The next day, Starlight is preparing the room the foals will be learning at. She hopes things will go a bit more smoothly, though with Trixie also coming, that might not work out so well. Much as Starlight loves her friend, she also knows that Trixie can be very irritating to be around.
She heard a knock on the door, then quickly trotted over to see who it was. She opened to see Rumble and Sweetie Belle, the little couple looking really cute as usual to her.
"Good morning Starlight, I'm here and ready for today's lesson," Sweetie Belle said.
"And I'm here to support her, as usual," Rumble said in a tone that Starlight could only find adorable.
"That's great, actually you're both the first ones here, the others haven't arrived yet, but it's still early so that's no surprise," Starlight said.
"Dinky should be on her way, she likes to be on time or early for things like this," Rumble said.
"Well come on in, I already have some of the lessons set up," Starlight said, leading the foals inside.
As the two followed Starlight toward the room, Rumble looked around the castle, "Is Trixie here?"
"No not yet, she should come by later," Starlight said.
Rumble groaned a little, "I don't mean to upset you, but I really hope she doesn't come, she's such a pain to be around."
"I know Trixie can be a bit too much with her personality, but she's really nice once you get to know her, she just takes some getting used to," Starlight said.
"Still, she's not very nice," Rumble said.
"Stop worrying just because she called you a filly," Sweetie Belle said. "You're just really cute for a colt."
"But it's really annoying, I'm not a filly, I'm a colt, I want to be called one," Rumble said.
"I think you look very much like a colt," Starlight said. "Like Sweetie Belle said, don't worry about it."
"Yeah," Sweetie Belle said, then nuzzled her body against his, "I mean I still love being with you, and you make me so happy."
Rumble blushed a bit, "Thanks Sweetie Belle, you make me happy too."
Starlight awed at that a little, though she found Sweetie Belle's flirty eyes to be a bit weird. As she got to the room, she heard another knock on the door, "Oh good, more of your friends are here, you two wait a moment."
As Starlight left the room, Rumble sat down and looked around a bit. "This place is so pretty, kinda wish I lived here."
"Maybe if I become Twilight's new student after Starlight, or maybe if Starlight needs a student herself, then I can live here and you can come live with me," Sweetie Belle said, sitting next to Rumble.
"True, though if Starlight does become a teacher, wouldn't she get her own castle?" Rumble asked.
"Maybe, for all we know it might be prettier than this one," Sweetie Belle said, then took Rumble's hoof in hers. "But I promise, no matter where, I'll take you with me."
Rumble and Sweetie Belle then made some eye contact, the two admiring each other. Rumble gently placed his hoof on Sweetie Belle's face, rubbing it a bit. "You're so beautiful, I feel lucky you gave me a chance."
"Yeah, I'm glad I did too, even if I felt a little bad since I promised Scootaloo I would-" Sweetie Belle then remembered something. "Hey why did you wanna talk with Scootaloo?"
"Oh that?" Rumble asked, then tapped his chin. "Tender Taps told me that she looks like she still has feelings for me, and we never really got to talk about her crush on me."
"Why now though? We've been dating for months, I think she'd be over you by now," Sweetie Belle said.
"I just want to be sure, I'll feel bad if I know she still has a crush on me, I want to help her move on if I can," Rumble said.
"Well that'd be great, but do you know who she can move on to?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I don't know anypony, Dinky was my only friend for a while, but I don't think she's interested in dating Scootaloo," Rumble said. "But at the very least I can help her move on from her feelings for me."
"That's thoughtful of you, maybe I should try making sure myself, I did kinda take you from her," Sweetie Belle said.
"You didn't really," Rumble said. "I already had a crush on you, besides I was never interested in Scootaloo, not romantically at least. You were the only filly I wanted, now I can be with you." Rumble then leaned in to kiss Sweetie Belle. "That's all that matters to me."
Sweetie Belle blushed, then returned Rumble's kiss. "You're such a sweet colt." She then kissed him again, this time feeling more emotion. She then wrapped her forelegs around him to help deepen the kiss and pulled against him so she can be closer to him.
Rumble returned her embrace and pulled her in more as she fell on top of him, not breaking the kiss. Rumble felt a little weird, seems like lately her kisses have been more affectionate. Rumble's not sure where it's coming from, but he doesn't really dislike it, in fact it makes him feel good inside.
All Sweetie Belle cares about is that Rumble's hers, and she knows he'll always be hers, and she'll always be his.
Meanwhile at the door, Starlight had just greeted Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Tender Taps.
"Great to see you three, Rumble and Sweetie Belle just arrived themselves," Starlight said.
"So that just leaves Dinky then," Apple Bloom said.
"Yes, according to Rumble, she should be here shortly," Starlight said.
"I'm glad Rumble's here though, he did want to speak to me about something," Scootaloo said.
"Let's get inside then," Tender Taps said. "I'm sure they're waiting."
"Please, with those two alone, they'll find plenty of ways to keep themselves busy," Apple Bloom said.
"I can only imagine," Tender Taps said with a slight blush.
"Yeah, such a lovey-dovey couple," Scootaloo said, a bit annoyed.
Starlight gestured them inside, "Let's hurry now, once I get you settled-"
"Starlight!" they heard from a distance. They then saw Dinky making her way over. "Sorry if I'm late!"
Starlight shook her head, "You're not late, you're right on time."
Dinky arrived at the door, "Yeah, looks like it. Um are Rumble and Sweetie Belle here as well?"
"Yeah they arrived a little before," Starlight said. "The lesson hasn't started yet, so once you get inside, we should be able to."
"Wait, what about Trixie, isn't she gonna come to? She said she wants to assist," Tender Taps said.
"Trixie will be here shorty I'm sure," Starlight said.
Suddenly a puff of smoke appeared, surprising the ponies. After a few seconds, the smoke disappeared and from behind it stood Trixie in her glory.
"Did you miss me?" Trixie asked with her usual smug smile.
The fillies groaned a bit at seeing Trixie, though Tender Taps didn't seem to mind as much. Starlight seemed a little more excited to see her friend. "Wow Trixie, I'm surprised you came so early."
"I just couldn't wait to come, I want to be there to help you with these foals as much as I can. It's good to help out young ponies, that and I can brag about it to Twilight on how I bested her in tutoring fillies," Trixie said with a smug grin.
"Seriously?" Apple Bloom said. "You really wanna be better than Twilight, don't you?"
"Everypony needs a rival, and Twilight is mine," Trixie said. "Who else is better suited for that?"
"Starlight Glimmer," Dinky said, pointing to Starlight.
Starlight shook her head, "Oh no, I'm her student, not her rival."
"Yer only her student in learning friendship, not magic," Apple Bloom said.
"Isn't it kinda weird though?" Dinky asked. "I mean aren't you and Twilight kind of the same age?"
"They are? I thought Starlight was much older for some reason," Scootaloo said, much to Starlight's annoyance.
"Twilight and I are close to each other's age, and there's nothing weird about her teaching me about Friendship. Our close age makes it easier for us to talk and learn about friendship," Starlight said.
"Don't worry Starlight, I think you look plenty young, you've got the beauty to go with it at least," Tender Taps said, getting a blush from Starlight.
"Aw, you're so sweet Tender Taps," Starlight said, bringing him in for a hug.
Trixie smirked a little, "Such a nice little colt, a bit more well mannered than that other colt, Timble I think his name was."
"It's Rumble," Dinky corrected. "Not that hard to remember Trixie."
"Oh whatever," Trixie said. "Anyway let's head inside."
Dinky angrily muttered, "Damn annoying mare."
"Well we don't wanna keep Rumble and Sweetie Belle waiting too long, though I'm sure they don't mind the alone time," Tender Taps said.
"Let's just go in," Apple Bloom said.
The ponies went inside the castle and toward the room where their lessons would be. As they got inside, they saw something that surprised them.
Sweetie Belle was laying on top of Rumble, kissing him with passion. Rumble looked to be in sweet bliss as he held her tight against him. Eventually he noticed the other ponies staring, he quickly moved Sweetie Belle off him, much to her confusion.
"Rumble what happened?" Sweetie Belle said. Rumble pointed behind her and she turned to see the others just staring. She started to feel a little embarrassed, "What? I'm just kissing my coltfriend! Nothing unusual!"
"That looked...pretty passionate though," Apple Bloom said.
"You two really got into that, kinda cute though" Tender Taps said.
Sweetie Belle still had an angry, yet embarrassed blush, "Yeah whatever, let's just start the lesson ok?"
Starlight did her best to hide her own blush, that was a bit weird. "I'll go get what we need."
As Starlight went to grab the material, Rumble quickly approached Scootaloo, "So you wanna have that talk you wanted?"
Scootaloo looked confused a moment, then remembered the previous day. "Oh right, yeah let's do that."
Rumble trotted off with Scootaloo as Sweetie Belle watched them off. She hoped that Scootaloo could move past her feelings for Rumble, if she still had any.
Apple Bloom quickly walked over to Sweetie Belle, "Looks like Rumble's off to talk to Scootaloo."
"Yeah, probably to make sure she doesn't still have a crush on him," Sweetie Belle said. She then turned to Apple Bloom. "You haven't noticed if she did though, have you?"
Apple Bloom shrugged it off, "Ah ain't sure honestly, seemed like she tried moving on to Tender Taps, though even that's barely going well. If she does still have one, it's hard to blame her, after all we got her hopes up quite a bit."
"She should have just been honest, even if he wasn't ever gonna date her," Sweetie Belle said.
"Do you really know fer sure? What if he's saying that now because yer dating him?" Apple Bloom asked.
Sweetie Belle shook her head, "No way, he already had a crush on me. I think he would have turned her down is she asked."
"Somehow ah feel like things would be different if she revealed her feelings sooner though," Apple Bloom said.
Sweetie Belle glared a bit, "Hey, what are you trying to say? Rumble only has feelings for me, I think we could have been together one way or another."
"If you say so," Apple Bloom said, then trotted away, leaving Sweetie Belle a bit annoyed.
"He so would have still been my coltfriend," she angrily muttered to herself.
In the other room, Rumble and Scootaloo had gathered together, Rumble hoping to have a nice talk with the filly.
"So Rumble, what did you want to talk about exactly?" Scootaloo asked.
"Us and our friendship," Rumble answered. "Or more rather your old feelings for me."
"Old feelings?" Scootaloo asked. "You mean my crush on you?"
Rumble nodded, "Pretty much."
"Why now though?" Scootaloo asked. "You and Sweetie Belle have been together for months."
"Yeah, but you and I never talked about your crush on me, we kinda just forgot about it. Plus I don't feel right having not known," Rumble said.
"It's fine, I didn't make it very obvious, I was too nervous to," Scootaloo admitted.
"Why would you be nervous?" Rumble asked. "You've always seemed confident to me."
"You'd be surprised" Scootaloo admitted. "I'm just not good at expressing my emotions."
Rumble nervously chuckled, "Well I'm no better, you've seen that for yourself."
Scootaloo joined in on the brief chuckle, "Yeah, you're right."
"Anyway, yeah I'll just admit it now, I used to have a crush on you, and it did kinda sting when you went with Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo said.
"If I had known I would have talked with you sooner. I mean I don't think we would have dated, but it's better than you having had your hopes up," Rumble said. "But don't worry, you're a really nice filly, you'll find somepony. I heard you now like Tender Taps."
"I'm not entirely sure if I do, I mean I did kiss him, but that was just me feeling emotional," Scootaloo said. "Besides I think Apple Bloom likes him as well, I'm worried what that would do to our friendship. I almost had friendship troubles with Sweetie Belle and I know Apple Bloom did as well."
"Then talk with her about it, all these problems would be handled if you just talked. Don't be so nervous," Rumble said.
"It's not as easy as it sounds though," Scootaloo said.
"Nopony said it would be easy, but it's the best way to do things, at least that's what I think," Rumble said.
Scootaloo looked to the side a bit, "What didn't you like about me though?"
"It's not that I didn't like you, I just didn't see you that way. You're too different than me, it wouldn't have worked out," Rumble said.
"But what was it about Sweetie Belle that you saw in her and not me though?" Scootaloo asked. "I'm just really curious about that."
Rumble took a breath, he hoped this wouldn't eventually get Scootaloo really mad. "You're much...tougher, a bit too tough for me. I would be too nervous if I were your coltfriend because I wouldn't know if I could keep you satisfied. Sweetie Belle is much more delicate, and I feel more confident being around her."
"How exactly am I tougher though?" Scootaloo asked.
"Like...I really don't know how to say it exactly, I just don't think I was the right colt for you. I believed you could do better," Rumble said.
Scootaloo sighed, "Look, even if I am more, tougher as you put it, I could have softened up for you. I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining about you picking Sweetie Belle, but I really thought we should have had a chance."
"I don't want you to change for me though," Rumble said.
"It's not about me changing, I would have been sensitive to the fact that you're not as competitive as I am, or more excited for things like I am. I mean I've seen you around, I know you're not like Rainbow Dash, you're more like Fluttershy, but in a way, that's what I wanted. I needed balance and you could have been that balance for me," Scootaloo insisted.
Rumble rubbed his mane a little, not sure what to think now. "I'm sorry, I didn't think of it that way. But still, the point is that I'm with Sweetie Belle, and I like her a lot. But I know you can find somepony, I mean it's not like you aren't pretty, and you're a cool filly to be around."
"Maybe, but I really wanted a chance to see for myself," Scootaloo said, her ears drooping a bit.
Rumble pitied Scootaloo a little, he really should have been way more aware of things. He needed to make things right, it's only fair to her. She is his friend at least. "Fine, if it will make you feel better, I'll talk to Sweetie Belle and see if she'll let me spend some time with you."
Scootaloo looked surprised, "You mean like a date?"
"Sorta, just to see if this could have happened. Though just know that this doesn't mean we'll get together, I'm with Sweetie Belle and I intend to keep it that way. I just want you to have this moment and then you can hopefully move on," Rumble said.
Scootaloo looked really happy, "Wow! Thanks Rumble!" She pulled him into a hug. "You're the best!"
Rumble nervously chuckled and backed away from Scootaloo. "It's no big deal."
Scootaloo made her way back to where the others were, "Let's get back to the other room then, see Sweetie Belle's progress."
"I just hope Trixie hasn't annoyed her," Rumble said, also going to the other room.
As they entered the room, they saw that Trixie herself had been trying to show off a trick, though somehow she kept messing up.
"So...when do we learn anything?" Sweetie Belle asked in a sassy tone.
Trixie huffed, "What nerve, you lack proper manners."
Apple Bloom chuckled a little, then noticed that Rumble and Scootaloo came back. "Hey there, yer both back."
"Yeah, me and Rumble worked something out," Scootaloo said.
"Oh really? That's great," Apple Bloom said.
"What exactly did you work out?" Tender Taps asked, trotting over to the two.
"We need to talk with Sweetie Belle first," Scootaloo said, turning to the filly, who was busy arguing with Trixie. "Whenever she's ready."
Starlight rubbed her head in annoyance, "This isn't getting us anywhere."
"Well this little filly refuses to learn!" Trixie shouted.
"You're the one who can't teach!" Sweetie Belle shouted.
"I can teach just fine!" Trixie shouted.
"Yeah, teach us how to be arrogant and obnoxious!" Sweetie Belle shouted.
"Are you always this bratty!?" Trixie shouted.
"Like you're one to talk!" Sweetie Belle shouted.
"BE QUIET!" Starlight shouted, making a really angry face that startled the others.
"See what you did!" Trixie shouted in a hushed tone.
Sweetie Belle glared. "Me!? You're the one who-"
"Just stop talking already! Both of you!" Dinky partially shouted.
Starlight took a moment to calm herself before she got any more angry, then felt a foal hugging her. To no surprise, she saw that Tender Taps was the one doing so.
"Feel better?" Tender Taps asked.
Starlight nodded with a reassuring smile, "Yeah, thanks." Once Tender Taps let go of his hug, Starlight glared at the two mares. "This isn't getting us anywhere, I suggest you take some time to calm yourselves, I don't want anymore arguing."
Sweetie Belle sighed, "Yes Starlight."
"Sorry Starlight," Trixie said.
"Good, now I'm gonna grab the next lesson, Trixie would you please come with me? I might need you to carry something," Starlight said.
"Oh um, sure I guess," Trixie said, following Starlight.
Now that Sweetie Belle wasn't busy, Rumble took the time to approach her. "Hey, can I talk to you about something, it's really important."
"Of course Rumble," Sweetie Belle said, focusing her attention toward the colt. "What is it?"
"Um, me and Scootaloo talked, and she really wants to put her crush on me behind her for good, but she has one thing she wants to do before she can do that," Rumble said.
Sweetie Belle looked curious, "What would that be?"
"She wants us to spend some time together, alone," Rumble said.
Sweetie Belle looked surprised, "Time together? Like a date?"
"Probably, but she does want us to do something together, just for a little while," Rumble said.
Sweetie Belle looked a little hesitant, "I don't think I want you doing something like that, I don't like the idea of you dating another filly, even if it's just as a friend."
"I know it sounds weird, I'm not too eager myself, but if she can do this then she'll feel better about what happened," Rumble said.
"I thought she got over this, I mean we've been dating for months," Sweetie Belle said.
"But she's still a bit bothered by it, don't you want her to feel better?" Rumble asked.
"I do, but to let her do something that sounds like a date? I'm not too sure about that," Sweetie Belle said.
Rumble sighed, "That's fine, I mean if you don't want me to then I won't. I don't wanna do something that would upset you. I'll let Scootaloo know when."
Sweetie Belle felt some relief, her coltfriend won't go for such a silly idea. But as she noticed Rumble approach Scootaloo, she saw a look of hope on her face, an eager look that shows that she really wants to hear him say that it would be ok. She tried to brush it off, insisting that no other filly should be dating her coltfriend, even if it's only once but she started to feel some sympathy towards Scootaloo.
In a way, Sweetie Belle did once promise Scootaloo that she could get Rumble as her coltfriend, but then she and Rumble ended up liking each other. While he already had feelings for her, she still ended up taking something from Scootaloo. Maybe a few hours together won't be too bad, she trusts Rumble after all.
Scootaloo looked excited as Rumble approached her. "So, what did she say!?"
Rumble shook his head, much to her concern. "I'm sorry Scootaloo, but-"
Suddenly Sweetie Belle had called out, "Hold on!" She trotted over to the two.
"What is it Sweetie Belle?" Rumble asked.
"You two can do that spending time together thing," Sweetie Belle said.
Scootaloo's eyes widened, "Really!?"
"You don't mind?" Rumble asked.
"As long as it's for a few hours, you can call it a date, but nothing too romantic!" Sweetie Belle warned. "You're just two friends doing fun stuff together, that's all."
"Fine by me, right Rumble?" Scootaloo asked.
Rumble looked a little surprised, "Sure thing."
Scootaloo nodded, "Awesome, this is gonna be fun! So when do you wanna do it?"
"Um, how about tomorrow? After Sweetie Belle finishes her lesson," Rumble said.
"Sounds good, this is gonna be fun!" Scootaloo said, then turned to the Unicorn. "Thanks Sweetie Belle."
"Sure, don't mention it," Sweetie Belle said, feeling a little unsure now.
As Scootaloo trotted off, Rumble turned curiously to Sweetie Belle. "What made you change your mind?"
"I don't know, I just felt sorry for her. It's just a few hours, that's all," Sweetie Belle said.
"Well thanks, that's really nice of you. Don't worry, it won't be a real date, we'll probably just do something competitive," Rumble said.
"Don't worry about it," Sweetie Belle said, then shifted her hooves shyly. "But in exchange for this, think you can let me spend some time at your house after this is over?"
Rumble nodded with a cheerful smile, "Of course! I'm sure Thunderlane won't mind."
Sweetie Belle smiled at that, "Thanks...Rumble, I really, really like you, just so you know."
Rumble nodded, "Same here, you're my favorite filly to be around."
Sweetie Belle leaned in for a kiss, one of her favorite things to do with Rumble, and something he really enjoys as well.
Dinky was watching from nearby, once again feeling a bit annoyed. She's really starting to miss Rumble's friendly affection, she didn't realize him having a marefriend would be this hard on her. "Rumble and his damn charm, why does he have to be so liked by the other fillies? Really wish he could go back to just being my friend, that was so much better." At this point, she realizes that maybe she should have been aware her own feelings, and not have been afraid herself.
Back in the Changeling Kingdom, Twilight and her friends are still trying to help the Changelings with their newfound friendship.
"Alright, what are the key elements of friendship?" Twilight asked a group of Changelings.
They were all quiet a moment, not sure what to say until one raised his foreleg. "Being nice?"
"Well yes, that would be Kindness, something Fluttershy is quite good at," Twilight said.
Fluttershy nodded, "I learned from helping my animals."
"So...we need animals to help us?" A Changeling asked.
"No, not exactly," Twilight said. "Just try always being kind to each other."
"How?" one Changeling asked.
"Um..." Twilight thought a moment. "Just be there to help each other, friends are always Loyal after all."
"Loyalty is my specialty," Rainbow Dash said, pointing to herself. "Just ask me for advice on that!"
Twilight groaned, "Don't brag about it."
Rainbow Dash shrugged, "It's true though."
As they continued, Spike shook his head a little. "How long is it gonna take to teach Changelings about proper friendship?" He then noticed that Thorax looked a bit worried about something.
"What's wrong Thorax?" Spike asked.
"Some of the Changelings aren't here, in fact it's probably the same bunch that I've noticed aren't always around," Thorax said.
"Huh?" Spike wondered, looking around. "What do you think that means?"
"I'm not sure...but I am worried. What if some of them are still working for Chrysalis?" Thorax asked.
"That might be trouble," Spike said.
"I'll keep an eye out, but we need to let your friends know," Thorax said.
"Don't worry, I'll mention it to them," Spike said.
"Ok, good," Thorax said, then wondered. "I hope she doesn't go to Ponyville though."