Chasing Apples, Bells and Oranges

by Solarip

It Begins

It was almost noon in the town of Ponyville. The late morning air smelled of cakes and pastries as lunchtime was approaching. The warm and mild breeze blew across the Ponyville Schoolhouse.

The schoolhouse was almost the same as the library, only there were foals inside. As the teacher discussed her lesson, the class remained silent. Few were paying attention, while the rest were either asleep or bored. The light grey pegasus, instead of listening to what the teacher said, had left his mind to wonder around town.

There was peace in Ponyville, if you call a town of busy streets with buzzing crowds and yelling ponies as peaceful. Early morning, the town hall was in mild traffic, filled with ponies minding their own businesses. The residents had no reason to sit idly, for they had somewhere important to be.

The market, however, was carpeted with ponies walking past the stalls that were set up overnight. Most of them stopped by on a stall or two to fulfill their search on what they need. A handful of ponies' needs were satisfied, but those who weren’t moved to another and repeated the process. A few even complained about the price hike on the owners' products.

The Golden Oaks Library was a place to find silence, as it was a library and unnecessary noise was always kept to a minimum. Although only a few stopped by and actually went there, the librarian that had been residing in it didn't care. Having a few ponies reading there was just one problem concerning the residents' knowledge, but the librarian just wanted to see them happy.

Rumble, seated in the first row and closest to the window, snapped out of his reverie. He was definitely bored. With his head rested on his right hoof, he stared beyond the window and to the sky. He wanted, no, needed to fly out of his chair and simply feel free from walls and homework, but it would have to wait. He glanced at the clock situated on the other side of the room. Eleven-thirty.

He reached his left hoof out to the window, trying to touch the clouds. Only four hours left before I can show off my awesome tricks to Featherweight and Pipsqueak.

"Yes Rumble," Cheerilee called.

Rumble sprang out of his chair, causing pencils and paper to fly out and some of his classmates to wake up.

"Y-Yes Miss Cheerilee?" he nervously asked.

"Oh! I thought you were going to answer my question," she said in surprise.

"Oh yeah, but um..." he tapped his hoof on the desk.

"What's the matter?"

"Can you repeat your question?" he requested as he scratched the back of his head with a hoof.

"Why certainly," she said, cleared her throat, then continued, "If x minus y is eight, and x plus y is ten, then what is the value of y?"

"Um, one?" he answered with doubt.

"Correct!" Cheerilee gleefully yelled.

She turned to face the chalkboard and, wrote Rumble's answer.

Rumble smiled in his triumph. The fact that he answered her question seconds after hearing it gave himself a mental pat on the back. He sighed in relief and calmly sat back on his chair. He stared at the window the way he did a few moments ago. My luck saved my flank today. I guessed the answer right out of the blue and I got it! Now where was I? Oh right, the stuff to do after class.

Then something hit him, metaphorically. His eyelids grew heavy and his head slowly slid out of his hoof without him realizing it. There was nowhere else his head could go but on his desk. A loud thump was heard in the classroom, but his classmates else were too bored or too sleepy to care. With a hoof resting over his head, he snoozed off as he drooled on his wooden desk. Little did he know that three sets of eyes were watching him.

Rumble was standing on the only cloud visible. He scanned for signs of pegasi, but it turned out that we was alone. He turned around, only to see the same thing. The wind blew from behind. Moments later, he felt something wet on his face and hooves. He tried to wipe to off, but it didn’t went away. What’s happening to me?!

A loud thunder was heard, causing him to cringe. Seconds later, he started to hear voices and murmurs of foals mixed with noises that he assumed to come from books and chairs. It surrounded with noises and sensations and made him scared beyond straight. He sat on the cloud and covered his ears but the noises never left. Well, at least the cloud seems normal to me. He buried his head inside it in a desperate attempt to muffle the creepy noises, but to no avail.

Moments later, after so much suffering which caused Rumble to be on the verge of tears, the horror faded. The wind and voices were nowhere to be felt or heard. He brought his head back up but he remained paranoid of what will happen next. He took a cautious look at the sky and saw nothing unusual, just like before. He closed his eyes and felt something on his head. He felt his mane sway, not by wind or body movement, but by nothing. He looked up, only to see nothing but the sensations were still there. He shook his head to see if it would go away, but the swaying continued.

From above, he saw a bright light. At first, he thought it was the sun, but the light grew brighter. He placed a hoof over his eyes and stared at the light. It grew brighter and brighter until it was impossible to see. He felt the cloud disappear. After that, he couldn't see, hear or feel anything else.

He opened one eye and saw a white filly, who seemed to be caressing his mane, standing before him. His vision cleared and saw a better view of the filly. She had a horn, emerald eyes and pink cheeks. It’s Sweetie Belle. Why does she have pink cheeks? He slowly raised his head and Sweetie swiftly pulled back her hoof.

"Hey Sweetie Belle," he greeted her lazily to break the silence.

"Um, hi!" she raised a hoof and waved at him.

"How long was I out?" he asked, yawning, while scanning his surroundings.

"Um... about four and a half hours, I guess," she said and looked at her hoof as if she was looking at an imaginary watch.

"Really? Wait, why are you here alone? Where's Apple Bloom and Scootaloo?" I really thought they are inseparable.

"Well, since Bloom, Scoots and I were the last to leave. I didn't want to see you sleep here till dawn. I decided to wake you up," she explained as she drew tiny circles on the ground.

"Oh okay. Thanks," he replied before a smile appeared on his face, which faded afterwards. Should I be remembering something?

"What's wrong?" Sweetie asked.

"Have you seen Featherweight and Pipsqueak anywhere?" he asked.

"Well, they left already."

"Horse apples!" Rumble slammed a hoof to his desk. His sudden outburst startled the filly. Realizing Sweetie’s reaction, he calmed down. I don’t want to scare her, since I know she's pretty sensitive. I should probably stop doing that.

“I’m sorry I startled you like that."

“Oh, it’s alright,” she said, giving Rumble a smile.

Rumble absentmindedly grabbed his saddlebags and placed it around his back. He looked down as he walked out of the classroom with Sweetie Belle following him.

"Hey wait up!" she yelled.

"Huh?" Rumble snapped out of his empty thoughts, stopped and waited for her.

"Can I walk with you?" she asked.

Rumble turned, only to look at Sweetie's bashful smile and pleading eyes. He stared, mildly blushing at the sight.

"Um, okay."

The two walked side-by-side across the playground. Trying to avoid eye contact, Rumble looked to his right, while Sweetie looked to her left. I've never walked with her before. I've never been this close to a filly before, but here I am, being asked to walk home with her. Okay Rumble, don't mess this up! Just talk to her. Simple, right?

His mouth opened, but Sweetie was the first to speak.

"Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" she asked.

"Well yeah, actually. Why do you ask?" Rumble replied.

"You see, the group project Miss Cheerilee gave us was meant for four members, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders will always be together, so that makes us three. We need another member, and I thought you would fit since you're really smart and all," she explained while she looked at the ground and rubbed her foreleg.

"Plus, it's a weekend and I'm home alone for the next two days since I'm staying at Carousel Boutique and my sister will be in Trottingham for a business trip," she continued with confidence, but mostly, the lack thereof.

"Oh I see. Feathers and I are supposed to be going to Cloudsdale for a Wonderbolts show...” Rumble explained, tapping a hoof on his chin.

The unicorn’s ears flopped down when she heard those words.

“...but I'll think he's busy, too. He left without me, so he must have something urgent that he needed to do. So I'm free!"

"Really?" she asked. Her ears perked up.

"Yup. I'd like to be part of the project with you girls. I don't have a group on my own, so I guess I'm lucky," he said as he scratched his cheek. I don't think I can trust Pip and Feathers this time. I'm positive they already have their own members and having to be with the Cutie Mark Crusaders is a change of pace for me. After all, I saw what they've done ever since their club was made, and I'm pretty impressed, except for that one time at the talent show.

The pair reached the town proper. He looked around and saw only a few ponies walking by. It was strange for him to see an empty street in the afternoon. Don’t tell me a new zebra came to Ponyville. The balmy wind blew, making Sweetie's mane sway with the breeze.

After a long moment of awkward silence, Sweetie Belle stopped beside a fountain. Rumble stopped after realizing his friend stopped. He turned to Sweetie, who was beaming with glee.

"Everything alright?" Rumble asked as he raised an eyebrow.

She didn't reply. Instead, she continued walking, happier than usual.

"Oh nothing," she said in a sing-song tone.

Rumble shrugged and continued walking to meet Sweetie.

"So, where are your friends?" he asked.

"You mean Apple Bloom and Scootaloo?"

"Yup."

"Well, they're probably stuffed from eating at Sugarcube Corner," she explained.

"Oh, okay," Rumble said with a smile. Seeing his heartwarming smile before her caused Sweetie to blush even more.

Sweetie looked away to regain her alabaster complexion on her face, and it worked. Rumble, who was staring at the filly before him, had been curious as to why she was acting that way. Is she mad at me or something? Maybe I did something wrong to her, that's why she's like that.

"Sweetie?" Rumble called the unicorn filly.

"Y-Yes?" she replied while avoiding eye contact.

"Are you okay?" he asked and placed a hoof on the filly's shoulder.

Instead of a response, she hid behind her mane, save for her eyes, and gave Rumble the cutest look she could. She folded her hooves and brought them as close to her chin as possible. Her emerald eyes widened and her cheeks turned pink. She did her best to cover most of her face with her mane, but it is not enough. She made the most adorable smile.

She leaned closer to Rumble. Since he couldn’t do anything, frozen by Sweetie Belle's adorableness, he just stood there. Sweetie, on the other hand, continued to slowly lean closer to him, until their muzzles were mere inches apart. They exchanged breaths unintentionally, as it couldn’t be helped. Rumble blushed even more than the time when he saw his brother and Rarity do indescribable things on the couch. His eyes widened, focused on the filly. Not even realizing, he leaned closer to her and closed his eyes. He took a second to know what happened next, but it wasn't what he expected.

He felt a slight pressure on his muzzle, making it a little bit itchy. It felt like a hoof. He opened his eyes to see what it really was, and it was a hoof on his muzzle. A hoof from none other than the filly before her, which seemed to have returned to her normal, innocent self. She put her hoof down moments later.

"What was that for?!" Rumble yelled.

"I was just messing with you," she said with a gleeful smile.

Rumble pouted. This made Sweetie giggle at the sight.

"You look cute when you do funny faces!" she squeaked between giggles.

Her giggles were contagious. Rumble joined in with Sweetie Belle in their fit of laughs and giggles.

A moment of laughter had passed and their giggles faded. They continued walking afterwards. Rumble felt Sweetie's fur brushing his coat. Too close! He moved away from her, but Sweetie reacted and went closer to him. They did this a couple times but his attempts were fruitless. Is she like this to everypony?

Sweetie Belle and Rumble now walked at the same pace. Before, the filly tried to catch up to the athletic colt’s gait. Now that she had gotten used to his pace, she can now focus on the conversation she's in.

"Hey Rumble!" she called to her friend.

He turned to Sweetie in response.

"How 'bout we go to my sister's house?" the alabaster unicorn suggested.

"What're we gonna do there?"

"Just some stuff," she said nonchalantly.

"Stuff?" he pressed on, trying to know what that meant.

"Yeah... stuff."

What does she mean by that?

Seeing as there was no use in asking further, Rumble said, "Okay then."

The pair went silent as the town glowed with an orange tint from the setting sun. Along the path Sweetie Belle and Rumble passed by was a bush. A weird bush, as it had a purple mane and a pair of binoculars sticking out of it.