//------------------------------// // Act 1: Apple Bloom - Chapter 4 // Story: Things Drift Away // by mylittleeditor //------------------------------// Act 1: Apple Bloom Chapter 4: The Birds and the Bees Rumble was very confused, and very nervous. He was standing in the middle of Apple Bloom's bedroom, right next to her bed, while the filly was rummaging through her wardrobe. He had never been in a filly's bedroom before, and wasn't sure what he should be doing. While he was waiting for whatever Apple Bloom had in store for him, Rumble satisfied himself with shuffling his hooves and tracing the pattern of Apple Bloom's quilt. “Aha!” Apple Bloom cried, emerging from the wardrobe. A shiny metallic disk was strapped to her forehead, reflecting a circle of light directly into Rumble's eyes. Blinking the spots away, Rumble noticed the white lab coat she was wearing, and the clipboard she had in her mouth. When she'd mentioned trying to get her cutie mark as a doctor, Rumble had not expected her to have all the necessary props. Maybe medicine really was her special talent. “Good afternoon, Rumble, what seems to be the trouble?” she said, placing the clipboard on the bed beside them. Another blinding flash of reflected light caused Rumble to involuntarily flinch back. “Now no need to be nervous, Ah'm here to help. You just tell Dr. Apple Bloom what the trouble is.” “Uh...well, it hurts when I fly.” “Uh huh,” Apple Bloom muttered around the pencil she held in her mouth, scribbling notes on the clip board. Rumble couldn't see what she was writing, but figured if she was taking this seriously, he could too. “When I try to fly, there's this really sharp pain right at the base of my left wing, and it's been really bad since I crashed a couple days ago.” “Uh huh,” was all Apple Bloom said. If medicine really was her special talent, she needed a better bedside manner. “It hurt when I walked at first, but that's gotten better.” “Uh huh. Okay, so according to my fancy a-nat-o-thingy chart here,” she gestured to the crudely drawn outline of a pegasus, or possibly a bumble bee, “You've got some issues with your wing-bones.” Maybe she wasn't cut out for medicine after all. Rumble was quickly becoming nervous all over again. Apple Bloom clearly had no idea what she was talking about, and she didn't even seem familiar with wings in general. As she stalked closer, still eyeing him critically, Rumble found himself feeling like a piece of produce rather than a patient. “Now, we're gonna do an examination of your wings, so stretch them out.” “I don't know, Apple Bloom...” “Please?” The puppy-dog eyes weren't fair, and Rumble doubted that such a pitiful expression would be considered professional by any medical pony. But he couldn't doubt its effectiveness, and with a sigh, he unfurled his wings. There was a slight twinge as his left wing stretched out, but it wasn't too bad as long as he wasn't flapping it. Apple Bloom walked circles around him, scrutinizing the length of both his wings. Apple Bloom didn't know much about wings. She'd never really had a chance to look at any wings with this much attention. Scootaloo didn't really like to show her wings off, and Apple Bloom had never had much of an interest in her wings anyhow. But Rumble's wings were fascinating things, and she inspected every feather. After a long drawn out visual examination that might better be described as 'ogling', Apple Bloom reached out a hoof and gently brushed the tip of his right wing. Immediately, Rumble snapped both wings to his sides, wincing in pain as he did so. “Rumble, Ah need to examine your wings, stretch 'em out.” “Apple Bloom, I don't-” “Please?” “Oh, alright, just...don't surprise me like that...” Rumble sighed and slowly spread his wings again. Apple Bloom immediately took his right wing in hoof again, running her hooves along the length of the wing, probing the bones along the leading edge. She was surprised how little of his wings was actually supported by bone. The feathers made them seem much bigger than they really were. She could feel Rumble's wing twitching as she prodded his feathers, and decided she must be annoying him. As her hooves started pressing the base of his wing, feeling where the strong wing muscles joined his torso, Rumble spoke up. “A-Apple Bloom, that's not even the wing that hurts...” Rumble was stammering, the sensation of someone playing with his wing both new and unexpected. “Well duh, Ah don't know anything about wings, so Ah gotta inspect the good wing to know what's wrong with the bad one,” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and walked around to his left side. “I guess that makes sense...” “Sure does, now tell me if Ah touch someplace that hurts,” she said, reaching up to touch the tip of his left wing. Rumble twitched, involuntarily pulling his wing partially closed, but he winced in pain and stretched it out again. “Sorry,” he said, but Apple Bloom just went to work. She probed the narrow bones, but she restrained herself from playing with the feathers this time. As she neared the base of the wing, Rumble suddenly hissed in pain. Under her hoof, Apple Bloom could feel the slight swelling in his muscles, and they were warm to the touch. She'd learned the hard way that these were symptoms of a sprain when she'd once sprained one of her hind legs. “Well, it looks like you've got a sprained wing,” she said sagely. “That's what Thunder Lane said,” Rumble grumbled, but Apple Bloom wasn't done with her diagnosis. “But Ah wanna run another test, to make sure it ain't something worse. It could be something called a 'hermia', so lay down on your back on my bed.” “A 'hermia'?” Rumble said, not having any idea what she was talking about. “Yeah, Big Mac had a 'hermia' back a few years ago, and Applejack had to try and harvest the whole of Sweet Apple Acres on her own. He said they hurt real bad, and made it so he couldn't work. It was like a bulge in his side, so Ah'm gonna check and make sure there ain't one.” “Uh, I don't think I have anything like that...” Rumble said, backing away. He wasn't sure he liked where this was going. “Hey, who's the doctor here?” “Neither of us!” “Well Ah got the coat and the shiny mirror-thingy, so Ah'm close enough. Now lay down!” With that, Apple Bloom gave Rumble a hearty shove. The colt reared back, barely resisting the instinct to flap his wings to stabilize himself, before tumbling backwards onto Apple Bloom's bed. It was a lot softer than he had anticipated it would be, and didn't hurt his wing at all. Apple Bloom bounced onto the bed beside him, and looked down at the increasingly nervous colt. “Why are ya laying like that?” Apple Bloom asked, gesturing to his crossed hind legs. It certainly didn't look comfortable. “Uh...no reason...” Rumble said, his eyes darting back and forth, looking for an escape. “Well, whatever, let's get started.” Apple Bloom reached out and pressed her hoof into Rumble's ribs and started rubbing. She didn't actually know how to check for a hernia, of course. She didn't even know what it was called, but she figured that if she just rubbed her hoof all over Rumble's ribs and belly, she'd find it if it was there to be found. This innocent plan flustered Rumble a great deal more than the young colt had ever been before, and indeed more than he had ever thought possible. That was, until Apple Bloom spoke up again. “Move your legs, Ah gotta check your belly.” “What?” Rumble shouted, crossing his legs even more. “Ah gotta check for 'hermias' so you gotta move your legs. Ah don't know why you're laying like that anyhow, so get going.” “Umm...uhh...” As articulate as Rumble's objections were, they failed to dissuade the filly with thoughts of a medical cutie mark in her mind. Apple Bloom put both forehooves on the exposed part of Rumble's belly, and felt the colt squirming beneath her. “Are you ticklish or something?” she asked, and Rumble didn't seem to know how to respond. He shook his head no, and then after a moment's thought, nodded yes. “Well what does that mean?” A soft click from the bedroom door caused what little colour he possessed to drain from Rumble's face as both ponies looked to see Big Mac walk into Apple Bloom's room. The big stallion had a pile of freshly laundered blankets balanced on his back. “Hey Bloom, who're you...talking...to...” Big Mac trailed off as his mind tried to process the scene he had just walked in on. Rumble let out a whimper, but the impropriety was lost on Apple Bloom. “Heya Big Mac, me and Rumble are playing doctor!” It was possibly one of the worst things she could have told her brother. “Ah...Ah thought you told me you two weren't doin' nothin'...” Big Mac growled, and Rumble started trying to extract himself from beneath Apple Bloom's hooves. “What? Well, umm, Rumble told me his wings hurt, so Ah was just feelin' 'em up to see what was wrong.” “You were...feelin' up his...Rumble,” Big Mac's tone was cold, barely restrained anger, “Ah think it's time for you to go home.” “Yes of course bye!” Rumble said frantically as he sprang to his hooves. The terrified colt ran for his life, throwing open Apple Bloom's window and taking to the sky. “Hey, why'd you make him go home, Mac?” Apple Bloom said, disappointed and irate at the sudden and rude end to their afternoon. She hadn't even gotten the chance to ask him about Scootaloo, sidetracked as they had been. “What else have you been doin' with that colt?” Big Mac demanded, the fresh blankets discard carelessly on the floor. “What else? Well, we went to Sugarcube Corner the other day...” “No, Bloom, Ah mean...physically.” “Oh, well, not much. Ah kissed him on the cheek once, and we knocked hooves, but it wasn't a big deal, really.” “Knocked h-hooves?” Big Mac stammered, staring at Apple Bloom in abject horror. She really didn't follow what was going on with him at all. “Ya'll are too young to be doin' that! D'you want a little foal to take care of already, sis?” “Foal?” Apple Bloom said, crooking her head to one side, “Wait, Ah can get pregnant by touching a colt's hoof?! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, this is terrible! Ah can't believe this...Ah could have gotten pregnant when Ah gave Snails that hoof bump! Ah don't wanna have Snails' baby! Ah don't wanna have a foal before Ah even have my cutie mark! Why didn't you warn me!” Apple Bloom was quickly becoming hysterical, and Big Mac was starting to realize that there may have been a slight miscommunication. “Apple Bloom, calm down,” Big Mac said, reaching out a hoof to try and comfort her. He didn't expect her to scream and dive under her bed when he did though. “No, stay back! Ah don't wanna risk having my brother's foal! What would Applejack say?!” “Apple Bloom, that ain't gonna happen, you can't get pregnant just by touching some colt's hoof,” Big Mac said, worried that he might have accidentally ruined his sister's understanding of the world. “But you said-” “Ah know, but Ah don't think we were really understanding each other. Come on out and we'll clear this up,” he put on a calm expression as his sister peeked out from under her bed, and soon they were sitting side by side on her bed. “Now, what exactly were you and Rumble doing at Sugarcube corner?” “Well, we were knockin' our hooves together, like this,” Apple Bloom said, reaching out and bumping one of her forehooves against the other, mimicking the gentle gesture she'd shared with Rumble. Big Macintosh let out a relieved sigh, and chuckled to himself. “First of all, Bloom, 'knocking hooves' means something a whole lot different. Ponies call what ya'll did 'holding hooves'. You can't get pregnant from holding hooves.” “Really?” Apple Bloom said, looking skeptically at her brother. “Really. And just now, what were you and Rumble doing?” “Well, he really did hurt his wing the other day, and so Ah thought Ah could get my cutie mark in being a doctor if Ah helped him. Ah checked his wings for sprains, and Ah was checking him for 'hermias' when you walked in and scared him off.” “'Hemias'? You mean 'hernias' Apple Bloom. And Ah'm glad that's all that was,” Big Mac's relief was short lived though. “Why? What'd you think Ah was doing?” Apple Bloom's genuine, innocent curiosity wasn't making the prospect of explaining it to her any easier, but if she was running around checking colts for hernias, she needed to know. “Applejack never told you about the birds and the bees?” he asked, hoping the answer was yes. “No. What's that mean?” Big Mac sighed, and resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to explain it. A lesson from Granny Smith was more likely to confuse the filly than it was to educate her, and his only other option would be to ask Cheerilee, but that didn't seem proper. “Alright Bloom, here goes. Now, you're growing up, and you're getting to a certain age where you're going to start noticing some changes...” “...and that's just about everything, any questions?” It had been a long, exceptionally thorough lecture. Big Macintosh was a farmhand through and through, and didn't buy into many gentle euphemisms. The secrets of mares and stallions had been laid bare before her, and now Apple Bloom's mind was very slowly catching up. “So, he was laying with his legs crossed so that...” “Eeyup.” “And when Ah was touching his wings...” “Eeyup.” “So he probably thought...” “Eeyup.” “Even though I didn't mean...” “Eeyup.” “And you thought... “Eeyup.” “But we didn't! You believe me, right?” “Eeyup.” Big Mac felt bad for his little sister. She had apparently been very innocently sending entirely the wrong message to her little coltfriend. He also felt bad for scaring the poor kid, as the way Apple Bloom told the story, Rumble hadn't wanted any of it from the beginning. “Any more questions, Bloom? Ah think Granny will have dinner ready here soon.” “Just one,” she replied, her eyes staring unfocused off into the distance. “What is it?” Big Mac said, lumbering to his feet. “Am Ah the bird, or the bee?” Dinner had been a quiet affair, Apple Bloom too lost in thought to contribute to any small talk. After dessert had been cleared away, Granny Smith had retired to her room, deciding to make it an early night. She'd called Apple Bloom 'Applejack' again, but the filly was too distracted to bother correcting her grandmother. “This is so embarrassing,” Apple Bloom muttered, glaring daggers at her chuckling brother. “Now, Apple Bloom, it's not so bad. It's also right hilarious,” he said with a beaming grin. The grin did nothing to improve Apple Bloom's mood. She was about to say something to try and wipe the smile off his face when a loud crash from outside caught their attention. A furious series of knocks rattled the front door in its frame, and Big Mac hurried to answer it. When the door was flung open, an enraged stallion who wore a look as dark as his coat was revealed on the front porch. Angry amber eyes glared at Big Mac, and an accusatory hoof thudded against his chest. “How dare you do that to my brother!” Thunder Lane raged. He was barely half the size of Big Macintosh, but what he lacked in size he made up for in ferocity. Apple Bloom was worried that the conversation would devolve into a brawl then and there, and she wasn't entirely sure her brother would win if it did. Big Mac managed to keep his cool in the face of the furious pegasus though, and set about calming him down. “You must be Rumble's brother.” “You've got some friggin' nerve, buddy. My brother's got a sprained wing, and you're scaring him so bad he flies home on it? Why don't you pick on someone your own size?” Thunder Lane seemed to be referring to himself, though he didn't seem to recognize that he was nowhere near Big Mac's size. “Now hold on, Ah'm awful sorry about scaring that little guy, it was a bit of a misunderstanding,” Big Mac said, backing away from the still seething Thunder Lane. “Misunderstanding, huh?” Thunder Lane spat, taking another step to close the distance between them. “Eeyup. Now come sit down with Apple Bloom, and Ah'll tell you all about it.” Thunder Lane huffed, but complied with the request. Seated right across from Apple Bloom, he realized he needed to reign in his anger a bit for the sake of the younger audience, so a few deep breaths brought him back from 'enraged' to 'irate'. Big Mac helped quite a bit by sliding him a mug of cider before joining him at the table. “So, here's what happened. Ah was taking some laundry into Apple Bloom's room...” Thunder Lane was laughing uproariously, and it had nothing to do with the half mug of cider he'd drank. Apple Bloom, however, found herself wishing for a horn so that she could cast an invisibility spell on herself. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, and she wanted nothing more than to fade from existence. If Big Mac had made her feel bad, Thunder Lane was making her feel a hundred times worse. The fact that Big Mac was laughing just as loud and just as long didn't help either. “So...so...so she said,” Thunder Land said, gasping for breath, “She said that...she was feeling up his wings?” Another bout of laughter made Apple Bloom attempt to sink straight through the kitchen table as she held her head in her hooves. “Ee-eeyup,” Big Mac said, through gulps of air, “Then she tried to make it better by...by telling me they were only knocking hooves!” Apple Bloom really didn't think that the situation called for Thunder Lane to fall on the floor and roll with laughter. She couldn't believe that this guy was Rumble's brother. Rumble was so sweet, he'd never laugh at her like this. “Ok, ok, Ah think we're upsetting Apple Bloom,” Big Mac said, snickering as he tried to compose himself. To her surprise, Thunder Lane did start to try and compose himself as well. “Sorry, sweetheart, I'm not trying to rub it in,” he said, flashing her a genuine, sympathetic smile, “I just wasn't expecting anything like that when Rumble told me his fillyfriend's brother chased him out her window.” Big Mac snorted, but didn't break out into laughter again. Apple Bloom was still glowering at the two of them, but recognized that Thunder Lane was a least trying to apologize properly. “Ah guess Ah'd find it funny if it happened to somepony else,” she conceded, though her mouth was still firmly set in a pout. “That's the spirit. So Big Mac, what do you say about lunch tomorrow? You and Rumble can make up. We'll go out to the cafe in town, my treat?” “That's awful nice of you, Thunder Lane, but Ah wouldn't want to impose,” Big Mac replied, but Thunder Lane was having none of it. “Nope, it's the least I can do for showing up like I did. Plus, I think we both have to make it up to Apple Bloom,” he said, winking at Big Mac. “Darn right you do,” Apple Bloom grumbled, stomping out of the kitchen to go sulk in her room. The two stallions managed to contain themselves until they heard her door slam in the hallway above them, but then couldn't help but burst out laughing once more. “Ah can still hear you!” she shouted through the floorboards, triggering another gale of laughter from below. Apple Bloom snatched the pillow off her bed, buried her snout, and screamed away her frustrations. This day hadn't gone at all the way she'd wanted. And she didn't even get her cutie mark. The next morning, it had taken all his patience for Big Mac to get Apple Bloom roused in time to head into town for lunch. The grumpy filly had insisted that she would stay in bed all day, but some time around when Big Mac bodily tossed his sister into the wash tub, Apple Bloom came around to the idea. The cafe that Thunder Lane had suggested wasn't anything fancy, which suited both the farm ponies just fine. Big Mac hadn't suspected a blue-collar weather pony like Thunder Lane would take them anywhere where ponies were expected to wear clothes or anything, but he was relieved to see some of his fellow Ponyville farmers seated at a few of the tables already. The two pegasus brothers were seated at a table on the patio, and Thunder Lane gave them a lazy wave when he spotted Big Mac. “Hey,” he called, gesturing for Apple Bloom to seat herself beside Rumble. With a sour look, she agreed. She still hadn't forgiven Thunder Lane for his mocking laughter, but she had bigger concerns at the moment. She couldn't bring herself to look at Rumble. The way she'd acted yesterday, cast in the light of Big Mac's lecture, was absolutely mortifying. She'd tried to sequester herself in her room, to hide away from the world to give the shame a chance to fade away, but Big Mac had been adamant that if she hadn't walked there herself, he would have carried her there like a foal. Had she been able to look up at Rumble, she would have seen a similar look on his face as well. “Well, look at the love-birds,” Thunder Lane cooed, earning twin glares from the younger ponies. Big Mac chucked along with the other stallion, greatly enjoying Apple Bloom's distress after the shock she'd given him. “You promised you wouldn't embarrass me,” Rumble hissed at his brother. “Big Brother prerogative,” Thunder Lane said with a dismissive wave of the hoof, “Right Big Mac?” “Eeyup.” The little couple was granted a reprieve when the waiter came by to take their orders. Distracted from the teasing, Thunder Lane and Big Mac were soon talking shop, trading stories about their work on the weather or the farm respectively. It was rather enlightening for both of them, neither having given much thought about the hard work the other actually did every day. Wrapped up in their own conversation, they left Apple Bloom and Rumble alone. “Rumble, Ah...Ah'm sorry about yesterday. Ah didn't know Ah would be making you so uncomfortable,” Apple Bloom whispered, still not quite able to look at him. “It's okay Apple Bloom. I mean, it's not like you hurt me. Well, except when you were touching my sprained wing, but even that wasn't so bad. It was just really, really weird.” “Ah know. Big Mac explained it to me. Which, by the way, was awful.” “Heh, Thunder Lane had to tell me about that stuff last year when I walked in on him and Blossomforth. I also got a lesson on the importance of knocking.” “Maybe Thunder Lane should give Big Mac that lesson.” The two young ponies looked up into each others eyes, and erupted in a fit of giggles, drawing attention to themselves once more. “So, Rumble, Ah'm sorry Ah scared you like that,” Big Mac said, giving the colt a friendly smile which was gratefully returned. “It's okay Big Mac, I bet it did look really weird when you walked in. Actually, I know it did, remember Thunder Lane?” Rumble's sly grin quickly faded when Thunder Lane met him in kind. “If you and Apple Bloom were doing what me and Blossomforth were doing, Big Mac would be well within his rights to throttle you. Is that what you were saying Rumble?” The colt quickly shook his head, staring wide-eyed at Big Mac as though the stallion was about to leap over the table and make good on Thunder Lane's threat. Big Mac just laughed though. “Ah don't get how you and Thunder Lane can be brothers,” Apple Bloom said, “Your brother's such a jerk.” Thunder Lane put on a pained expression and wiped away crocodile tears. “He's not that bad,” Rumble said, “He is pretty bad though.” “Ouch, Rumble, I'm hurt,” Thunder Lane said, drooping his ears dramatically. “That was the plan,” Rumble said, sticking his tongue out and earning a laugh from his brother. Apple Bloom wasn't laughing though. She knew the two were just joking around, but she hadn't actually heard Rumble say anything mean before. It wasn't much, but it was enough to let a single nagging doubt wiggle into her mind. Maybe Scootaloo was right. “Something wrong, Bloom?” Big Mac asked, and Apple Bloom just shook her head. Rumble and Thunder Lane's bickering was brought to an end when the food arrived, and the rest of the meal passed with nothing more than small talk, the four ponies getting to know one another. “Alright, it's been great guys, but I've gotta go get some sleep. I work tonight,” Thunder Lane said, stacking a pile of bits on the table to pay for lunch. “Eeyup, Ah gotta get back to the farm. You kids play nice, ya hear?” “But not too nice,” Thunder Lane said, hovering over the two young ponies and mussing up both of their manes. “Thunder Lane!” They cried out in unison, each frantically trying to set their mane to rights. Thunder Lane's raucous laughter was all the response they were going to get as he darted off through the sky. Big Mac gave them a wave, and started back to Sweet Apple Acres. Left with only each other for company, the pair started to slowly make their way towards the park. “Hey Rumble, Ah need to talk to you about something.” “What is it Apple Bloom?” Rumble looked at her, concern lining his face. It was just like yesterday. One look at him, and Apple Bloom could hardly bring herself to risk the tranquility that they shared by bringing up Scootaloo's accusations. This time though, she knew that she had no other choice. Come Monday, she'd have to face Scootaloo one way or another, and she didn't want to do that not knowing Rumble's side of the story. “Are you a bully?” Apple Bloom asked, hanging her head. She'd finally asked, and now everything was ruined. “What? A bully? No! Why would you ask that?” She was right, he was going to be mad at her, and they'd never be able to hang out again. “Well, Scootaloo said that you used to make fun of her a lot, and that's why she doesn't like you. Ah didn't believe it, but she was really upset, and after Ah saw you teasing your brother, Ah started to wonder...” “Wait, Scootaloo told you that I bullied her? If anything, it was the other way around. I can't believe she's been telling other ponies that I'm the bully!” “Hold on. Scootaloo being a bully? Now Ah don't believe...that...oh.” The memory of how the Cutie Mark Crusaders had responded to Babs' bad attitude took the fight out of her argument before she'd even finished making it. All three of them had resorted to bullying to get back at a bully once. Was it so hard to believe that Scootaloo had bullied other ponies before? “Come on, Apple Bloom. Let's go to Sugarcube Corner and I'll tell you what really happened.” Relieved that Rumble hadn't stormed away for her even suggesting it, Apple Bloom immediately nodded her agreement, and the two young ponies made their way through town. As they marched off in silence, heavy thoughts weighing down on their minds, Apple Bloom was growing suspicious that finding out the truth of what happened between the two pegasi would be harder than she had originally thought. Their arrival are Sugarcube Corner found it nearly deserted. Except for Pound and Pumpkin scampering around in a game of tag, and a very bored looking Mr. Cake, the storefront was empty. Without Pinkie Pie, the lively atmosphere had bled away and left a plain old bakery in its place. After ordering a simple platter of cookies, Apple Bloom and Rumble seated themselves in the far corner of the store, away from the prying eyes of anyone who would come in after them. “So, what really happened?” Apple Bloom asked, ignoring the still-warm chocolate chip cookies sitting on the table in front of her. The cookies were left to cool undisturbed as Rumble started his story. “Well, a couple years back, back before you guys were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, I ran into Scootaloo in the park. Well, she ran into me. Featherweight and I were talking, and he was telling a joke. Scootaloo whizzed by on her scooter, but we didn't really pay any attention. Anyway, Featherweight's joke was really funny, I guess, though I can't remember what it was. All I remember was that it made me laugh a whole lot. Suddenly, Scootaloo pushed me, and just started shouting at me. She was calling me names, so I got really mad. She started making fun of me for crashing while I was trying to learn how to fly, so I told her to buzz off and we left,” Rumble said, reaching a hoof across the table to set it on top of Apple Bloom's. “You...believe me, right?” The look on his face made her want to say she believed him right away, but the memory of Scootaloo's hurt expression made her pause and think it through. If Scootaloo thought he was a bully, was that really all that happened? ”Ah don't know Rumble, what's happened since then?” “Not much. Every now and then we'd bump into each other, and she'd glare at me, but we never really talked or anything. Unless she was calling me names or something.” Apple Bloom wasn't really sure what to think about what he'd told her. It sounded like something Scootaloo would do, but it didn't make any sense. It definitely didn't explain why Scootaloo was so mad. “There's something somepony isn't telling me. Why'd Scoots push you?” “I don't know, she never really said, she just called me a jerk and a show-off,” Rumble said, thinking it over himself. That part sounded exactly like something Scootaloo would say. But, why'd she say it? While the two ponies were lost in thought, picking apart Rumble's memories, the bell over the door chimed. They didn't bother to look up until they heard Sweetie Belle's voice. “Come on, we'll get something to cheer you up. It'll be okay, you'll see,” Sweetie said to the downcast filly at her side. Scootaloo just kept staring at the floor and gave only a non-committal shrug in reply. “Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom said, catching her friend's attention. Apple Bloom could see that Scootaloo was still very upset about their argument the other day, and probably didn't want to talk to her at all yet, but now was the best time Apple Bloom could think of to clear up what had happened between her and Rumble. Scootaloo's head shot up, and the faintest hopeful smile blossomed on her face, only to wither into a furious scowl when she spotted Rumble. “You,” she seethed, ignoring Apple Bloom and stomping up to their table, her gaze locked on Rumble, “How dare you steal my friend away from me?” “Steal her? I didn't steal anyone! And she doesn't belong to you!” Rumble shot back, jumping to his hooves. He returned Scootaloo's gaze with equal ferocity, which only seemed to make Scootaloo madder. “She was my friend before she even knew who you were. Then you turn her against me? It wasn't bad enough that you picked on me, now you can't even stand to let me have friends?” Her voice had steadily grown in volume to an angry bellow. Across the shop floor, Pound Cake started to cry, confused and frightened by the angry ponies. Mr. Cake rushed to his son's side to comfort him, while Mrs. Cake emerged from the kitchen to try and understand what was going on. “Me? Pick on you? You're the one who's always picking on me! You call me names and make fun of me all the time!” Rumble roared back. “Guys, can we just-” Apple Bloom started, but was promptly ignored. “Only because you're always making fun of me and laughing at me with your buddies!” Scootaloo shouted, bringing herself nose to nose with Rumble. Both pegasi had their wings flared aggressively, and stared unblinking into the other's eyes. “I do not!” Rumble shouted back, not giving an inch. “Do too!” “Do not!” “Do too!” “Enough!” The furious shout sent both little ponies scampering away from its source, a rather irate looking Mrs. Cake. Pumpkin had joined her brother in their father's comforting embrace, and stared wide-eyed as their mother glared down at the pair of ponies in the corner. “You are not allowed to come into my bakery – into my home – and scare my children with your shouting. If you two cannot speak to each other in a reasonable manner, you may not speak to each other in Sugar Cube Corner at all! Do I make myself clear?” Cowed by that most powerful and intimidating of forces, the displeasure of an angry mother, Rumble and Scootaloo nodded meekly. Even though she was not the focus of Mrs. Cake's wrath, Apple Bloom felt the urge to flee, keenly similar to the feeling that she'd felt when faced with a marauding cockatrice. “Good. Now, unless you want to leave right this instant, you'd best keep your voices down.” One last stern glare, and Mrs. Cake hurried off to help comfort her rather shaken children. “So...uh...yeah,”Sweetie Belle said, trying to gain control of the situation, “I guess you two should just calm down, have a cookie, and we can have a nice quiet talk?” “Hmpf. I guess,” Scootaloo said, quickly rushing to Apple Bloom's side. Apple Bloom thought she was shuffling uncomfortably close to her, especially since they hadn't quite made up for their fight the other day. Rumble seemed particularly irritated by it as he sat down across the table from Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle settled in beside him at a respectful distance. “Uh...Scoots?” Apple Bloom said, trying to put some personal space between them. Scootaloo was too busy sticking her tongue out at Rumble to notice. “Ok, now what's got into you guys?” Sweetie Belle asked. She held up a hoof when they both started to reply at once, and motioned for Scootaloo to go first. Apple Bloom could see that Rumble was annoyed by it, but there was nothing to do about that now. Apple Bloom had been wracking her mind for days trying to figure out what had upset Scootaloo so much, and it was finally time to hear it. Without thinking, Apple Bloom snatched up one of the cookies from the plate, and nibbled thoughtfully as Scootaloo began her story.