As the foals filed out of Cheerilee’s class one-by-one at the end of the school day, Berry Pinch and Archer exchanged a few jokes and giggles with each other. On their way out, they bumped into Rumble, who standing just outside of the schoolhouse in a daze.
“Heya, Rumble!” Archer said as they approached him, but she received no response. She tried again, with more ‘oomph!’ in it this time. “HEYA, RUMBLE!”
Rumble jumped back with a start, and Berry Pinch clasped her hooves against her ears. “W-What the?!”
“Eheheh… sorry, too loud?” Archer asked with a sheepish grin. “What were ya doing here, just staring into space?”
“Oh, uh…”
“Aren’t you on your way home?” Berry Pinch asked. Rumble shook his head. “I’m… actually trying to avoid going home right now.”
“Why?” Berry Pinch asked in a concerned tone.
“It’s… complicated,” Rumble answered, trying not to look Berry Pinch in the eyes.
Berry Pinch nodded, and also averted her gaze from the colt. Archer looked between the two, and grinned like a Cheshire Cat. Even if she didn’t know what exactly, she knew that something was up between these two.
“Well, then,” Archer began, “Wanna come hang with us?”
Berry Pinch’s eyes widened. “W-What?!” she shrieked. “A-Archer, what’re you-”
“We were thinkin’ of going ‘round to Sugarcube Corner, this bakery that does really good cupcakes. You wanna join us?”
Rumble thought about it for a moment. It sounded like a good way to kill some time, and he did like cupcakes… “Is that okay?” he asked Berry Pinch, who looked as if she wasn’t sure how to respond.
‘W-Why ask me? I don’t own Sugarcube Corner, so he can go if he wants to! More importantly, just what is Archer planning, inviting him along like that all of a sudden?'
“That’s a ‘yes’,” Archer said, reaching forward and grabbing Rumble’s forehoof with her own. “C’mon, let’s go! We’ll give you a little tour of Ponyville on the way.”
“Oh, there’s no need for that,” Rumble said. “I’ve already got the gist of it.”
“Too bad! I’ve already decided!” She pulled him along rather forcefully, and placed him next to Berry Pinch, giving a little shove to make sure that their bodies bumped against each other. Both foals blushed at the minor contact. “You two walk together, and I’ll lead ya both around!”
“But, I already know Ponyville,” Berry Pinch said.
“I know, but you’ve gotta keep him entertained while I lead him around.” Archer leaned forward, and whispered into Berry Pinch’s ear: “Try to find out what he likes, and then talk about that.”
“W-Why?” Berry Pinch asked, her face turning even redder.
“Just ‘cause!” Archer giggled, and turned around. “Right! Archer Tour Lines, ready to move out! Forwaaaaard, MARCH!”
Crunch Berry giggled as she sat on nearby cloud, looking down at the three foals as the marched down Ponyville, the blue one shouting so loudly that she could hear her even from so high up. “Wow. That one certainly is energetic.” Crunch Berry sighed as she lowered her head onto the soft, fluffy cloud. “She reminds me of my youth… Oh, it seems they’re going inside that… Is that a house made out of candy?”
“So, how’re you enjoying Ponyville, Rumble?” Archer asked before taking a sip of her smoothie.
“Well, it’s… quieter than Cloudsdale. And I don’t really know anypony here…” Berry Pinch offered him a sympathetic gaze, which he quickly averted his eyes from.
“You know us,” Archer said. “I know! Why don’t you hang out with us and our friends tomorrow, after school! We were gonna go have a picnic in the park. I’m sure the other girls won’t mind ya tagging along.”
Rumble fiddled with the straw in his smoothie nervously. “I don’t know…”
Archer leaned over to elbow the colt, whilst shooting him a sly grin. “What, you shy ‘bout being around six cute fillies all day?”
Rumble, now turning red, glared at the teasing Pegasus opposite him. “If they’re as ‘cute’ as you, I don’t think I’ll have a problem.”
Archer laughed loudly and fell back into her seat. “Wow, I wasn’t expecting that!” After she had calmed down, Archer reached a foreleg over Berry Pinch’s shoulders. “But, no. They’re about on the same level and Pinchy here.”
Berry Pinch blushed, and Rumble struggled to come up with a response. ‘Come on, Rumble! Don’t let her win!’ “… I-Is that so?”
…
‘Nice one, doofus,’ Rumble thought to himself as he slammed a forehoof into his face. “I-I don’t think that’s possible.”
“Oh? Because Berry Pinch is so unbelievably cute beyond compare.”
If at all possible, Rumble’s face grew even redder. Deciding that he didn’t want to dig himself any deeper than he already had done, Rumble opted out of retaliating, and instead just focused on trying to down his smoothie one go.
“Is that a yes?” Archer asked, grinning from ear to ear.
“J-Just shut up, alright?” Rumble said, turning his head away. “I don’t think of her that way.”
Berry Pinch’s ears flattened against her head, and she turned her head the opposite way to Rumble’s. Archer looked between the two, and let out a sigh as she shook her head. ‘These two really do have something going on between them, huh?’
Later that day, Berry Pinch told Archer and Rumble that she had to go home to do some chores for her mother. After she had left, the two remaining foals decided to go home too. Archer tagged along with Rumble for a bit, since their houses were in similar directions.
“Hey,” Archer said, turning her head to look at the colt beside her.
“What?” Rumble asked. “If you’re just going to start teasing me again-”
“Do you like Berry Pinch?” the filly asked, before Rumble could even finish.
“Argh! Will you just put a lid on it already?”
“I’m serious,” Archer said in an even tone. “Do you like her, yes or no?”
“… She’s… fun to be around, I guess. I thought she was pretty weird at first, but I guess she had her reasons.”
Archer tilted her head in confusion. “Reasons?”
Rumble mentally cursed himself for his slipup, and quickly tried to fix his mistake. “I-I mean, I just thought she was weird ‘cause she acted different from the ponies up in Cloudsdale! That’s all!”
Archer clearly wasn’t convinced, and Rumble’s innocent whistling probably wasn’t helping him. “… Whatever,” she said, deciding to drop it. Rumble breathed a sigh of relief, though it wouldn’t last for long. “Anyway, I just wanted to tell ya, since I’m her best friend and all: you make her cry, and I’ll make school miserable for you. Got it?”
“‘Make her cry’?” Rumble asked, not quite following.
“Got it?” Archer asked, in a much sterner tone this time.
“Uh… uh-huh.”
Archer smiled, and stopped suddenly in the middle of the street. “Good! Well then, if you ever need any advice, feel free to ask me anytime!”
“Advice on what?”
“On how to win Pinchy’s heart, of course!” Rumble’s brow furrowed, and he immediately began his rant of how he and Berry Pinch were just friends. Archer ignored him, and turned down the street to continue heading home.
“Honestly, that filly just doesn’t give up!” Rumble said, turning around and heading in a different direction.
“She brings up a good point, though,” a voice above Rumble said, and the colt looked up to see a pink Pegasus mare landing in front of him. “Hello there. Rumble, is it?” Rumble nodded, and the mare took a step closer. Suddenly, Rumble could no longer feel his legs, and was frozen on the spot as the pink mare looked down at him with a menacing grin on her face. “I think that you and I need to have a little talk…”