Later that night, Sweetie Belle was enjoying herself at Rumble's house. She had been given dinner by his brother and now the two foals are sitting together on the couch.
"So, when are you going home?" Rumble asked.
"Soon, I just want to spend a little more time with you," Sweetie Belle said, rubbing his face a bit. "I love seeing your cute and adorable face."
"Same here," Rumble said, stroking her mane. "Every time I look at you, I feel very happy. I feel lucky that I get to date you."
"Speaking of dating, I need to talk to you about Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said.
"What about her?" Rumble asked. "Did you change your mind about it? I won't do it if you don't want me to."
"It's not that," Sweetie Belle said. "I just want to say that I trust you, and whatever decision you make during your time with her."
Rumble looked confused, "Huh?"
"Scootaloo's gonna get romantic with you, but I'll let you decide how you should handle it," Sweetie Belle said. "Go with your instinct."
"My instinct?" Rumble asked.
"You'll understand soon, but for now..." Sweetie Belle then leaned in to kiss Rumble a bit. "Now, we enjoy ourselves a bit more."
Sweetie Belle kissed him again, and was now kissing him the same way she had been kissing him earlier in the castle. She crawled on him as he laid back against the couch and really got into it. Rumble felt weird, but not in a bad way. He rather liked this feeling, even more so when he began to hug her close. Sweetie Belle felt more secure than she had been before, loving how affectionate feeling Rumble's hug was, making it much easier to kiss him and return the affection.
"Rumble..." Sweetie Belle said between her kisses. "You're so adorable."
Soon she started to hug him close, hoping to deepen the kiss as much as she can. Rumble loved having her so close to him, he loved how soft and cuddly she felt, it helped him feel more confident somehow. The fact that she feels so delicate makes him want to be there more for her and keep her safe.
Unfortunately for them, this moment was interrupted by a certain older brother.
"You two look like you're having fun," Thunderlane said, startling the two and causing them to separate from each other.
"B-big bro!" Rumble shouted, his face turning red from embarrassment and annoyance.
Sweetie Belle had no immediate reaction, though she did turn her face away to hide her own blush.
Thunderlane laughed it off, "Sorry about that, but still, it's almost time for bed, Sweetie Belle should get home."
Rumble sighed, "Right, should I take her?"
"Let me, you just get yourself ready," Thunderlane said.
Rumble nodded, "Alright big bro." He turned to face Sweetie Belle, "See you tomorrow." With one more kiss, he flew up and went straight towards his room.
Sweetie Belle got off the couch, her blush never having left her face. "So should we get going then?"
"Sure, come on," Thunderlane said, leaving with her through the front door. "By the way, about what happened a moment ago..."
"Oh, was that bad?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I really can't help myself, your brother's just so cute."
"I know, I hear it all the time, mainly from Flitter," Thunderlane said.
"Speaking of Flitter, whenever I see her, it seems like she doesn't like me that much, am I imagining it?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Thunderlane looked a bit nervous, "Of course she likes you, don't be silly." Truth be told, Flitter has been a bit jealous since Rumble and Sweetie Belle began dating because now Rumble doesn't spend that much time with her anymore, but Thunderlane won't tell Sweetie Belle that.
"Oh good, I would hate it if somepony so close to Rumble didn't like me," Sweetie Belle said, making Thunderlane even more nervous.
He quickly managed to get back to what he wanted to tell her, "Anyway, it's great that you like my brother, and I really don't mind if you two kiss, but try to relax a bit. If you're kissing like that now, imagine what will happen once you two get older."
"Older? You're acting like we're little kids," Sweetie Belle said.
"Even so, imagine how Rarity would react if she saw you two kissing like that," Thunderlane said.
"What's the big deal? I actually saw Rarity kiss you like that once as well, pretty sure it's a normal thing for dating ponies to do," Sweetie Belle said.
Thunderlane started to sweat, blushing a lot as well. "Um, don't do everything me and Rarity do..."
Sweetie Belle sighed, "Fine, I'll try to control my desire to kiss your brother for as long as I was, even though I could probably kiss him for hours, he's just that cute."
"I'm sure you could," Thunderlane said, then sighed. "Just try to hold off on those desires."
Sweetie Belle nodded and continued to walk home with Thunderlane. "By the way, when can I start staying over at your house? Rarity does sometimes, I remember she told her friends how great you were one night, you really made her happy."
Thunderlane again found himself blushing, "Can we please not talk about my relationship with your sister!? I like you Sweetie Belle, and I'm happy that you're dating my brother, but some things I really shouldn't be talking about with you."
Sweetie Belle groaned, "Fine, whatever you want."
The two continued walking towards Sweetie Belle's home, all the while Thunderlane won't stop blushing.
The next day all the foals once again gathered at the castle, and once again Trixie was there.
"Doesn't this mare have anything else she can do?" Dinky asked in a hushed tone.
This time, Trixie seemed to have her attention focused towards Tender Taps, having gotten the young colt in a hug.
"Why are you hugging me Trixie?" Tender Taps asked, feeling a bit awkward.
"Because Starlight likes to hug you, and I wanna find out why," Trixie said, keeping the colt close to her.
Tender Taps rolled his eyes, "She hugs me because she wants to be my older sister."
"I know, but it still seems kinda fun, so I wanna keep trying it," Trixie said.
Tender Taps sighed, this mare was so weird. But he did kinda like her affection.
As Rumble went to get settled, he noticed Scootaloo standing right beside him, looking really excited.
"So, ready for today? You and me, spending some time together, just the two of us?"
Rumble couldn't help but notice that she seemed kinda flirty, "Yeah, it should be fun."
Starlight set up everything for the lesson, "Now, Sweetie Belle, Dinky, for this lesson we will be-"
"Hold on a moment," Trixie said, stepping towards the fillies. "Allow me to give you a proper lesson, I'll teach you some tricks I know."
Sweetie Belle and Dinky looked nervously at each other.
"This should be fun..." Apple Bloom said, looking really annoyed.
Starlight spoke in a hush tone, "Trixie, I really don't think this is a good idea right now."
"Nonsense, Trixie knows what she's doing," Trixie insisted.
As Starlight tried to talk sense to Trixie, Sweetie Belle turned toward Rumble, "I don't think you wanna sit through me attempting to 'learn' magic from Trixie, so if you wanna do that 'date' with Scootaloo, it'd be best if you did that now."
Rumble nodded and turned towards Scootaloo, "Come on Scootaloo, I know a place we can go."
Scootaloo grinned and eagerly followed Rumble as the two left the room and the castle.
Apple Bloom looked a bit concerned, so she quickly went to Sweetie Belle, "Think this will work? Suppose she falls fer him even more?"
"I trust Rumble, he'll know what to do," Sweetie Belle insisted.
Dinky looked unsure about what she was hearing, she turned towards where Rumble and Scootaloo left, hoping that whatever Sweetie Belle had in mind would work.
Tender Taps also looked a bit concerned, while he wanted Rumble to resolve things with Scootaloo, he's hoping that this plan will work out well.
Outside both Rumble and Scootaloo were making their way towards a park where Rumble usually liked to fly around.
"This is one of my favorite places to go, it's usually quiet and I can practice some flying skills here," Rumble said.
Scootaloo looked around a bit, "Pretty cool, I come here sometimes with my friends. I like to use my scooter, mainly since I can't fly."
"You can't fly yet, but you'll get there, just keep trying," Rumble encouraged.
"Easier said than done, how did you learn to fly so well?" Scootaloo asked.
"I just do, I get lessons from my brother as well as Flitter and Cloudchaser. You just need practice from an experienced pony, does Rainbow Dash teach you?" Rumble asked.
"She tries, but I'm not getting it. I'm convinced I'm just not able to fly, maybe my wings don't work," Scootaloo insisted.
Rumble shook his head, "That can't be it, you use your wings when you're on your scooter right? It's the reason you go so fast. You're just having trouble getting off the ground, unfortunately I don't know much about that, each pony is different, but I'm pretty sure other foals your age are having trouble, just like some Unicorn foals have trouble with magic," Rumble said.
"Sweetie Belle figured out her magic, now she and Dinky are learning from Twilight and Starlight," Scootaloo said.
"You have a great teacher yourself, it's just taking you longer, but even if you can't fly as well, you still have your scooter tricks, I always thought they were kinda cool," Rumble said.
Scootaloo chuckled a bit and put on a confident look, "Yeah, my tricks are really cool."
"I was hoping we could do stuff like that, my flying tricks and your scooter tricks, we could even make a game out of it, who can do the most awesome stuff," Rumble said.
"Or we could even race and see who's faster!" Scootaloo said.
"We'd need a big area though, even this park isn't big enough for us to really go to our full potential, let's save something like that for another time," Rumble said.
Scootaloo nodded, "Right, good idea. Anyway let's grab my scooter and really do some awesome stuff."
Rumble eagerly nodded as Scootaloo went to prepare for everything.
Back at the castle, the lessons weren't going as well as Starlight hoped they would. Trixie got a bit too eager to show her skills and ended up causing some damage around the castle with her tricks. Starlight was not pleased by that at all.
"Trixie..." Starlight said, looking really annoyed.
Trixie chuckled nervously, "I guess I got a bit carried away."
Starlight huffed, glaring a bit at Trixie. "Twilight is gonna be furious when she sees this!"
"Don't worry," Trixie said. "We can fix this place no problem. I mean didn't you say that Twilight would be gone for a while?"
"I didn't say a while," Starlight said. "I said she went to help Thorax, she never mentioned how long it would take! For all we know she's probably done and on her way back!"
"True, Twilight could show up any minute," Apple Bloom pointed out, getting a loud groan from Starlight.
"Not helping Apple Bloom," Starlight said.
Sweetie Belle looked around the castle, "Don't worry, we can help, after all there have been plenty of times I've made messes at my sister's Boutique."
"Did you manage to clean it up before she noticed?" Starlight asked.
"Yeah, she doesn't notice at all. Not at first at least," Sweetie Belle said.
Starlight groaned again, but this time Tender Taps spoke up. "Let's just do what we can, I mean it doesn't look that bad, a bit messy and a little damage to the walls but compared to the rest of the castle it looks fine."
"Yes, the cute little gentlecolt is correct," Trixie said, getting a blush from Tender Taps. "This place isn't that bad, we can clean it up really quickly."
Starlight sighed, "Fine." She turned her attention to Sweetie Belle and Dinky. "We'll have to continue this another time."
Dinky shook her head shamefully, "I knew Trixie would mess up somehow."
"Hey!" Trixie shouted.
"She did her best, let's not start blaming ponies," Tender Taps insisted.
Trixie grinned at the young colt, "I'm really starting to like you. Maybe I'll let you appear on my show one day."
Tender Taps looked surprised, "Wow really? Um doing what though? I mainly just dance."
"That works fine, nothing like a little entertainment after all, Trixie has been looking for more talent to increase the quality of my show, not that I need it since my skills are more than enough, but it helps to have a little assistance," Trixie said.
"I'll think about it," Tender Taps said. "Though if you want talent, maybe get a Pegasus to do some flight tricks or something."
"I know a Pegasus back in my old village that would be great for that," Starlight said. "She's very talented, in my opinion at least."
"I'll think about it," Trixie said. "Anyway, let's get this mess cleaned up."
"This could even be good magic practice for Sweetie Belle and Dinky," Tender Taps said. "I think so at least."
"Yes, it could be another lesson, use your magic to clean up a mess before Twilight comes back and sees what happened and never trusts me to tutor foals again!" Starlight said, still dreading the idea of Twilight discovering what happened.
Back at the park, both Rumble and Scootaloo were doing some fancy tricks with flying and scooter skills. Rumble made some quick loops and mid-air turns while Scootaloo used her wings to boost her speed and spin around while riding, even using a ramp that she brought over to do more tricks.
"You're really awesome with your scooter!" Rumble shouted in mid-air, doing some fancy twirls.
"And you're a talented flyer!" Scootaloo shouted as she balanced herself on the handle of the scooter while she rode on it.
Rumble did some quick loops in the air as Scootaloo continued to ride below, even using the ramp for some extra tricks. Rumble stopped a moment and noticed how talented she was, he then had an idea he wanted to try with her.
"Hey wanna try a trick!?" Rumble shouted in the middle of some back flips. "Use that ramp there to fly up while I do a loop. See if you can go through my loop!"
Scootaloo seemed to like the idea, so she started speeding towards the ramp. With a great gust of speed, Scootaloo was able to go high into the air as Rumble did his loops. Rumble moved pretty quickly so it was almost like he was everywhere at once, though Scootaloo was able to stay in the center as she went through the loop.
She felt so relieved that she was able to do the trick, though it didn't last long as she began to lose her balance in mid-air and fell off her scooter. She attempted to fly but her wings eventually failed her and she started to fall.
Fortunately Rumble was quick to catch her, holding her bridal style as he floated towards the ground.
"Hey, are you alright?" Rumble asked.
Scootaloo nodded, "Yeah, I am. Boy that was close."
"Totally," Rumble said, landing his hind legs on the ground. "Good thing I caught you. You're much lighter than I thought you'd be."
It finally dawned on Scootaloo that Rumble was holding her, causing her to blush a little, partially from the way he held her and also from embarrassment since she looked like a helpless filly. She quickly got off, feeling a bit awkward.
"Thanks for catching me," Scootaloo said.
"No trouble, it was kinda my fault since I came up with the idea," Rumble said.
"It's fine, it was actually fun, you know, before I started to fall," Scootaloo said.
"Well, anything else you wanna do?" Rumble asked.
Scootaloo tapped her chin, "Let's go grab a shake."
Rumble nodded, "Sure thing."
The two made their way into town, Scootaloo feeling even more attached to Rumble than before.
Back at the castle, the place was mostly cleaned up, thanks to the efforts of all six ponies there.
"Good, we're almost done," Starlight said, cleaning a wall. "And you girls are doing great with your magic."
"Thanks Starlight," Sweetie Belle said, using her magic to mop the floor.
"Yeah thanks," Dinky said, looking a bit moody as she cleaned up.
"Is it me or is she a really moody filly, is she always like that?" Trixie asked.
"No, not really," Starlight said. "Something's bothering her, but she won't say what it is."
"Maybe you should talk to her, you are her teacher," Trixie said.
"I don't think I could be much help," Starlight said.
"Gotta try at least," Trixie insisted. "It could be another Friendship Lesson."
Moments later, Sweetie Belle had finished up, "Alright, anything else?"
"That's fine," Starlight said. "I can handle the rest, all of you can go home, I don't wanna keep you here too long cleaning up after Trixie."
"Hey, don't make me look bad!" Trixie shouted.
"Fine by me, I'm off," Dinky said, walking off, leaving the others confused.
"I'm a little worried about her," Starlight said.
Sweetie Belle also looked curious, but didn't focus too much on it as she made her way out. "I'm gonna go check on Rumble and Scootaloo."
"Ah should get going too, see ya tomorrow," Apple Bloom said and left.
Tender Taps approached Starlight, "I can stay a little longer if you'd like."
Starlight rubbed his mane, "That's fine Tender Taps, you don't need to stay."
"I know I don't need to, but I want to, I like being with you Starlight," Tender Taps said.
Starlight felt so warm inside and pulled Tender Taps for a hug, "You're so sweet. I see why Twilight seems to like you a lot."
"Huh?" Tender Taps asked. "Why does she like me?"
"She likes all of you, but for different reasons. Your reason is that you're a sweet colt who's such a great friend to others and so rational about things. She also finds your timid and somewhat shy nature to be really adorable, not to mention she says you're really cute," Starlight said.
"Trixie won't argue that," the magic mare stated.
Tender Taps shook his head, "You're all being too nice, I'm just some colt that was lucky to even have Apple Bloom as a friend. I shouldn't be praised so much by the Princess of Friendship when she has three other fillies that deserves it so much more."
"She does praise the Crusaders, as well as Rumble and Dinky, she says you're each special in your own way and she loves having all of you over. This is what she said about you," Starlight said, pulling the hug closer.
Trixie decided to join in on the hug, with Tender Taps now being between the two mares. "So far you're the only one that I personally like."
Tender Taps felt weird, he's never really gotten this much attention. Why though? He doesn't get what's special about him. Apple Bloom is the younger sister of Applejack, the Element of Honestly and a well known farmer. Sweetie Belle is the younger sister of Rarity, the Element of Generosity and a top fashion designer. Scootaloo is personally trained by and seen as a younger sister to Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty and a very talented Wonderbolt. Compared to them he feels very insignificant, at least towards a Princess like Twilight Sparkle.
Granted Rumble is just the younger brother of Thunderlane, the stallion himself is known to be very talented and even recognized by the Wonderbolts, having joined the Academy to become a Wonderbolt himself. Dinky is closer to his league in a way, but even she's being trained by Twilight for her talent at magic, all he does is dance.
"Are you sure I'm special though?" Tender Taps asked. "I don't feel special."
"You're just modest, that's a great trait to have," Starlight said.
"Yes, modesty is very important, The Great and Powerful Trixie knows all about being modest after all," Trixie boasted.
Starlight just stared in disbelief, but shrugged it off, Trixie is just being Trixie after all.
"Thanks, both of you," Tender Taps said. "Starlight, you're a great older sister, and Trixie you're much nicer than the others think you are."
"Thank you, but here's a little something I'd like to teach you," Trixie said. "Always try to have confidence in yourself, and try to believe you're something special. That helps me out whenever I feel unsure, and I'm sure it can help you out. You can be modest, but you also need to have confidence as well."
"Alright, thanks Trixie," Tender Taps said.
"You're very welcome Tender Taps," Trixie said, rubbing his mane a bit.
The mares released their hug as Tender Taps began to trot off. His face was still very red, he liked the affection but he can't help but feel a bit weird.
"I'll see you both tomorrow," Tender Taps then trotted off, the two mares giggling a bit.
"He looks cute when he's shy, probably another reason Twilight likes him, and why she seems to tease him a bit," Starlight said.
"What does Twilight like about all of them though? Is she gonna make them to be heroes as well?" Trixie asked.
"Nothing like that, she just likes being a mentor, and those foals have unique talents to them," Starlight said.
"Some of them don't have a Cutie Mark though," Trixie pointed out.
"That doesn't mean they aren't talented, besides that can also mean they still have yet to show their true potential," Starlight said.
"Good point, still I must admit that Sweetie Belle and Dinky are very talented, you're doing a great job as their teacher," Trixie said.
Starlight felt a little relief, seems like she can be a good teacher after all. "Thanks Trixie, I hope Twilight will be proud."
Trixie started making her way out, "I guess I'll be off. See you and the foals tomorrow."
"Bye Trixie," Starlight said as her best friend left. She went back towards where she makes the lessons and began to wonder. "I need more to teach them, too bad Sunburst isn't here, he'd have some good ideas."
Sweetie Belle had been passing through Ponyville on her way home. She feels a little more confident in her magic after the lesson and hopes to be able to move on to stronger spells. On hey way through Ponyville, she saw Rumble walking with Scootaloo on the way to her home.
"Thanks for spending the day with me Rumble, it was so fun, and the shakes were great," Scootaloo said.
"Yeah, I had fun too, you're a nice pony to be around," Rumble said.
"You really think so?" Scootaloo asked, feeling a bit excited.
"I do, I mean I know we've done stuff with the others but it was a lot of fun doing these things with just you. Maybe we should try to do stuff a little more often," Rumble said.
Scootaloo eagerly nodded, "I'd really like that, sounds like it would be really fun."
He got to her door and faced her once again, "I guess I'll see you and the others tomorrow."
"Right, but can you answer one thing now?" Scootaloo asked.
Rumble curiously nodded, "Sure, what is it?"
Sweetie Belle became curious as well, though had an idea of what Scootaloo may have wanted to ask. She quietly moved closer but did her best to not be noticed by the two.
"Does this mean that we could have been a couple if we had the chance?" Scootaloo asked.
Rumble looked a little uncertain, even though he knew she would have asked the question, he was just hoping she'd be fine being only friends.
"It really doesn't matter Scootaloo, I'm with Sweetie Belle, and we're very happy together," Rumble said.
"I just need to know, could we have been a couple?" Scootaloo again asked.
Sweetie Belle eagerly waited to hear Rumble's answer, she wants to know herself.
"Truth be told Scootaloo, I'm not sure if we could have been," Rumble said. "You're a great friend and you're fun to be around, but I don't think we could have been a couple."
Scootaloo looked very disappointed and faced the ground, "Oh, I see."
Rumble placed his hoof on her shoulder, getting her attention as she looked into his eyes. "You'll find somepony, you're a really nice filly. I just prefer more delicate fillies like Sweetie Belle."
"Delicate?" Scootaloo asked. "Aren't I delicate?"
"I don't see you that way, you're a tough filly, I like that about you but it's not really enough to make me fall in love with you. That's only my opinion, there are other colts who like tough fillies," Rumble said.
Scootaloo looked aside, "I can be delicate too Rumble." She then faced him again with affectionate looking eyes, "I could have been what you wanted."
"But Scootaloo-" Rumble tried saying but Scootaloo interrupted him by holding her hoof up, signaling him to stop.
Scootaloo leaned in towards his face, stopping right before as she stared into his eyes. Rumble wanted to leave, but couldn't seem to just move out the way. Something about her stare kept him from moving.
After a few seconds of staring and awkward feelings, Scootaloo then slowly leaned in a bit more until she had him in a kiss. Rumble's eyes widened as he felt the other filly kiss him. What surprised him was how gentle she was during the kiss, hard to believe a filly with such a tough attitude could be that affectionate.
Sweetie Belle just stared in disbelief as she watched one of her best friends kiss her coltfriend. She believed that Scootaloo probably would try this, but she was hoping to have been wrong. She felt some sense of anger and disappointment in her friend. While part of her wants to stop this, she also wants to see Rumble's reaction to the kiss.
After a few more seconds, Scootaloo broke away with a hopeful look on her face. "Was that delicate enough?"
Rumble was still somewhat surprised, but after a few seconds, he shook his head a bit and faced Scootaloo. "Yes, it was delicate, but since it wasn't from Sweetie Belle, then it doesn't mean anything to me. I'm sorry Scootaloo, I like her, not you." Scootaloo just stared in shock and surprise as Rumble turned away. "We can be friends, but that's all."
With that Rumble flew off, leaving Scootaloo a bit disappointed as she went into her house.
Sweetie Belle looked on with some satisfaction. She's glad to know that Rumble truly cares only for her, and he values her as a marefriend. That alone made it worth seeing another filly kiss him, because now he knows even more that she's best for him.
Though she does somewhat pity Scootaloo, she had a crush on him before she did, even if Rumble never liked her that way. But she also knows that Scootaloo really needs to move on, maybe with Tender Taps or any other pony.
For now, she's just glad to know that Rumble is definitely the colt for her.