Rumble was making his way towards Rarity's Boutique, carrying Flurry Heart on his back, eager to meet with the filly of his heart's desires.
"Just wait til you meet Sweetie Belle, I just know you'll like her Flurry," Rumbles said, then remembered something. "Wait, you did meet her earlier today, silly me. Plus you'd probably remember her from the time you saved us from the Changelings." Rumble shook his head, "I almost feel dizzy, so many things happening in such a short time." Flurry Heart giggled a bit, almost as if she's aware of Rumble's slip up. "Still, I know you'll like her, she's a really nice filly, one I'm so happy to have as a marefriend," Rumble said. Flurry just babbled a bit, making Rumble feel a bit weird. "Probably weird talking to you since you can't speak yet."
"Wammy!" Flurry said, holding up her toy.
Rumble giggled at her cuteness. "Alright, you just can't speak full sentences, though can you at least say 'Rumble'?"
"Wumble," Flurry said, then giggled a little bit.
"Close enough," Rumble said.
The two arrived at the Boutique and knocked, waiting for an answer. Moments later, Rarity had answered the door. "Rumble! Come in darling!"
"Hi Rarity," Rumble said, walking inside. "Always a pleasure to see such a beautiful mare."
"Oh my dear Rumble, sometimes you charm me as much as you seem to charm my sister," Rarity said, then stroked his mane a bit. "Hope you're not falling for me dear."
"No, lovely as you are I am absolutely loyal to your sister, I would never do anything like that to her," Rumble said.
"I know you won't, you're such a sweetheart," Rarity said, kissing Rumble's forehead. That's when she noticed Flurry Heart. "Oh, silly me, I barely noticed you had Flurry Heart with you."
"Princess Cadance asked me to watch over her for the next couple of days," Rumble said as Rarity stroked her mane once.
"That's really nice, just be careful though, she's a little tricky to watch over," Rarity said.
Rumble turned to the filly on his back, who was busy making growling noises with her toy. "Seems easy so far."
"Well just be aware of her flying and her magic, she's very powerful and extremely fast for somepony her age," Rarity said.
"I'm aware of her magic, she was strong enough to shield me and Sweetie Belle from Changelings once," Rumble said, then turned to Rarity. "Still, it seems like you know from experience."
"Yes, sometime after she was just born, I went with Twilight and our friends to see Cadance and Shining Armor, during that time we had a really tough time trying to keep Flurry in one place," Rarity said.
"Was it mostly her magic or her flying?" Rumble asked.
"Both, she flew everywhere and kept teleporting, even that net couldn't catch her," Rarity said.
Rumble looked confused and curious, "What net?"
Rarity looked around nervously, "Uh nothing dear. Anyway you should also watch out for her sneezes. Hopefully that spell Sunburst gave Cadance still works," Rarity said. "Speaking of whom, is he here as well?"
"I didn't see him, that is weird since he's supposed to be her...crystallizer?" Rumble asked.
"Crystaller, and yes, he is. I should hope he does come, I'm sure Starlight would love nothing more than to spend time with her fillyhood friend," Rarity said.
"I'm sure she'll get the chance," Rumble said.
"Aside from that, I imagine you're here to see my dear sister," Rarity said.
"Sure, where is she?" Rumble asked. "I was very confused when she left earlier without much warning."
"She'll be here soon, she's actually with our parents," Rarity said. "She probably almost forgot, she told our father she'd stop by since our mother was baking her some cookies and she wanted Sweetie Belle to try her new recipe."
"Sounds yummy, though I do find it a bit weird that I've never really been to their house, and I've been dating their daughter for about a year," Rumble lightly bit his lip. "They do like me, don't they?"
"Huh? Of course Rumble dear, my parents adore you and how special you treat Sweetie Belle," Rarity said.
"That's good, sometimes I worry that they don't want me dating her for some reason," Rumble said.
"You're just worrying over nothing, why don't you and Flurry go wait in Sweetie Belle's room, I'm sure she'll be happy to see you when she gets back," Rarity said.
"Alright, sure," Rumble said and trotted off.
"One more thing, as I said before Flurry is a little tricky to watch over, so please make double sure that Flurry stays behaved. She's a good filly but she can be a bit adventurous," Rarity said.
"You can count on me," Rumble said, giving a confident smile.
Rarity giggled, rubbing Rumble's mane. "I just love your confident attitude Rumble, it's really something. I remember the first time we met, you could barely get a word out. I'm so amazed by how much you've changed."
"I'm pretty surprised myself, I guess once I got a marefriend I felt I needed to really mature up, she needs a boyish colt after all," Rumble said.
Rarity had a slight look of disapproval, "Boyish? I'm surprised you're still on that, I hope you haven't been changing your personality just to make my sister happy."
"Not exactly, I just wanna be a strong colt for her. I mean I know she can take care of herself, but I still feel like it's my duty to be her knight and always be there for her," Rumble said.
"That's very sweet of you Rumble," Rarity said. "Just please try not to change too much just for her. I liked you well before you two got serious, you always have been such a sweet and adorable colt."
"I'm not sure if I wanna be sweet and adorable anymore though," Rumble said. "It feels like ponies don't take me too seriously if I am."
"Nonsense dear, it just means you're nice and sensitive, if I were Sweetie Belle's age I would have loved to have you as my coltfriend," Rarity said.
Rumble blushed at the compliment, "I'm glad you feel that way, I just hope Sweetie Belle doesn't get jealous over that."
"Oh my sister doesn't get that easily jealous," Rarity said. "Anyway you two can be off now, I won't keep you."
"It was nice talking with you though, you're like another big sister," Rumble said, then trotted inside. "See you later."
As he made his way into Sweetie Belle's room, Rarity giggled a bit. "Such a sweet young colt, I really hope that never changes."
Upstairs in Sweetie Belle's room, Rumble placed Flurry Heart on the bed, then climbed on himself. "Let's wait here for Sweetie Belle, I'm sure she'll be back soon." He laid against a pillow, though felt something nudging him right afterwards. He looked to see that Flurry was poking him with her toy, then made a growling noise. "I guess you wanna play, though don't you wanna wait for Sweetie Belle? That way we can all play together," Rumble said.
Flurry shook her head and made more growling noises with her toy, Rumble chuckling a bit at that. "How can I resist that cute and scary face of yours? Alright, since I am in charge of you, that includes keeping that adorable smile on your face. We'll play together now," Rumble said, then scratched his head. "But I'm not exactly sure how to play."
Flurry looked a little annoyed, then searched around the room until she found a story book. She used her magic to levitate the book toward Rumble, and pointed at the cover, which showed a knight rescuing a princess from a monster.
"Oh, you wanna be like in those fairy tales, alright, we'll do that, you be the Princess and I'll be the Knight that keeps you safe," Rumble said.
Flurry smiled and nodded, then used her magic to levitate her toy and made more growling noises, making it seem like the creature was growling at them.
"Ah, oh no, a scary monster," Rumble then placed Flurry behind him. "I'll keep you safe, run for it." Flurry giggled and made the creature fly toward Rumble as he got into a fight stance. "You'll have to defeat me if you want to get to the Princess, and I'll have you know that I am the strongest Pegasus in all of Equestria!" Rumble boasted.
Flurry made the monster growl more, so Rumble got into a fighting stance.
"Alright, you've asked for it you foul beast, let's go!" Rumble shouted and did some light, playful punches towards the toy. "Take this, and that!"
Flurry loved this, she could not stop giggling, she continued to make the monster 'attack' Rumble, but he would 'fight' the monster back, never backing down. Eventually Rumble 'defeated' the monster, much to Flurry's happiness.
"Wumble!" Flurry said, clapping a bit.
He knelt down beside Flurry, holding her tight. "I will never let anything happen to you Princess , nothing at all!"
Flurry felt so warm and fuzzy being hugged by Rumble, she started to return his hug, happy that her hero had won this battle.
Meanwhile Sweetie Belle had made her way back to the Carousel Boutique, knocking on the door before entering. "Rarity! I'm back!"
"Oh, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity said, trotting to her little sister. "How are mother and father?"
"Same as always, those cookies mom had made were something special she wanted to do for the Festival, and dad's just excited to have another celebration."
Sweetie Belle said, then levitated a bag to Rarity. "Mom made some extra for you, you should try them, they're really tasty."
"Thank you dear," Rarity said, taking the bag with her own magic. "Anyway it's good you're here already, Rumble came by."
"Rumble? Where did he go?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"He's waiting in your room," Rarity said.
"My room?" Sweetie Belle said, then started to blush. "Rumble usually doesn't wait in my room, kinda romantic."
"Try not to get too romantic in there," Rarity said, much to Sweetie Belle's annoyance.
"Rarity! Don't be embarrassing!" Sweetie Belle said.
"Just a little warning, I know how passionate you get when you're with him, you seem to be growing up a little too fast," Rarity said.
"Well I'm not a little foal anymore, Rumble's the colt of my dreams and I want to be close to him as possible, that's all," Sweetie Belle said. "Anyway my coltfriend is waiting, I'll see you later."
As Sweetie Belle left, Rarity shook her head. "One day they're going to get really close, amazing how fast my sister's growing up. I know Rumble will take good care of her at least."
Sweetie Belle approached her room, and as she got closer she could hear Rumble muttering something. What's weird is that it almost sounded like he was babbling, it was affectionate type babbling too.
"Wait, is he...?" Sweetie Belle looked in her room and found Rumble sitting on her bed, but he wasn't alone. He had Flurry Heart with him, as she should have expected, she nearly forgot he had to watch over her, she was hoping for alone time between the two. From what she saw, he seemed to be playing with her, using her toy to make growling noises.
"Oh no, it's gonna get you," Rumble said, then put the toy down to hug her. "But I'll keep you safe my Princess."
Sweetie Belle felt a little tug at her heart, while she knows he's just entertaining Flurry, it's weird for her to hear him talk so affectionately to another filly like that. Though she also knows it's a little silly, Flurry is only a toddler, it's not like he's doing this with one of her friends.
Rumble then noticed Sweetie Belle at the door, waving at his marefriend "Sweetie Belle! You're home!"
"Yeah, hi Rumble, I see you have Flurry with you," Sweetie Belle said, being as friendly as she could be.
"Yeah, she's so adorable," Rumble said, nuzzling against Flurry's cheek, getting another giggle from the filly. "Cute laugh too."
"Yeah, real cute," Sweetie Belle said, trotting into the room and sitting next to Rumble on her bed. Rumble took the moment to kiss Sweetie Belle on the cheek, getting a giggle from her his marefriend.
"You got a cute laugh too," Rumble said.
Sweetie Belle felt really flattered, though Flurry looked almost jealous, and nuzzled against Rumble's cheek for more attention.
"Wumble!" Flurry said, hugging him tight.
"Did she say your name?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Yeah, well to the best of her ability," Rumble said.
"Huh, that's actually kinda sweet," Sweetie Belle said, rubbing Flurry's mane. "You've always been a cute Princess."
Flurry looked away, not caring too much for Sweetie Belle's affection.
"She is cute, and I get to watch her, I feel so lucky," Rumble said, then remembered something. "You can help too, this way we'd be like her parents."
"Her parents?" Sweetie Belle said. "That seems like a big responsibility."
"Well we're not actually her parents of course, but we can pretend, so one day when we get married and have a baby of our own, we'll be ready," Rumble said.
Sweetie Belle blushed a bit, "You really think we'll get married someday?"
"I don't see why not, I should hope we stay together forever Sweetie Belle, you're the most important thing in my life," Rumble said, gently stroking her mane.
Sweetie Belle's cheeks felt hot, "You're such a charming boy Rumble."
Flurry then nuzzled against Rumble's cheek, trying to get his attention. "Wumble!"
"You still wanna play Flurry?" Rumble asked. "You have any ideas Sweetie Belle?"
"Well, I don't have any games in mind, but I would like to dress up Flurry in something nice," Sweetie Belle said.
"Like what exactly?" Rumble asked.
"Maybe I can make something for her, I do know a little bit of crochet," Sweetie Belle said.
"Oh right, your crochet..." Rumble said, remembering the scarves she had made for him. Not a really pleasant memory.
"Yeah, I'm sure she'll love it, I mean I know I'm not the best at it, but it should still be fun," Sweetie Belle said.
"Yeah, it should," Rumble said. She wasn't wrong, the scarves she made were, really tacky. Of course he cherished them because they're from Sweetie Belle, but he would dare put them on where other ponies could see him. He did want to keep some level of respect, unless he wanted this going all the way to his days as a Wonderbolt. He could only imagine the nickname they'll give him about that.
"Maybe I'll get better at it and make you something even more special, maybe your own unique Wonderbolts suit," Sweetie Belle said.
"You don't have to go through the trouble," Rumble nervously insisted.
"It's the least I can do as your one and only filly," Sweetie Belle said, then gave Rumble a surprise kiss. "And I'll do anything to make you happy Rumble."
Rumble blushed and rubbed his head, his brief nervousness fading away, "Same here, I do love you a lot."
"Love, I just...well, love that word," Sweetie Belle said. "I love that we can say that to each other, and I really love doing things to show that I love you."
"Just being near me is enough...that and more kissing, I like the kissing," Rumble said.
"Yeah, me too," Sweetie Belle said, then looked down to Flurry. "Though probably not too much in front of Flurry, it's one thing to kiss, but if we start making out in front of her, it's gonna be really awkward for her to see."
"Yeah, I did find it weird when other ponies did that," Rumble said. "I can understand why since we do that but still."
"We'll have time for that, for now let's try my dress-up idea," Sweetie Belle said.
Rumble looked down to Flurry, "What do you say? Wanna try out Sweetie Belle's designs?"
Flurry looked a little unsure, so the only answer she gave was holding up her toy and growling.
"Wow, you really like playing that game, maybe one day you'll beat up real monsters," Rumble said.
"She already protected us from Changelings, that's a start," Sweetie Belle said.
"I guess she still wants to play that game though," Rumble said, rubbing Flurry's mane. "You do make a good growl though, it's really cute."
Flurry looked to Sweetie Belle, then did a slight grin. She pointed at Sweetie Belle and then did another growl noise.
"Huh?" Rumble looked to Sweetie Belle. "Wait, do you want Sweetie Belle to be the monster."
"Be the what now?" Sweetie Belle asked, raising her eyebrow.
Flurry nodded and did more growl noises as she pointed to Sweetie Belle. "Mon-sta."
"Did she just call me a 'monster'?" Sweetie Belle asked, clearly displeased.
"That's adorable," Rumble said, before noticing Sweetie Belle's annoyed glare. "Well just the way she said it, not that you are one."
Sweetie Belle crossed her forelegs, "So she wants me to be a monster? Wait does she mean using that toy to growl at you?"
Flurry levitated the toy away and continued pointing at Sweetie Belle, "You mon-sta."
"I guess she wants you to be the monster," Rumble said. "It could be fun, this way you can decide how to be scary."
"I don't do scary, I'm too cute to be scary," Sweetie Belle said, fluffing her mane.
"It's just pretend, and it would make Flurry Heart happy," Rumble said.
Sweetie Belle sighed, "Is she sure she doesn't want to play dress-up?"
"Mon-sta!" Flurry shouted.
"Guess that's a 'no'," Rumble said. "But we can do it afterwards."
"Not sure how generous I'll be feeling considering she wants me to pretend to be a monster," Sweetie Belle said, still very displeased.
"I can be the monster afterwards, and you can save Flurry," Rumble said.
"But I'm supposed to be the Princess," Sweetie Belle said. "You're my knight, you're supposed to save me."
"Twilight's a Princess, and she saves ponies," Rumble said. "In fact she helps her brother, who's a knight as well, and they save ponies from monsters."
Sweetie Belle groaned, "Fine, I'll be the monster, but only if you be my knight later."
"You can still be a Princess, just leave everything to me," Rumble said.
Sweetie Belle shrugged it off and then did as suggested, despite her not caring. "Grr, I'm a monster, I'm here for the Princess, grr, roar."
Rumble could tell Sweetie Belle could not care less about making a believable monster, but he decided to make up with his own act. "You won't get the Princess monster, for I, the Brave Knight Rumble, shall stop you."
"You'll never win, the Princess is mine, grr, roar, other scary noises," Sweetie Belle said.
Rumble picked up Flurry, holding her in his forelegs, "Just try to grab her, it's impossible!"
Sweetie Belle trotted forward, making a pitiful effort to grab Flurry.
"Come on, try a little harder, for Flurry" Rumble whispered. "I'll make it worth your while later."
Sweetie Belle sighed and put a little more effort, "I shall defeat you, pitiful knight!"
"Never!" Rumble said, pretending to punch Sweetie Belle.
This continued on until Rumble 'knocked out' Sweetie Belle with a strong punch.
"Ah, oh no, I lost," Sweetie Belle said and fell down, looking unconscious.
"Yay!" Flurry said, clapping her hooves. "Wumble!
"Hold on, it isn't over just yet," Rumble said approaching Sweetie Belle. He picked her up slightly and brought her in for a nice kiss, one that somewhat surprised Sweetie Belle, but now understanding what he meant a second ago.
Flurry Heart didn't seem too happy, she actually looked kind of annoyed, she wanted Rumble to be her knight for the moment.
After breaking the kiss, Rumble rubbed Sweetie Belle's face, "Now the monster is a beautiful Princess again, the only Princess for me."
"I love you Rumble," Sweetie Belle said, feeling extremely satisfied.
"And I love you Sweetie Belle," Rumble said, bringing her in for another kiss. Rumble held on to this one for a little bit, before feeling somepony nudge him. He broke the kiss and turned to see Flurry Heart. "Oh right, forgot we agreed not to kiss like that in front of you."
Flurry then puckered her lips at Rumble, confusing the colt and the filly in his hooves.
"Um...I think she wants to kiss you," Sweetie Belle said, looking really curious.
Rumble nervously chuckled, "Yeah, looks like it."
Flurry leaned closer to Rumble, slightly glaring at him as she puckered her lips more.
"This is awkward," Rumble said.
"Can't blame her, you are really handsome, Sweetie Belle said. "Plus, not the first time a filly other than me wanted to kiss you."
"That filly was at least my age," Rumble said. Sighing a bit, he turned Flurry's head slightly and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "There's your kiss little Princess." Flurry wasn't satisfied, that wasn't the kiss she wanted. "Anyway let's find something else to play."
"Let's try the dress-up idea now," Sweetie Belle said.
"Wow really? I thought you were unhappy that you had to be a monster," Rumble said.
"Hey it worked out well for me in the end, so I'm feeling generous again, in fact I'll make something for the both of you," Sweetie Belle said.
Rumble smiled nervously, "Wow, sounds great Sweetie Belle."
"Let's get going!" Sweetie Belle said, trotting toward the room.
Rumble's nervous smile slowly turned into a look of despair, "Well at least they're not that bad looking." He placed Flurry on his back, "Let's go Flurry, and try not to hate it."
Flurry wasn't sure how to feel, from the look on Rumble's face, she didn't think this was going to be much fun.
Back with Twilight, she was looking over things at the farm still, since that's where some activities would be. The Apples are great when it comes to party games. Of course, Tender Taps is right by her side, nearly glued to the Princess he admires so much.
"Are you sure you don't want to be with your friends Tappy?" Twilight asked.
"I don't mind staying with you," Tender Taps said, though his ears started to droop, "Unless you don't want me to stay."
"Don't be silly, of course that's not it, I just don't want you to feel that you still need to stay with me. Rumble already left, so I figured you might wanna go too," Twilight said.
"There isn't anyplace I wanna go now," Tender Taps said. "Besides I don't know where my friends are right now."
"You know where Apple Bloom is, maybe you can see if she needs assistance with anything," Twilight said.
"That's the thing, lately it's felt kinda weird being around Apple Bloom, somehow I don't think I've been the coltfriend she wanted," Tender Taps said.
"What makes you say that?" Twilight asked.
"I'm not sure, it just feels like she expects me to be the type of colt Rumble is, but I don't have his level of confidence," Tender Taps said.
"Rumble wasn't always confident Tappy, I'm sure you remember how nervous he was when he first dated Sweetie Belle," Twilight said.
"Yeah, I thought having a marefriend could help me feel that confident, but that obviously didn't work out," Tender Taps said.
Twilight rubbed her chin curiously, "What is 'confidence' to you anyway?"
"Huh?" Tender Taps said, then tried to think of a good answer. "Um, to be bold, and to not be afraid to say anything."
"Don't you think you're that bold?" Twilight asked. "When Apple Bloom was trying to trick Rumble into dating Scootaloo, you spoke up about not liking it didn't you?"
"Well, yeah, but I felt so nervous doing so," Tender Taps said.
"You still did it, that's pretty bold, to do something like that despite being nervous. I think you have confidence Tender Taps, you just don't give yourself enough credit," Twilight said.
"But-" Tender Taps tried to protest.
"No 'buts' Tappy," Twilight said. "Now stop doubting yourself and accept that you're just fine how you are."
Tender Taps gave in and nodded, "Alright." Tender Taps then huddled closer to Twilight. "I still want to be near you though, you make me feel happy."
"You little sweetheart," Twilight said, then kissed Tender Taps on the cheek, causing the colt's face to turn red as an apple.
"Your kisses feel like magic," Tender Taps said, very enamored with Twilight’s affection.
"Still trying to charm me huh?" Twilight asked. "I could swear you have a crush on me Tender Taps."
"T-Twilight, stop that, I just look up to you, that's all," Tender Taps said.
Twilight giggled, "Fine, if you say so. But know that it's alright if you do, I wouldn't mind, I'd actually be quite flattered."
"Really? I would think lots of ponies would have a crush on you, I mean you're beautiful, smart, very talented, fun to be around, and you're strong too, you saved Equestria dozens of times," Tender Taps said.
Twilight felt so flattered by Tender Taps's words, loving the charming young colt that he is. "I do have a share of admirers, I'm sure I've told you about Star Tracker. But I really think you're a kind and sweet colt, so I feel a little more attached to you. Plus you're really cute, and I know you're gonna grow to be a handsome stallion, one any filly would be happy to date. You're a special pony to me Tender Taps, so you having a crush is just so cute and flattering."
"...Please marry me," Tender Taps said without thinking.
Twilight blinked a couple of times, "What?"
It took a few seconds for Tender Taps to realize what he said, his face could hardly get any redder, "Um...I don't suppose you could forget I said that."
Twilight started to smile mischievously, "Aw, so you didn't mean what you said? I'm kinda disappointed."
Tender Taps became a little annoyed, "You're just making that up!"
"No, really, I found your little marriage proposal to be really romantic, you're making my heart flutter with intense passion," Twilight said.
Tender Taps did his best to hide his blush, "Come on Twilight, I know you're just saying that to make me feel weird!"
Twilight began to nuzzle Tender Taps, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to upset you, but it's not as made up as you think." This got a look of curiosity from Tender Taps. "Like I said, you're a very handsome colt, and you're gonna grow up to be quite the stallion, so I find it flattering that you would have a crush on me, because like I've said before, if I knew a colt like you when I was a filly, I definitely would have fallen for you."
Tender Taps started to feel less annoyed and started to feel flattered himself. Twilight just knows how to get his emotions moving in such a positive flow.
"I'm...so happy you feel that way Twilight," Tender Taps said.
Twilight gave Tender Taps another kiss, this time on his forehead, "And you make me feel happy by being yourself Tappy."
Tender Taps blushed more, though attempted to sway the conversation before he started feeling too awkward. "Anyway we should hurry, this Festival isn't gonna complete itself, I'm still very eager to find out what it's for."
Twilight began to ponder something, she wasn't sure if the idea she had was good, but in a way it was an important idea for her to try out. "Can you keep a secret?"
"Huh?" Tender Taps asked.
"I'm asking if you can keep a secret," Twilight repeated.
"Um, yeah I can, but what secret?" Tender Taps asked.
Twilight gestured her head toward an empty barn, and walked there with Tender Taps following.
Not too far away, Apple Bloom was dragging a bucket of Apples toward where her brother was working. "Hope these are enough Apples, it'd be a pain to drag this bucket again. If Babs didn't have her own chore then this would be a bit easier."
As she dragged, she passed by the barn that Twilight and Tender Taps went to, where she heard Tender Taps's voice. "A-are you certain about this Twilight!?"
Apple Bloom got curious and trotted over to the door, doing her best to stay out of sight.
"I'm completely certain Tappy," Twilight said. "I think you six have what it takes."
"But Twilight, it seems so...grand," Tender Taps said. "I mean, I'm just a pony who likes dancing."
"Pinkie Pie was just a pony who liked baking sweets and planning parties, but look at her now, that could be you, and I think you have what it takes," Twilight said.
Apple Bloom was curious, what did Twilight say to Tender Taps? She peeked inside at the conversation between the two.
"I'll trust your judgement Twilight, but I'm still not certain I'm worthy of this," Tender Taps said.
"You'll be properly tested, I won't throw you into anything you're not ready for," Twilight said. Twilight had then lowered herself before Tender Taps. "Now remember, this is a secret, thankfully you only have to hold onto it for a day, now do you think you can handle that?"
Tender Taps looked hesitant, but quickly nodded his head, "Yes, I won't let you down Twilight." He took her hoof in his. "I thank you for trusting such an unworthy colt with this knowledge."
"Don't call yourself 'unworthy'," Twilight lightly scolded as she pulled her hoof away to affectionately stroke Tender Taps's mane. "I believe in you Tender Taps, that's why I want to trust you. Consider it a test, if you do well, I'll reward you for it."
"You don't have to give me a reward," Tender Taps insisted.
"I know, but I want to, and since I know you'll keep this secret, I can already start to decide what it would be," Twilight said.
"You're faith in me is overwhelming, I'll do my absolute best not to let you down," Tender Taps said. "Then again it shouldn't be so hard, I mean keeping a secret should be easy right? I just have to not talk about it."
"It's not as easy as it sounds," Twilight said, nervously rubbing her head. "Even I blurted out a secret once, Spike was not happy."
"Huh? What was it?" Tender Taps asked.
Twilight shook her head, "Sorry, I can't tell you that secret, it would be rude to Spike...even though it's a very obvious secret."
Tender Taps looked confused, but shrugged it off. "Anyway, what else should we do then?"
"I just need to check over a few more things here, then I gotta go speak with Lightning Dust, I trust you'll be joining me the rest of the day?" Twilight asked.
"You bet, I'll be your little assistant...aside from Spike," Tender Taps looked around. "Um, speaking of Spike, where is he?"
"I know he was waiting for Thorax and Ember to arrive, plus he has things he needs to do as well," Twilight explained. "Now then, let's be off."
Apple Bloom quickly moved away from the door as the two ponies left. She then started to scratch her head curiously, "What did Twilight tell Tender Taps? What are they up to? I gotta tell Babs, maybe round up the rest of the Crusaders and get their opinions." She was about to do so, then remembered her chore. "Right after ah get these Apples to mah brother."
She then trotted off, still trying to figure things out.