticking to the ground with every step. Glancing up through the water droplets falling from his mane, Rumble sighed again and kept trudging his way towards home. While his mood was already sour about Featherweight, there was a dark funk that he felt following him around for the past few weeks. While he searched for a reason that it stayed, thinking on it only made the rainclouds in his mind darker and pour harder. Ironically, the rain outside his body did so as well.
“Hey, Rumble! Wait up!” came a familiar voice.
Glancing back, Rumble was a little more than surprised to see Dinky running up to him, a large black umbrella covering her from the storm. The same concerned look was on her face when she approached, but stopped just shy of him and they stared at each other.
“What?” Rumble asked.
“I saw you leave and didn’t see any rain stuff with you, so I kinda, uh,” she said before looking at the ground. “I thought I could, uh, share my umbrella with you. You know, since my mom… and your brother…”
Rumble stared at her with a small frown on his face while she looked back up at him.
“No thanks,” he said tonelessly. “I don’t need it.”
“But you’re soaked!” Dinky squealed. “And your bags will be too!”
Rumble groaned and turned around.
“It’s not like I’m going anywhere I’ll need them,” he murmured before walking down the muddy path again.
“What?” Dinky called as he heard her follow him.
“Nothing,” Rumble said, loud enough for her to hear.
He kept walking for a few more yards before Dinky spoke up and said, “Are you sure you don’t want to share? I don’t want you to catch a cold!”
“I’ll take a warm shower when I get home,” Rumble said, hoping that would silence her.
“That won’t fix a cold!” she replied.
“It’s worked for me in the past,” he called back. “Thanks for your concern, but I’ll be fine.”
Silence once again took over, the only noise being the rain pounding down on Rumble’s back and head. Normally he would fly home, but the rain made his feathers wet which, in turn, made flying risky. He could crash into a house, a lightpost, a tree or anything if his feathers didn’t flex correctly in mid-flight. Still, he considered trying it, especially since the Wonderbolts had to fly in rainstorms or sunshine.
“Rumble,” came Dinky before he could spread his wings. “Are you mad at me?”
Rumble paused mid-step and turned to her slowly.
“Why would I be mad at you?” he asked over the drum of the rain.
“I don’t know, but I can tell you’re mad about something,” she said sheepishly. “Is it me or my mom?”
In the span of silence that followed, a low roll of thunder swept across the pathway.
“I’m not mad at either of you,” Rumble said. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea for us to share an umbrella.”
“Why?” Dinky asked. “It’s big enough for both of us.”
Rumble found his voice unwilling to answer that question.
“Please share it with me,” Dinky pleaded, taking a step forward. “Nothing is going to happen to you if you do.”
She began to trot towards him, but he held up a hoof and she stopped.
“I didn’t listen to my brother, so I deserve this,” he said. “Please don’t share it with me. This is what I get for ignoring him.”
He turned and tried to start walking again when he heard her stomp a hoof.
“What did I do to you?” she asked, her voice wavering. “Why don’t you want to be around me or my mom?”
Rumble froze, his heart skipping a beat. Turning back towards her, he wiped his mane out of his face to get a good look at her. He noted her eyes were watery, even from within the rain.
“Nothing!” he shouted. “You didn’t do anything! I’m an idiot and didn’t bring my own blasted umbrella, so I need to walk home in the rain!”
“But if anypony else offered to share, you would accept it!” she shouted back.
“No, I wouldn’t!” Rumble called out, an unusual bout of anger rising in his chest. “You don’t need to try and guilt trip me!”
“I’m just concerned about you!” she cried.
“Don’t be!” he roared back. “I don’t want to share your stupid umbrella!”
Dinky broke at his words. She gave a small whimper and raised a hoof up to her eyes while Rumble ground his teeth, glancing down at the mud. The anger in his chest instantly became a two ton weight while his own voice rang in his ears. Turning away, he trudged off into the endless sheet of rain, his guilt growing with each step. Once he was sure he was out of earshot, Rumble groaned and kicked at a chunk of mud. He watched it splatter across the grass and felt an unusual urge to kick it again.
“Dang it, Thunderlane,” he mumbled. “Of all the mares in this town, you had to like her.”
By now, he could feel the rain soaking his skin through his coat. His bag was probably ruined and so was all the stuff inside, but it made little difference to him. He could always come up with some story of the rain getting harder as he ran home and that he tried to save his bag, but there was too much water on the road and it got soaked. He’d have to splatter some mud on it to make his story convincing, though.
Shaking his head, Rumble scowled as he kept on walking. There was no way in Tartarus that Mrs. Cheerilee would believe that, especially since Dinky left shortly after him with that stupid umbrella. He’d probably have to pay for replacement books and then rent them from the library until new ones came in. Glancing over the town, he paused as he saw the big crystal palace jutting up from the center of town and paused.
“Oh, right,” he grumbled.
The library was destroyed, meaning he would have to share books until he got the new ones. Rolling his eyes, Rumble kicked at the ground again, soaking his foreleg as it met a puddle.
“Son of a--!” he cried before kicking at it again. “Why? Just why?”
The weight on his chest once again became a small fire as the phantom anger returned as he stomped into the puddle. Why did life have to suck so much? He and his books were soaked, Mrs. Cheerilee was probably going to put him through Tartarus when she heard, he had made Dinky cry and his brother was dating her mom. Rumble glared down at the puddle, a small part of him wishing he could melt into it and ignore everything.
As he stared, a bright flash caused him to blink before a loud crack of lightning deafened him. Rumble flinched, but stayed where he was. He looked up at the clouds hanging above him and scowled harder at them. It seemed their sole purpose was to make him as miserable as possible.
Looking back at the town, he looked for some spot to stand under until the rain lightened up. He was near the center of town by now, near the fountain that was now overflowing. The town hall wasn’t too far away, but he didn’t want to run through the courtyard. Turning to his right, he saw an awning sticking out from a nearby building and trotted over to it, sloshing in the wet grass as he did.
Once he was underneath the awning, Rumble threw his bag against the wall and plopped himself down without bothering to wipe away the excess water running down his mane and coat. He sighed and looked down at his mud-splattered hooves, watching the droplets fall onto them. Grinding his teeth again, he dug them into the dry grass and wiped away what he could. Bits of the blades of grass stuck to them, but thankfully most of the mud came off.
Snorting, he looked back up at the sky and stared, wondering when the storm would end. The Weather Team often ended them after a couple hours, but this one looked ready to last all day. There were no breaks in the clouds, nor any of the team weaving between them to herd the clouds away. Another flash of lightning lit the sky as he watched, but he didn’t flinch this time when the thunder came. However, his ears perked up as he heard a terrified squeal come from the rain.
Glancing around, his heart plummeted as he saw a familiar black umbrella beeline for the same awning he had claimed. From underneath the brim, he saw Dinky looking right at him. He wasn’t sure if she could see him, but her eyes were still red, which made the weight come back to his chest. He had barely registered the feeling when her umbrella made it underneath the awning.
“R-Rumble!” she squeaked. “I’m sorry! I’ll g-go find another--”
“No, Dinky,” he said, turning away from her. “I’ll go.”
As he stood, he heard her umbrella close.
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I’ll leave you alone,” she replied, her voice still wavering.
Rumble stopped moving, his mind blank. Turning to her, he scowled and said, “I don’t want you to leave me alone, I just want things to go back to normal!”
She looked at him with glossy eyes and replied, “N-Normal?”
“Yes!” Rumble growled. “Where speaking to you didn’t make other ponies tease me about Thunderlane and your mom!”
A tense silence hung in the air as Rumble struggled to control his breathing. A lot of emotions raced through his mind, anger being the predominant one, but he managed to maintain some self-control.
“Um, Rumble?” Dinky asked. “W-What do they say?”
Rumble grunted, but refused to give an answer. Instead, he flopped onto the grass again and stared out into the rain. Dinky stretched out a hoof to him, but paused and withdrew it. She looked down at the grass and wondered about what other ponies were saying to him. The fillies in the class weren’t exactly subtle in their teasing of her mother.
“I h-hate it when they talk about my m-mom,” Dinky mumbled. “They call her m-mean names and say I’m into younger colts like h-her.”
Rumble’s ear twitched and he looked out of the corner of his eyes.
“Yeah, well,” he replied. “I’m sorry.”
Dinky glanced back up to see him turn his head away from her slightly.
“W-What do they say to you? They all say my mom is a cradle snatcher,” she said, the words tasting like metal in her mouth.
Rumble closed his eyes, wishing she would stop asking, but his mouth began moving before his mind caught it.
“They ask if my brother is into MILFs. In more ways than one,” he mumbled as Featherweight’s words echoed in his ears.
Dinky scrunched her face up, disgusted by the innuendo. Why would they ever refer to her mother in that way?
“Then they also tease me about studying like you because of your mom,” he continued. “How I’m going to be some prodigy or something because your mom will force me to do good in school.”
Dinky blinked. They assumed her mom made her study? A small jolt of anger ran down her spine, but she kept her feelings in check. Any student of magic needed to be able to control themselves in stressful situations.
“You know, my mom doesn’t make me study,” she said, her voice regaining its normal tone. “I do that because I want to get into Princess Celestia’s school in Canterlot.”
Rumble glanced back at her, a derisive look on his face.
“The Princess’s school? Isn’t that the one Princess Twilight went to?”
Dinky’s face lit up and she said, “Yeah, it is.”
Rumble snorted, but kept his tongue in check.
“Don’t you have somewhere you want to go after we graduate?” Dinky asked, tilting her head a bit.
A small silence ensued, but eventually Rumble said, “The Wonderbolt Academy.”
Dinky smiled at that. Maybe there was more they had in common other than the teasing. Gradually, she took a step towards him, wary of his reaction. When he didn’t acknowledge her, she sat down in the grass next to him and spoke while she watched the rain fall.
“Wow, The Wonderbolt Academy, huh? Isn’t it hard to get in?”
Rumble sighed, but said, “They have a strict physical standard you have to pass and you need at least a graduate diploma to get in.”
“Wow. Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns needs me to be proficient in almost every kind of magic, along with a recommendation from an alumni member. I got Princess Twilight to recommend me, but the entry clerks have been unusually harsh,” Dinky said, looking back at Rumble
“You probably are expected to be the next Princess, then,” Rumble said, lowering his head.
Dinky’s momentary elation deflated like a balloon as she looked down at the grass as well. She watched the blades sway slightly in the wind coming from the storm and waited for anything to happen.
“Dinky,” Rumble began before pausing dramatically, “Sorry. You know, about earlier.”
She glanced over to him, watching as his purple eyes twitched as they followed the grass.
“It’s not I didn’t want to share the umbrella with you, it’s just…” he trailed off.
“Was it what Featherweight said?” she asked.
Rumble heaved another sigh before speaking.
“Sort of. I dunno. I’ve just been in a bad mood the last few days and, uh, I dunno.”
Dinky smiled a bit at his utter lack of vocabulary, but it was replaced by a frown once she realized where he was leading.
“It’s because of me and my mom, isn’t it?” she asked.
Rumble gulped hard and tightened his jaw, making his teeth hurt.
“You didn’t do anything, so don’t ask if it was you,” he said in a much firmer tone. “It’s just… my brother.”
Dinky’s ears perked up at that, but she gave no other indication that she was curious.
“My big brother has a steady marefriend and she’s the mom of the smartest student in class while I need to retake geometry. It just makes me feel… ugh, forget it.”
Rumble dug his hoof into the dirt below, aggravated at his inability to express his feelings. Dinky needed to know she and her mother had nothing to do with the way he acted earlier, but he couldn’t make the words come out. Were they the reason he was upset? He wasn’t upset when Thunderlane had dated Blossomforth and then Cloud Chaser, so why did it matter to him that Dinky’s mother was dating him?
From outside, Dinky watched him struggle to come to terms with his thoughts when an idea struck her.
“Rumble,” she said slowly. “Are you jealous of him?”
Rumble blinked twice before turning to her, a shocked expression on his face.
“No!” he cried. “I am not jealous of my brother! I don’t think of your mom like that!”
Dinky smiled slightly at his reaction.
“Well, not jealous of him dating my mom, but jealous of him for dating somepony?” she continued.
Rumble’s jaw hung loosely as he tried to form a rebuttal, but nothing came to him. There was absolutely no way he was jealous that Thunderlane had a serious marefriend. It didn’t matter to him that he was always smiling, talking about how wonderful Derpy was when he was around her and then bringing home those delicious muffins.
And Rumble sure as heck wasn’t jealous because he’d never had a fillyfriend before.
Turning away from Dinky, Rumble scowled at the wet grass. He couldn’t be jealous of Thunderlane for something as trivial as that, not after he had seen him date before. That made no sense in any way and mean thoughts about Dinky started to swirl in his mind.
“You know,” Dinky began. “I am a little jealous of my mom.”
Rumble glanced back to her as she smiled and closed her eyes, lost in thought.
“Mom always used to dote on me every second of the day, starting when I got up and ending after I went to bed. She was there, even when I didn’t want her to be around. I guess I got used to it, but when she started dating your brother, she stopped doting on me every day.”
She opened her eyes and stared out into the rain, her smile staying in place.
“I was mad at her when I realized she had something else besides me that made her happy, but when she smiled as she talked about him, I couldn’t help but smile, too. He does everything he can to make her happy and, you know, I’m happy he does.”
She turned to look at him, a golden gleam in her eyes.
“I’m still jealous she spends all her time around him instead of me, but when I see Mom’s smile, I can deal with it,” she said, confidence exuding from her voice.
Rumble stared back, unsure of what to say. Dinky had just poured out her feelings about her mother and his brother to him, despite him making her cry earlier. Oddly, the weight that he had felt on his chest had faded into oblivion as he straightened up, looking at her with his full gaze.
“Well, when you put it that way,” he mumbled.
Dinky’s grin got a little wider and she tilted her head a bit.
“Don’t you agree?” she asked.
Rumble looked away again, feeling a pang of shame jab at his ribcage.
“Thunderlane used to tell me it was just me and him against the world,” he quipped. “I guess I took that a little too seriously.”
He continued to avoid looking at Dinky, fighting off his own guilt at his selfishness when he felt something press against his shoulder. Turning to it, he saw Dinky’s bright blonde mane as she rested her head against him.
“You know, bottling everything up is dangerous,” she said before he could protest. “A lot of ponies who suffer from depression and antisocial disorders spend most of their lives alone, keeping everything to themselves. All the pain, sadness, happiness, anger and stuff like that.”
She shifted her head and looked up at him, her eyes twinkling.
“It’s nice to vent them once in a while, isn’t it?” she asked.
Rumble blinked again, completely at a loss for words. Dinky’s words rang in his ears like a train whistle, making him feel both extremely uncomfortable and incredibly grateful to her at the same time.
“Where did you get all of that?” he asked once he gathered his thoughts.
“If I can’t get into the School for Gifted Unicorns, I want to be a psychiatrist, so I read several books about mental disorders and coping,” she said.
“Really? Either a prodigy or a psychiatrist?” Rumble said.
“Hey, I can have aspirations,” she replied, shifting her head on his shoulder. “What about you? Got a back-up plan if becoming a Wonderbolt falls through?”
“Well, I can always replace my brother on the weather team,” Rumble said, snorting to himself.
What followed after that was a fast motion blur for Rumble, filled to the brim with idle chatter. They both chuckled at silly jokes and memories of past pranks, groaned when one of them brought up the obnoxious amount of homework they were given, traded tips for entrance exams and, most of all, talked about their families. While Dinky raved about her mom’s cooking, Rumble likewise responded by talking about Thunderlane’s high school hoofball achievements.
Around them, the rain began to lighten as the clouds began to dissipate into thinner layers. The steady drum on the roof above them silenced when the rain became little more than a drizzle, causing Dinky to look up.
“I think we can get home now,” she said, smiling brightly.
Rumble glanced out at the sky, noting the change. “I suppose so,” he replied, rising to his hooves. As he turned to his saddlebags, a soft hoof prodded his side.
“Hey, Rumble?” Dinky said.
“Yeah?”
“Can you… walk me home?” she asked in a hushed tone. “I’d feel a lot better knowing you won’t fly in this weather.”
Rumble raised an eyebrow and turned back to Dinky, noting her staring down at the grass. “Uh… sure, I guess.”
Another bright smile broke out across Dinky’s face as she looked up at him. Her horn lit as her saddlebags and umbrella floated over, the bags draping themselves on her back and the umbrella opening. “Would you like to share it now?” she asked with a small giggle.
Rumble rolled his eyes, but nodded. Together, they began to walk out into the rain, huddling close to each other. Despite his insistence earlier, Rumble couldn’t help but admit that staying out of the rain was a good thing. As they trotted down the cobblestones and mud, a strange silence followed them as Dinky kept her eyes down the whole way.
“Rumble, do you have a fillyfriend?” she asked as they rounded a building.
Rumble started at that, but he looked over to her to see her mane again. “Uh, no,” he said. “I haven’t had one since the rumor of me and Scootaloo dating went around.”
A small smile touched Dinky’s lips as she kept walking. “Do you plan on getting a special somepony?”
“Eventually, yeah,” he said, eyeing her suspiciously. “Do you?”
“There’s a colt I like,” Dinky said slowly. “He’s fast, strong and pretty darn cute despite being completely oblivious.”
“Sounds like a dork,” Rumble said with a small snort.
“He kind of is, but he’s really sweet,” Dinky continued. “He even defended me in class.”
Rumble raised an eyebrow as he looked back at Dinky. “Still sounds like a dork. Is it Truffles?” he asked.
Dinky kept silent as they kept walking, eventually stopping at a familiar reddish-brown door. Rumble watched her, hoping for some kind of reaction as she turned to face him. A weak smile crossed her face and Rumble shifted uncomfortably.
“You know, Rumble,” she said. “Thank you for hanging around with me. I haven’t had anypony do that with me since--”
She looked down at the road and Rumble felt his stomach lurch.
“Well, nopony’s done this with me in a long time. All my friends stopped hanging out with me when I started studying,” she mumbled, looking back up at him with a pained smile.
“Hey,” Rumble replied. “You have friends. I mean… you can say I’m your friend.”
He offered a smile to Dinky, hoping she would not burst into tears. Instead, she leaned in and pressed her muzzle to his. He recoiled in surprise, causing Dinky to do the same. She pressed a hoof to her mouth as her face turned ruby red.
“Oh my Celestia!” she gasped. “Rumble, I’m sorry! I just-- I didn’t mean--”
A small wail escaped her as she turned and bolted to the door. It flew open and she ran inside before it slammed shut, leaving Rumble speechless. Blinking, he stared at the door before shaking his head. Thoughts raced through his mind at a dizzying pace as he tried to process what happened. His hoof came up and touched his lips, still tingling from the feeling of Dinky’s. There was a faint taste of strawberries still there and a jolt of electricity shot down his spine.
She had been his first kiss. Dinky, the smartest filly in the entire class, just kissed him.
His hooves dug into the dirt as he snapped his head up, raindrops still falling on his head. The clouds were finally starting to break, but he focused on the soft glow from behind the window to the right. With a start, he looked back down at the still open umbrella and grabbed it. With a powerful flap of his wings, he pulled himself up to the window and saw Dinky laying on her bed with her head buried in a pillow. A pit formed in his stomach again, but he gently tapped the window.
Her head sprung up, staring at the window before she climbed down and trotted over. The window clicked a couple times before it swung open and Dinky rubbed her eye. She sniffled, making the pit in Rumble’s stomach grow. “S-Sorry. I d-didn’t mean to leave you out there.”
“No, it’s okay,” Rumble said, his throat dry. “I, uh. I thought you’d want this back.” He held out the umbrella, covering both of them from the fading rain and he smiled. Dinky’s hoof shook as she reached out for it, but she held it in place once he had given it over.
“I… I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” Dinky squeaked. “I’ll just leave you alone tomorrow.”
Rumble tilted his head, flapping his wings harder due to the rain. “Why?”
Dinky’s cheeks turned red again as she looked away. “I know you don’t like me like that,” she whispered before sniffling again.
Rumble’s insides lurched as he leaned in and gave Dinky a soft kiss on the cheek, back away almost as quickly as he moved in. Dinky’s eyes went wide when she turned back to him, shock covering her face. Weakly, he smiled and said, “Thank you for today, Dinky.”
She sniffed again, but smiled back and said, “You, too.”
His smile brightened as he turned in the air and flapped his wings harder, propelling himself into the sky. Even though rain pelted him in the face, his smile kept growing as he weaved around the rooftops. In the distance, a small ray of sunshine poked through the clouds.
Perhaps today wasn’t so bad.