Sweetie Belle was sitting alone, wearing a very lovely dress. She looked like such a beautiful Princess, but she couldn't feel like one, as she looked around, watching in fear as a pair of evil glowing eyes watched over her.
"Such a pretty young filly, isn't she Sombra?" One said with a slight hiss at the end.
"Yes indeed my Queen," the other said with a deepness to his voice.
Sweetie Belle looked concerned at the sight of and Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra glaring at her. The two had such a sinister appearance to them.
"What do you want with me? Why have you captured me?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"It's simple, we want your Kingdom for ourselves," Sombra said.
"We will capture all your precious subjects too, then make them work for us," Chrysalis said.
Suddenly a big giant centaur monster appeared from nearby, startling Sweetie Belle. "And we will bring Equestria to it's downfall."
Sweetie Belle shook her head, "You won't get away with this Tirek."
Tirek growled at her, "It's LORD Tirek, you puny little pony!"
Sweetie Belle trembled a bit, she was surrounded by such scary looking monsters, Tirek was the worst of them.
"You won't win, somepony will stop you!" Sweetie Belle warned.
"Who? The Princesses? The Royal Guard? The Elements?" Tirek taunted. "Don't make me laugh, none of them can match my power!"
Tirek flexed his muscles and charged up his magic, then fired it into the skies, showing off his absolute power.
"My shadows have overtaken Equestria, soon I shall reclaim my Empire, and all the Crystals will be mine," Sombra said with a hiss, showing off his dark magic.
"And my Changelings will capture everypony, stealing their love for our feasting," Chrysalis said, extending her forelegs to show off the Changelings, each one hissing at Sweetie Belle.
As the villains laughed in triumph, one Pony had arrived. "Not Quite!'
The villains turned to see one small Pegasus colt standing at a doorway.
"Who are you supposed to be?" Tirek asked.
The Pegasus colt let out a confident grin, "Name's Rumble, Equestrian Knight and the Pegasus of Justice! I've come to defeat you and rescue Princess Sweetie Belle!"
Sweetie Belle smiled hopefully, "Rumble, you're here!"
"You? Defeat us? How foolish," Tirek said.
"You are a mere little pony, the best have failed against us," Sombra said.
"And so will you," Chrysalis said and pointed to him, "Get him my children!"
The Changelings then went after Rumble, though he used his quickness to dodge their attacks and deliver swift punches and kicks, taking them down very easily.
"Don't you have more of a challenge!?" Rumble said with a smirk.
"How dare you mock us!" Chrysalis shouted, firing a magic laser at Rumble. The colt flew around, dodging all the attacks and then appeared before Chrysalis. "Too slow!" He then took Chrysalis down with a punch.
"My Queen!" Sombra shouted, then glared at Rumble. "That was a mistake!"
"The only mistake is you showing your face around here!" Rumble shouted.
"Such insolence," Sombra charged his magic but instead of firing a blast, he charged at the colt, hoping to take him down.
"Rumble, watch out!" Sweetie Belle warned.
Rumble moved out the way faster than Sombra could track, confusing the dark king. "Where did he go!?"
"Right here," Rumble said, appearing behind Sombra. Once the king turned around, Rumble did a swift kick to his face, knocking him out very quickly.
Tirek looked surprised, "You're much stronger than you look, but lucky shots won't work against me!" Tirek tried to punch Rumble, but the colt dodged very quickly and then kicked Tirek in the face, stunning the giant briefly.
"I thought you were stronger than that," Rumble taunted.
Tirek gritted his teeth, "How dare you make a fool of us! Take this!" Tirek charged an attack almost as big as a sun and sent it towards Rumble.
The young colt shook his head, "No thanks, you can have it back." He then flew over and kicked the blast right back at Tirek, surprising the centaur.
"Impossible!" Tirek shouted as the blast hit him. The blast also picked up Sombra and Chrysalis, dragging them far away.
Rumble opened the cage to free Sweetie Belle, "Are you hurt my princess?"
"No, I'm just fine my handsome knight," Sweetie Belle said.
Rumble helped Sweetie Belle out the cage and picked her up bridal style, flying her away from the evil den. "You are safe now my lovely princess."
"Yes, thank you, Brave Knight Rumble," Sweetie Belle said.
The two started to lean in for a kiss when...
The alarm went off, Sweetie Belle woke up with a startle.
"Aw, it was only a dream...oh well, I still at least have my handsome knight when I'm awake," Sweetie Belle said with a blush.
The previous night was still fresh in her mind, her date, her talk, her kiss. Rumble is such a nice boy, she doesn't even care if he's not exactly her definition of what a colt is like. The fact is that he cares about her and she likes that there's a colt in Ponyville that likes her for the reasons he does, he thinks she's smart, nice and pretty, and luckily for her, he's very cute himself.
She went downstairs where Rarity herself was also showing signs of being in love, humming a happy tune as she prepared her breakfast.
"Morning sis," Sweetie Belle greeted.
Rarity waved happily, "Morning my precious little sister."
Sweetie Belle sat at the table as she awaited her food, "Later me and Rumble are gonna have another date, do you have anything planned with Thunderlane?"
"Yes, we're going to take a nice walk along the park, just to talk a bit more," Rarity said.
"That's great, I really think that we found ourselves some nice colts," Sweetie Belle admitted.
"And you thought Rumble wasn't 'boyish' enough for you," Rarity teased.
Sweetie Belle shrugged, "Well he's a gentlecolt, that's the most important thing I guess."
"It is, I'm glad you've finally realized that Sweetie Belle," Rarity said. "Now, eat up, you may go see Rumble afterwards, I'll be off to see Thunderlane."
Sweetie Belle nodded and finished up her breakfast. Later she had left the Boutique to go find her coltfriend.
As she walked, she heard a familiar voice call to her, "Sweetie Belle! Wait up!"
Sweetie Belle knew that was Apple Bloom, but suddenly began to worry a bit. She knew that Apple Bloom really wanted Rumble and Scootaloo to get together, now she's gonna have to explain that it won't happen.
Sweetie Belle took a breath and turned to Apple Bloom with a friendly wave, "Hey there Apple Bloom."
Apple Bloom ran over, "Hiya Sweetie Belle, how was it last night with Rumble? Did ya get any more info?"
Sweetie Belle took a breath, she knew what she had to do, "Yeah I got some info, something that's finally gonna put an end to this."
Apple Bloom looked excited, "Really? What?"
"I asked Rumble about Scootaloo..." Sweetie Belle began.
"Yeah? Yeah!?" Apple Bloom asked, getting more excited by the minute.
"And as it turns out..." Sweetie Belle continued.
"Come on, don't drag this out, tell me!" Apple Bloom said, even more excited.
"He's not interested in her," Sweetie Belle said bluntly.
All of Apple Bloom's excitement instantly vanished. "Huh?"
"Rumble's not interested in Scootaloo, he says she makes him feel insecure and he doesn't want to date her," Sweetie Belle said.
Apple Bloom stood there very confused, and somewhat in shock. "What do you mean he doesn't wanna date her!?"
"He doesn't want to date her, simple as that, she's not his type," Sweetie Belle said.
"But..." Apple Bloom could barely register this, "The point of this was fer you to find out what Rumble likes in a filly! If there's something about Scootaloo that he doesn't like, then that's why you had to tell us, so she could adjust herself!"
"Yeah here's the thing, Rumble also doesn't like ponies who don't act like themselves, he'll be able to tell Scootaloo's faking it and he won't be interested, sorry but she's not gonna be able to date him," Sweetie Belle said.
Apple Bloom looked down in shock, this wasn't part of the plan. "But...but..."
"Sorry Apple Bloom, I know Scootaloo liked him but he won't return the feelings, he did say he would befriend her but that's about it," Sweetie Belle said.
Apple Bloom continued looking down in shock, did her plan fail? Did she ruin in for her friend? There has to be something she could do.
"Great...Oh, maybe if you just end this pretend dating, he'll consider going for her. He's probably saying this because he's still with you." Apple Bloom said.
"Also about that..." Sweetie Belle started saying. "I'm kinda still gonna date him."
Apple Bloom furrowed her brows, "Wait, why!? The plan's not gonna work if you keep pretending to be his marefriend!"
"I'm not pretending, I actually kinda like Rumble. He's really nice and very cute. Plus he's a great kisser, so I'm gonna be his marefriend," Sweetie Belle said, though the look on Apple Bloom's face almost made her regret her choice of words.
"You...kissed him!? Sweetie Belle the point of this was fer Rumble to eventually date Scootaloo, not fer you to take him fer yourself!" Apple Bloom shouted.
"Hey I didn't wanna date him at first either, but he's really grown on me and I've really started to like him, so I'm gonna keep dating him, this time just to be with him," Sweetie Belle said.
Apple Bloom shook her head, "You can't do that, Scootaloo called him first!"
"He's not a toy Apple Bloom, he's a colt with feelings and he chose me. I didn't go for him, he went for me and he won me over, he's my coltfriend now and that's how it's gonna be," Sweetie Belle said forcefully.
Apple Bloom gritted her teeth, "How dare you take Scootaloo's colt from him, yer a terrible friend!"
"At least I don't play with the emotions of other ponies like a game, you keep trying to play matchmaker, and you even made Tender Taps help you even though he didn't like doing so. Rumble's mine and I'm his, so get used to it!" Sweetie Belle said.
Apple Bloom turned away in disgust, "Ah can't believe you Sweetie Belle. Fine, you can date him, but if things don't go well don't expect me to be there, and you better not go fer Tender Taps!"
"If you like Tender Taps so much then make him YOUR coltfriend, I'm pretty sure he likes you despite how you acted towards him!" Sweetie Belle said.
"Fine, maybe ah will, don't change the fact that you took Scootaloo's colt," Apple Bloom said.
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, "Forget this, I'm leaving! My coltfriend's waiting."
Sweetie Belle stomped off while Apple Bloom let out a huff, "Now what? Ah promised Scootaloo she'd get Rumble as a coltfriend, now Sweetie Belle wants him, ah could only imagine how long that-" Suddenly Apple Bloom had an idea, "-That's it! I'll just find a way to remind her that she don't like colts like that. This is perfect, I'm such a genius!"
Apple Bloom trotted away to make her plans.
Sweetie Belle was on her way to meet with Rumble, though as she walked she passed by Twilight, who seemed to be on her way somewhere.
"Hi Twilight!" Sweetie Belle greeted.
Twilight looked interested, "Oh, Sweetie Belle, I'm happy to see you, I was actually on the way to the Boutique."
"Really? To see my sister?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"That and to ask you something," Twilight said.
Sweetie looked curious, "Ask me what?"
"How is your relationship with Rumble? I know it seems weird to ask but you two did start dating after speaking at my Castle and I've seen you around a bit, you look so cute together. So I'm a little curious," Twilight explained.
"Oh, well it's going great, we're officially coltfriend and marefriend, we even shared a kiss on our last date," Sweetie Belle said with a blush.
Twilight looked so amazed, "Wow, that's so adorable, I'm glad you two are enjoying each other's company."
"Yeah, well I need to go see Rumble, I'll talk to you later," Sweetie Belle said.
"Sure...oh wait, one more thing. Have you seen Apple Bloom around?" Twilight asked.
Sweetie Belle's expression soured, "Back there, probably off doing something silly. Anyway, I gotta go, see ya."
As Sweetie Belle trotted off, Twilight became curious. "What's weird, why did she seem unhappy?" Twilight started to wonder if her worries were becoming a reality.
At Rumble's house, he was explaining everything to Dinky.
"This was so amazing Dinky! To think I never though I'd get a chance to date Sweetie Belle, now I actually managed to share a kiss with her!" Rumble said.
"Great work Rumble, I'm really proud of you. You've had a crush on Sweetie Belle for a while, you've earned this," Dinky said.
"You really think so?" Rumble asked.
"Of course, you're the nicest colt I know, and not just because you're one of the only colts to befriend me. One of the only ponies for that matter," Dinky said.
Rumble remembers when he met Dinky, she was usually by herself, because none of the other ponies wanted to play with her. He also remembers how long it took for her to befriend him, due to her own shyness and insecurities. Somehow Rumble got close to her, he became her friend and since she's been the happiest filly. She'll do anything to pay Rumble back that happiness.
"So, how long before I help you find a coltfriend?"Rumble asked.
"Don't worry about me, I'm not interested in dating. All I care is that you're my friend, and that's all I want," Dinky said.
"I'm glad, and thanks for being my friend Dinky. You're always there for me when I need you," Rumble said with a blush.
Dinky also blushed a little. She doesn't like Rumble in a romantic way, but she still cares a great deal for him. He does have that charm, even for a friendly relationship."Quit being so sappy Rumble, it's embarrassing. But you're right, I will always be here for you," Dinky pulled Rumble into a hug. "Because you were always there for me, your friendship means the world to me."
Rumble returned the hug, "I always will be there for you. Sweetie Belle may be my marefriend, but you're still one of my most favorites fillies, you'll always be close to me Dinky."
"I know, I can't ask for more from you," Dinky said.
Suddenly they heard a knock on the door.
"That must be Sweetie Belle," Rumble said.
"Don't keep your marefriend waiting," Dinky said.
Rumble nodded and approached the door, opening it and having the pleasure of seeing a pretty face. "Hi Sweetie Belle!"
"Rumble!" Sweetie Belle said and brought him in for a kiss. "So what do you wanna do today?"
"Whatever you want, I just want to be with you," Rumble said.
"Aw, so sweet. Let's go sit by the pond for a while," Sweetie Belle said.
"Sounds good to me," Rumble said and walked with Sweetie Belle, on the way to the pond.
Dinky watched as the two left, feeling a sense of pride for Rumble. "You got your girl Rumble, please make sure you hold on to her."
Back with Apple Bloom, she had returned home, hoping to work on some plans, but before she could go to her room, Applejack had callled her.
"Hey Apple Bloom, you got a minute?"
Apple Bloom turned to her older sister, "Yeah?"
"So ah know that Sweetie Belle's been dating Rumble, and ah know you like to help yer friends but just wanna be sure about something. You haven't been trying to, improve anything, have you?" Applejack asked.
Apple Bloom felt some annoyance at hearing Sweetie Belle mentioned, though she felt curious by her sister's question. "Improve how?"
"Like you haven't been trying to say, improve their relationship with each other or try suggesting new ponies fer them to date right?" Applejack asked.
Apple Bloom grew a bit nervous, what was her sister getting at. "Um...well..."
"Because I'm sure you don't wanna make some things worse when they're probably just fine, right?" Applejack asked.
Apple Bloom looked around a bit, "Sure...whatever you say sis. Anyway I gotta go, bye!"
With that, Apple Bloom rushed upstairs, leaving Applejack a bit confused. "That filly's strange sometimes."
Upstairs Apple Bloom is working on her plan. "So Sweetie Belle wants to date Rumble huh? Lets see if he fits her needs, she likes boyish colts after all, not too sensitive, time to remind her of that."
Later Tender Taps is seen leaving the dancing school, having prepared for a routine, though seemed a little bummed out.
"I thought Apple Bloom was gonna come by, we could have practiced our routine together," Tender Taps said, then noticed Scootaloo walking towards a sport shop. "Hey Scootaloo!"
Scootaloo noticed the dancing pony, "Sup Tender Taps, you finish with your dance practice?"
"Yeah, kinda wish Apple Bloom came by to help me practice though," Tender Taps said.
"Aw, probably busy with, well you know," Scootaloo said, looking aside. "Anyway if you really need help me or Sweetie Belle can do that for you."
"You dance? I know Sweetie Belle might like to, but you seem more into sports," Tender Taps said.
"Well yeah, but still, don't mind lending a hoof, as long as it's not too embarrassing," Scootaloo said.
"That's nice of you, but it's not just her skills that I want, since she doesn't have that many unfortunately," Tender said with a blush. "But I just like spending time with her, not sure why. I mean I like you and Sweetie Belle, but Apple Bloom, she's...you know..."
"I know, don't worry kid I get it," Scootaloo said. "Honestly if I were you I would just confess how you feel."
Tender Taps blushed, "Confess?"
"I know you like Apple Bloom that way, you don't have to hide it. I think you'd be great for her, you have that nice, charming personality that's a good match for somepony like her, you need to go for it," Scootaloo said.
Tender Taps rubbed his head shyly, "I'm not sure, I mean what if I goof up?"
"Just be honest, that's all she'll care about," Scootaloo rubbed her head a little, trying to think of the best way to say this. "Look kid, don't be like me. I couldn't admit my feelings and now I'm stuck waiting for my friend to 'date' another pony just to see if he can like me, don't allow that to happen to you. Tell Apple Bloom how you feel, maybe she won't return the feelings, maybe she's not ready but it's important you at least. You've got nothing to lose."
Tender Taps looked suprised, Scootaloo's got a great point that he should have thought of. "Wow, thanks Scootaloo."
"No problem," Scootaloo said, then approached Tender Taps to pull him into a brief hug. "Why don't you come with me, I'll give you some tips."
"You would help me, even though I've barely been of help to you?" Tender Taps asked.
"You're new to the things we do, so I get that you're not too sure, Sweetie Belle's the same way at times, so I don't blame you. I know you just want everypony to be happy, and I know this is risky so I don't blame you for not wanting this to happen, but I still wanna help you because we're friends. If you end up dating Apple Bloom, then you're gonna spend a lot more time with us," Scootaloo said. She broke away with a grin, "Besides, maybe if she's busy dating you, she'll be a little more relaxed. I like you kid, you're almost becoming like a member of our group."
Tender Taps smiled, "Wow, thanks, you're awesome."
Scootaloo grinned, "I know."
The two went inside the store as Scootaloo talked, giving Tender Taps some good advice.
Elsewhere Sweetie Belle and Rumble are sitting at the pond, dipping their back hooves in the water as they sat close together, Rumble holding Sweetie Belle in a close snug hug.
"This is so nice," Sweetie Belle said, then nuzzled Rumble's cheek. "I really enjoy being with you."
"Same here," Rumble said, turning to kiss her muzzle. "I'm happy to be with such a cute filly."
Sweetie Belle giggled, "Aw, and I'm happy that I have such a cute colt to hug and be with."
The two kissed a little bit, wanting to savor each other. After breaking away they looked across the pond, just relaxing to the nice atmosphere.
Rumble held Sweetie Belle much closer to him, her fur felt so soft and tender, her mane brushing against his face, her muzzle nuzzled against his cheek. She snuck a few kisses to his cheek, getting some giggles from her coltfriend.
"Sweetie Belle that tickles," Rumble said.
"Oh, ticklish huh?" Sweetie Belle said with a slightly evil grin.
Soon she started peppering his face with soft kisses, getting more of a giggle from her coltfriend.
"Come on Sweetie Belle, you're being too adorable," Rumble said between laughs.
"I'm adorable? You're the one with the cutest face," Sweetie Belle said.
"Uh-uh, you're much cuter," Rumble insisted.
Sweetie Belle gave him an affectionate kiss, "No, you're cuter."
Rumble retuned that kiss, "No you are."
The two went back and forth with their kissing and compliments before Sweetie Belle decided to pounce on top of him, pinning his shoulders while smiling down on him, "You're the cute one, and that's final."
Rumble chuckled nervously, "Alright I give up. For now at least, I'll never deny your cuteness."
"I'm sure you won't," Sweetie Belle said, then going down to kiss him a little more. "Because I won't either."
"I accept that Challenge," Rumble said with a confident smirk.
Sweetie Belle helped Rumble up, not before sneaking in one last kiss, "I'm glad we're together, I never thought having a coltfriend would be so great."
"Same here, I've had a crush on you for a long time, ever since I saw you in school, you had to be the prettiest filly I've laid my eyes on," Rumble said.
"Aw, I wish I knew I had a secret admirer for so long," Sweetie Belle said.
"How about you? How long did you have a crush on me?" Rumble asked.
That question took Sweetie Belle by surprise, "Crush?"
"Yeah, didn't you have a crush on me? You were practicing asking me out back at Princess Twilight's castle," Rumble said.
Sweetie Belle went silent a moment, she forgot that she didn't really develop feelings for him until a couple of days ago. She can't tell him that though, it would seem weird and it might make him suspicious. "Oh that, yeah um..." Sweetie Belle desperately tried to think of an excuse, "A few months I guess...? Yeah um I saw you one day and you looked really nice, I really liked your mane."
Rumble brushed his mane back a little, "Wow really? Thanks, I comb it a lot."
"I can tell, it looks really nice," Sweetie Belle said, that part was at least honest, she loves his mane-style. For a while she considered that the only boyish thing about him.
"Do you remember where you saw me though?" Rumble asked.
Sweetie Belle bit her lip, "Um...in town I think? I don't know, all I remember is seeing you and then feeling all...tingly inside."
"Oh, that makes sense, I guess it's like everything else disappears and you're only focused on one thing," Rumble said.
Sweetie Belle felt relieved, "Yeah, something like that."
"That's how I felt when I saw you, I just loved seeing your pretty face and I barely paid any mind to the stuff around me...until I tripped and fell in a mud puddle, Dinky wouldn't stop laughing," Rumble said.
"Aw, now I feel bad," Sweetie Belle said while drooping her eyes. "I made you fall in mud."
Rumble shook his head, "No, no, don't feel bad, it was worth it for me, to see your beautiful face."
Sweetie Belle blushed hard, "That's a big word, not many ponies call me beautiful. They usually say that to my sister."
"Well...I think you are," Rumble said.
Sweetie Belle nuzzled against him some more, "You're perfect for me you know that? You're so sweet and sensitive, you really make me happy."
Rumble felt really proud right now, he's doing a great job of keeping his filly happy. "You make me happy too, I love you Sweetie Belle."
Sweetie Belle giggled, "I love you too Rumbly-Wumbly."
Rumble raised his eyebrow, "Rumbly-Wumbly? That's an unusual nickname." Sweetie Belle then kissed him, once again making him feel flustered. "But if you really like it then I don't mind."
Sweetie Belle giggled, "I would think not, anyway let's just relax some more a bit, I really wanna be in your hooves."
Rumble nodded as he went to sit against a tree, gesturing for Sweetie Belle to come closer. She went in front of him as he pulled her into a hug, allowing her to rest her head on his chest as he held her close to him.
Sweetie Belle found herself blushing more, not only was Rumble's fur soft, she could feel some of his muscles. Not too buff but it's there, he does keep in shape. Plus his hug felt really strong, almost protective, like he would never allow anything bad to happen to her, that he would always be there to help her.
"Wow, you're strong Rumble," Sweetie Belle said.
Rumble blushed, "I'm not hugging you too hard am I? Need me to ease up?"
"No, this is fine, I like it," Sweetie Belle said. "It means you won't let me go." Sweetie Belle looked up into his eyes, "You'll never let me go, right?"
Rumble nodded, giving her a serious look, one she normally doesn't expect to see from him. "I'll hold on to you forever Sweetie Belle, I won't let anything take you from me."
Sweetie Belle smiled as she rested her head against his chest. Not only is he sensitive, but he's also a strong colt who would do anything for her, she can tell just from the look in his eyes. He has his own boyish charm that none of the other colts have.
He truly is her knight.