Rumble moaned as he attempted to brush the soot from his coat, but the stubborn ash refused to come off so easily. Snips fished a towel from his cart and soaked it in warm water. Handing the towel to his friend, he asked, "So what was that explosion anyway?"
Rumble fidgeted anxiously, and if he wasn't completely covered in soot, Snips would have sworn he was blushing. "That was the cloud warehouse by the weather station."
Snips tilted his head and frowned as Rumble toweled the ash from his hooves, revealing his light grey coat underneath. "We have a cloud warehouse?"
As a unicorn, Snips had never been interested in the intricacies of keeping the town's weather stable and on schedule. All he knew was that there was a weather station just outside of town maintained exclusively by pegasi. He would be lying if he said he knew any more than that.
Rumble sighed, "Had. We had a cloud warehouse."
"What did you do?!"
"I know that you're gonna think this was the stupidest thing I've ever done. Heck, I'd even agree with you. Still, this is how it went down..."
~`~`~Rumble's Apartment~`~`~
Rumble woke up that morning as he had every other morning, to the smell of something burning in the kitchen. For the last few years, the smoke alarm had served as his alarm clock. Would it kill Thunderlane to burn a perfectly good meal at a more reasonable hour? he thought to himself, jamming his pillow on top of his head to block out the persistent alarm.
Giving up hope of any more sleep, Rumble kicked off the covers and stretched his legs and wings. He finished by popping his neck with a satisfying crack. That's the good stuff.
Following a much rehearsed routine, Rumble opened a window before opening the door leading into the main room. A cloud of smoke billowed through the doorway, but Rumble easily beat it away with a few lazy flaps of his wings before trotting into the living room.
Rumble picked up a screwdriver in his mouth and hovered up to the wailing alarm. With a deft flick of his head, he popped out the battery and the apartment was quiet again. The kitchen area was consumed in a cloud of thick white smoke that Rumble knew contained Thunderlane trying his hoof at another bad meal.
Thunderlane emerged from the smoke balancing two plates of blackened hash browns on his wings. Rumble sat at the table and slammed his head on top of it. Why won't he give it up already?
Thunderlane slid into the chair opposite his brother and placed the slightly less burnt plate to his brother's side. "Morning, bro? Sleep well?"
Without lifting his head, Rumble mumbled into the table, "Mbbphhbbhhh hrrrpppnnnmd drrpphm"
Somehow his brother understood his complaint and he grinned mischievously, "Is it wrong for me to want to feed my little brother before I go to work?"
Rumble raised his head to glare at his brother, "Dude, it's dawn! Just because you have to be at work early doesn't mean you have to drag me into it. Heck, you could even cook when you get back from work and it'd still be normal."
Thunderlane only widened his grin. "But the neighbors already pitched in to sound proof the apartment, and it would be rude to not give them their money's worth."
Rumble grumbled and dug into the hash browns. Considering Thunderlane's lack of culinary skills, it wasn't nearly as bad as some of his other concoctions.
Suddenly, the door slammed open and two pegasi stormed into the room. Rumble had seen enough cop movies to know how to handle a SWAT team. He dove from his chair and placed his back to their worn couch. He held a hoof to his lips to silence his brother, who continued eating as if nothing was amiss. In the space of a single second, Rumble had devised a plan.
Alright, my bedroom door is open. I'll barrel roll across the floor and head straight in. That will give them only a limited entry point and it gives me time to look for something to defend myself with. Let's do this...
"LEEEEEEEEERRRRROOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYY HOOF- Oof!"
He didn't get to finish the line as two pegasi slammed into him and gripped him in a tight hug, making him a Rumble sandwich. The chorused in unison, "Hi, Rumbly!"
In defeat, Rumble humphed, "Hello, Cloudchaser. Good morning, Flitter."
Thunderlane and Cloudchaser had been dating since before Rumble even got his cutie mark. Flitter was just so shy and self-conscious that she felt most comfortable by her twin sister's side. Over the years they had been like older sisters to him.
They released him and moved to the table. Cloudchaser gave Thunderlane a quick peck on the cheek and pulled his hash browns toward her while he was distracted. As she dug in, Flitter just sat with a quiet smile on her face.
Thunderlane glared at his marefriend and grumbled, "Not cool, CC. Not cool."
She just laughed and gave him a deep loving kiss. Flitter and Rumble both blushed at the public display of affection. Cloudchaser whispered sensually, "That about cover it?" Thunderlane just stared dreamily at the mare.
Oh yeah. Big bro is definitely whipped!
Cloudchaser turned to Rumble. "So what's on the agenda today?"
"I'm just going to stop by the post office and see if they have any packages to deliver. Other than that, I really don't have any plans."
Thunderlane nudged her and said, "Hey, we're going on a picnic after work. You wanna go with Flitter so it could be a double date?"
Rumble didn't notice Flitter blush beet red and find an immediate and intense interest with the floor tiles. He rolled his eyes and responded, "Seriously, Thunderlane? That would feel like going out with my older sister. No way."
Cloudchaser interjected, "Come on, squirt! Where are you going to find another hot mare like Flitter?"
Flitter began to sink deeper into her chair, as if she was hoping to fall straight through the floor. Obliviously, Rumble countered, "I'm not saying she's ugly, CC. I'm just saying it would feel weird."
Cloudchaser smirked, "Smart words, Rumble. I'd have to deck you if you said my twin sister was-"
"Stop it, "Flitter squeaked from under the table, "Stop talking about me like I'm not here. I can speak for myself, you know."
Faster than anypony would have expected, she leaped out of the open window and flew off into the morning sky.The three remaining pegasi just shrugged in confusion. Cloudchaser flew off after her sister and Thunderlane went into the bathroom to brush his teeth before flying off to work.
As soon as Thunderlane was clear from view, Rumble slid the rest of the burn hash browns into the trash and poured himself a bowl of cereal. It wasn't much, but at least it was edible. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out how Cloudchaser could stomach his horrible cooking. Flitter at least had the grace to decline unless Thunderlane insisted.
Thinking about Flitter made a knot of guilt twist in Rumble's stomach. I guess that was a little harsh, but I was just being honest. I'll find some way to make it up to her.
Finishing his breakfast, Rumble washed the dishes and prepared for work. Closing the window securely behind him, Rumble launched into the sky and flew to Ponyville Post Office.
He had started working there after Derpy Hooves almost dropped an anvil on him. She was a really nice mare, but she wasn't the best flier. Rumble helped her deliver the package and the postmaster offered him a job on the spot. He mostly just delivered packages within town, but sometimes he helped out with mail sorting and delivery if one of the carriers got sick. It wasn't very exciting work, but it paid the bills.
Rumble landed outside the square building and walked in. The walls were painted a uniform beige and a tired looking unicorn stood behind the counter.
"When you gonna get a real job, Rumble?"
Rumble rolled his eyes at the familiar joke. "Love you too, Cashon."
Cashon Delivery had been engaged in the delivery business for his entire adult life. He had dabbled in packages, newspapers, pizzas, and whatever else could possibly be involved in transport. Sadly, his business failed hard and he had to resort to working for the post office. He constantly lost sleep over his failure and lived for the day that he could try again. In truth, he really liked Rumble and only wanted him to have some ambition other than to scrape by.
Rumble walked through the 'Employees Only' door and greeted the rest of his work crew. Most of them were busy sorting the day's mail and only spared him a quick smile and a hello. On the other hand, his favorite mailmare walked over and gave him a warm hug. Derpy really was a sweet mare, and she treated him like an aunt would treat her favorite nephew.
As soon as she let go, she sniffed briefly at his hair. A stern look crossed her face. "You didn't set anything on fire, did you?"
Rumble rolled his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. He replied, "No, ma'am. Once again Thunderlane tried to smoke me out of my room this morning by destroying an otherwise edible meal."
Derpy shook her head in disbelief. "I swear that stallion is trying to burn the place down."
Together they arrived at the package station where his deliveries were lined up. Today he only had one package, but the sheer size of it was a terror to behold. It was a large square package that was twice as big as he was. Rumble flapped his wings and hovered just above the massive package. He gripped the support ropes in his teeth and pulled with all his might. He barely managed to lift it off the ground. Slowly he managed to inch the giant package toward the massive set of doors in the back that managed deliveries.
Derpy called out, "Good luck, Rumble! It's going to Carousel Boutique!"
Rumble grunted his acknowledgment, then groaned as he realized in horror that Carousel Boutique was all the way across town! His eyes were popping from the strain of the massive package and he had barely even made it out the door! How in Equestria was he going to make it all the way across town?
He persevered as best he could manage, but the minutes stretched into an eternity. His body was drenched in sweat and his muscles screamed in protest.
And then, as if descending from the heavens, an orange pegasus punched through the cloud cover. The sunlight beamed down on her, radiantly caressing every perfect curve and hair. He felt like he was looking at an angel. Against all odds, she raced toward him in a streak of purple and stopped just beside him.
"Need some help, Rumble?" Scootaloo asked.
Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed onto one of the ropes and started flying backward. Rumble gulped as he stood nose to nose with her. Somehow it fortified him and they made it to Carousel Boutique with no problem.
Both ponies panted on top of the package as Rarity answered the door. Gazing at the imposing package, she asked, "Rumble, what is this? I didn't order anything."
After Rumble had recovered his breath, he sputtered, "Delivery. Read... the tag... can't... move."
Rarity glanced at the package and said, "Well that most certainly is unusual. There doesn't seem to be a return address."
Rumble and Scootaloo finally recovered from their strenuous journey and jumped off the package. Rarity continued to inspect the plain brown wrapping before using her magic to pull the knotted rope at the top. The wrapping gave way to reveal a massive cardboard box. The box then proceeded to fall away, revealing a giant boulder wearing a top hat and a monocle.
Scootaloo and Rumble just stared dumbly at the rock while Rarity gaped in a most unladylike manner. They all turned their heads when they heard giggling from a nearby tree. Rarity's eyes flashed with barely controlled rage as she lit her horn. Pinkie Pie drifted out of the tree engulfed in Rarity's magic aura. She continued to laugh as Rarity reprimanded her, "What is the meaning of this?"
Pinkie giggled, "Tom wanted to visit." Then she took off running.
Rarity furiously pursued her, shouting something that sounded like, "We agreed to never speak of that again!"
Rumble and Scootaloo blinked in confusion. Rumble said, "I have no idea what just happened."
Scootaloo replied, "Ditto," and they both started laughing raucously.
Rumble asked, "You want to grab some shakes at Sugarcube Corner?"
Scootaloo winked. "Your treat, right?"
"You know it!"
The walked off toward the bakery, leaving Tom behind.
~`~`~The Barbershop~`~`~
Rumble had just managed to towel off the last of the soot from his coat, but patches of it were singed and black. His mane and tail had suffered just as badly.
"Do you want me to trim those burnt hairs?" Snips asked.
"Might as well, since I'm here," Rumble replied.
Snips let him stay on the bench to trim the patches from his coat first. Then he'll move him over to the chair to take care of his mane and tail.
Snipping delicately with his scissors, Snips asked, "So what's the deal with you and Scootaloo? I know you two go way back. You were almost as close to her as the other Crusaders."
"We are close. When she was having trouble learning to fly, I was the only pegasus who she could talk to. In a way, that made me feel special. As much as her friends loved her and wanted to help, they just couldn't understand the pain and the frustration of being a pegasus who couldn't fly. It was especially hard on her because she wanted to impress Rainbow Dash so much. She didn't want to tell her just how much she was hurting."
"That's really nice of you, dude." Snips remembered that time years ago. He was also ashamed that he was one of the ones who made fun of her. Sometimes he forgot just how much had changed over the years.
"Anyway," Rumble continued, "next we stopped by Sugarcube Corner..."
~`~`~Sugarcube Corner~`~`~
Mrs. Cake greeted Rumble and Scootaloo as they walked through the door. She quickly made their milkshakes and Rumble paid for them. They chose a booth near the window and eased their aching muscles into their seats. Rumble stared at her for a while, but he couldn't think of a single thing to say. Scootaloo didn't seem to notice because she was staring out the window at the pegasi clearing the clouds left over from yesterday's storm. He was content just to stare at her and marvel at her toned athletic body and her dynamite legs. Even the way she blew stray hairs out of her face entranced him.
Down, boy!he mentally chastised himself. A wing boner right now would be too embarrassing.
He cleared his throat to draw her attention, then asked, "So... What've you been up to, Scootaloo? It's been a while."
She smiled back at him and replied, "Eh, nothing much. Just getting some flying practice in. With any luck I can apply for Wonderbolt Academy next year. I'll be even younger than Rainbow Dash was when she got in. She'll be so proud."
There was a spark in her eye every time she talked about Rainbow Dash. It was determination mixed with something else. Hunger, maybe. As if nothing would satisfy her until she had surpassed her mentor and adopted big sister.
"That's really cool, Scoot. Thanks for bailing me out, by the way. I probably would still be wrestling with that boulder if you hadn't come along."
She waved a hoof nonchalantly, "Don't sweat it. Seriously, it wasn't a big deal."
A moment of awkward silence fell over them as they drank their shakes. Rumble finally asked, "You want to hang out today? I finished my deliveries, so I have the rest of the day off."
Scootaloo continued to suck on her straw and think about his question. Finally, with a wicked glint in her eye, she said, "Sure, why not. If you think you can keep up with me."
Rumble was about to reply, but she launched herself out of the booth and out the door. Gaping in shock, Rumble scrambled to follow her. He bolted out of the door and launched himself into the clear sky. Spinning in a tight spiral, he scanned the sky looking for her. In the distance he heard, "Hey, slowpoke, you're never going to keep up like that!"
He followed the voice and saw Scootaloo perched lazily on top of city hall. With an equally lazy wave she slid off the roof and fell a short distance before flaring her wings and taking to the sky. Rumble was going to have to pull out all the stops if he was going to keep up with her.
Rumble made a beeline straight for the mare as she looped and swirled gracefully through the air. When he finally caught up she gave him a taunting wink and teased, "Gonna have to do better than that."
She took off into a steep dive, and Rumble tried to follow as closely as he could. Soon they were neck and neck, hurtling straight for the ground. Scootaloo grinned like a maniac as the adrenaline rush filled the young daredevil with euphoria. Their dive was a dangerous game of chicken, and she had gone by that moniker for far too long.
Rumble broke out of the dive first and started gliding in a wide circle, but Scootaloo kept diving. Rumble watched in horror, fearing that she would collide with the ground. A large puff of dust obscured his vision.
"Come and catch me, Rumble!"
Rumble watched her fly out of the dust cloud and straight into the endless orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. He though to himself, this mare is trying to give me a heart attack, but he grit his teeth and followed her regardless.
He zoomed across the fields loaded with apple trees, but there was no sight of the orange pegasus. He looked down rows and rows of trees; all to no avail.
Suddenly, he was struck on the head by something solid. The blow jarred his concentration and he bit the dust... hard. With a groan, he lifted himself out of the small furrow that he had plowed into the soft earth. He turned his head to see Scootaloo nestled in the branches of an apple tree, laughing as she bit into a shiny red apple. Then he noticed another apple rolling around on the ground where he was hit. She threw it at me! What in Tartarus was that for?
"What's the big idea, Scoot?"
"Come on you wimp. We've just got one more place to go, and I'll even go slow for you this time."
She jumped from the branches and hovered over the orchard. Rumble considered staying down and giving up, but he wasn't too thrilled about her 'wimp' comment. She beckoned him with a flick of her mane and a quick swish of her tail, drawing his attention to her delicious hindquarters.
Ok, THAT'S not even fair!
He beat his wings and took off into the air after her. True to her word, she allowed him to follow this time. Not close enough to make conversation, but at least enough for him to keep visual contact. Yeah, like my attention could be anywhere else, he thought sarcastically.
After a short flight, Scootaloo landed in front of the weather building. It was mid afternoon and the weather team was long gone. Rumble landed behind her and asked, "Why are we at the weather station?"
"Duh, to grab some clouds."
"They store clouds here?"
"Isn't your brother a weather pony?"
"Yeah, but I'm not. I never had any reason to come here."
Scootaloo rolled her eyes and explained, "We get the clouds from Cloudsdale every month and store them in the cloud warehouse." She pointed to an enormous warehouse standing just beyond the main building.
They walked to the door of the warehouse and were surprised to find it locked.
"What now, O fearless leader?"
"Why don't you tell me? Since you're the one coming up with all the great ideas today."
Nope. Not happening. She did NOT just try to out sarcasm me!
Without waiting for a reply, she kicked at a ventilation grate and watched as it fell open. Squeezing herself into the tight space, presenting her flank for his observation, she called back, "You coming, or what?"
And once again he found himself trailing behind her as they made their way through the cramped ventilation system. I really need to learn how she does that. One flick of her tail and I'm her loyal puppy? Witchcraft!
A muffled thud and a grunt echoed through the vent as Scootaloo pulled herself through the open end of the vent. Florescent light flooded the cramped metal passage as she finally managed to slip through. Rumble followed, landing on the floor with a soft "umph." Strangely, the floor was much softer than he thought it would be.
"Somepony's a little frisky."
Rumble's face turned crimson as he saw Scootaloo underneath him. She flipped onto her back and stared at him with half-lidded eyes and a cocky smirk. "See anything you like, stud?"
Rumble backed away as quickly as he could, apologizing furiously with every step. Scootaloo just laughed and sat up. She trotted to the stallion and said, "I'm just teasing you, Rumble. Don't get so worked up. Besides, you're like a brother to me anyway."
That last sentence hit him like a brick. His face lost all expression and he stood stock still. Irritated by his stunned mind, Scootaloo started forward without him. He moved to follow, but his hoofsteps were mechanical and without purpose.
He started to regain his thoughts when she paused in front of an enormous sliding metal door. The entire building was partitioned off into individual compartments that each held a different type of cloud. Each compartment was marked with a different colored shape.They had passed doors with a red circle, a pink triangle, a green rhombus, and a purple square, but now she stood in front of a door marked with a giant black X.
A sense of foreboding gripped him as he helped Scootaloo pry open the door. He glanced inside and saw a whirling mass of black clouds constantly sparking with lightning.These were the most volatile clouds that Cloudsdale could produce. Rumble remembered Thunderlane saying that they could only be used in the event that the weather went off schedule and a massive storm was required to get it back on track. This was the Magna Cumulonimbus. The Great Storm Cloud.
"Scootaloo, what could you possibly be doing with that?"
She grinned wickedly, "It's for a new trick that I've been working on. Check this out." She was about to pounce into the raging storm cloud, but Rumble quickly bit her tail to stop her.
Barely discernible through her purple tail, he said, "You can't just jump into that. It's very dangerous."
The young daredevil took that as a personal challenge. She bucked him just hard enough to make him lose his grip, then launched herself into the cloud exclaiming, "just watch me!"
Rumble watched as the swirling clouds continued to angrily spark and rumble. He was terrified that Scootaloo was inside, hurt and unable to call for help. He was just about to leap in after his friend when something amazing happened. The clouds were starting to thin out. He tried to peer further inside of the enormous room. Slowly, but surely, the clouds cleared to reveal a spiraling tornado made entirely out of the dark clouds spinning in the middle of the room.
It was incredible. She had managed to draw them in and compact the clouds so tightly that they condensed into a solid black tornado, but the show wasn't over yet. Somehow, she managed to make the center of the tornado bulge out, drawing the top and bottom to fold into the center of the storm. It rolled itself into a dense black ball.
Something's wrong, Rumble thought, Those clouds were positively supercharged with lightening. Why isn't there any now?
His words proved to be prophetic.
BZZZT
Rumble watched as a single spark lit the top of the swirling ball. Time seemed to freeze for a moment as his brain tried to process the horrific outcome of this experiment. Then time chose to rapidly accelerate to compensate for the brief temporal lapse.
BOOM!!!
The black clouds exploded into a mushroom cloud crackling with lightning. In a matter of seconds it consumed him and the rest of the building. The supercharged clouds singed his body and filled it with more electricity than he thought it could handle. He was launched from the building and sent soaring through the air. He wasn't sure how far he flew. His consciousness was fleeting at best. The last thing he remembered was a meaty thud. Dazed as he was, Rumble noted that he was still alive, so he crawled to the nearest building that he could find and staggered inside.
~`~`~The Barbershop~`~`~
"...and that's what happened."
Snips stood aghast as he processed the information that Rumble had just given him. It wasn't the weirdest story that he had heard all day, but he definitely took the gold medal for suckiest ending. As much as he hated to admit it, at least Flim, Flam, and Lucky came out of their experiences none the worse, but Rumble was BLASTED clear across town!
Cleaning off the last of the burnt hair, Snips cast his spell to clean up the hair and burnt feathers. He was about to say something, but the door slammed forcefully open. Thunderlane stood in the doorway, his eyes wildly scanning the establishment. His gaze immediately focused on Rumble and he called back out the door, "He's in here, guys!"
Thunderlane trotted over to Rumble and thumped him soundly on the head.
"What was that for?" Rumble shouted indignantly.
"For making me worry, punk!" Thunderlane replied angrily.
Cloudchaser and Flitter landed outside. Flitter almost ripped the door off of its hinges as she rocketed through and gripped Rumble in a bone-crushing hug. Rumble struggled to free himself, but Flitter refused to loosen her grip. "Flitter! I'm fine, alright! Just let me breath."
Cloudchaser trotted in and glared at Rumble. She shouted, "You better have a damn good apology ready for us! We went to investigate the explosion and found Scootaloo lying in the center of a crater. She told us you were caught up in the blast, and she had no idea where you went. We were searching for two hours! Flitter cried the whole time, worried that you would be hurt or worse!"
Rumble glanced down at the mare with a death grip around his chest. Tears streamed down her eyes and her hair was rumpled and windblown. Her tears were much more than just concern for a sibling. Much, much more.
I'm such an idiot.
He returned the hug and held her close. She sobbed gently into his chest. He gently rubbed her back, reassuring her that he was alright and that everything was going to be fine. He looked to his brother. "How's Scootaloo?"
Thunderlane replied gruffly, "Not a scratch on her. All the built up pressure and electrical charge exploded outward. Since she was in the center, she wasn't affected by it at all."
He nodded his thanks, then returned his attention to the mare still sobbing into his chest. He gently whispered, "I'm okay, Flitter. Would you please let me up?" She shook her head and gripped him even tighter.
"Please, Flitter. I have something really important to tell you."
She finally relented. She fell limply to the floor and it was all Rumble could do to catch her before she hit. He and Thunderlane carried her over to one of the benches and laid her down on it. She curled herself into a ball and continued to cry.
Rumble beckoned his brother and Cloudchaser away from her. He pleaded, "Could you two give us a couple of minutes alone. I really need to talk to her in private."
Cloudchaser was about to protest, but Thunderlane silenced her with a quick shake of his head. She glared at him and was about to speak up anyway, but Thunderlane wrapped a wing around her and ushered her out the door. Rumble imagined that they were going to have a really big argument over this one.
Not as whipped as I thought you were. I owe you one, bro.
He trotted back to Flitter and sat next to her. He gently stroked her mane and thought carefully about what he was about to say. Scootaloo's words danced in his head, making him cringe. He remembered exactly how it felt to hear her say she couldn't love him as anything more than a brother... and he had been saying the same thing to Flitter for years.
Snips did his best to inconspicuously fade into the background, but he found himself riveted to Rumble's heartfelt words.
"Flitter, I... I'm sorry."
Flitter raised her head and replied, "It's okay, R-Rumble. As long as you're alive I'm-"
"That's not what I meant."
She sniffed tearfully, "Then what?"
Rumble took in a deep breath and released it slowly. Time to bare my soul.
"For this morning... and for all the mornings like it. You've been there for me all this time, but I've only ever seen you as my big sister. I never realized that you felt the way you do about me... until now."
Flitter sat up and stared soulfully at Rumble. Hope filled her eyes. Like her it was delicate, fragile. Yet it was bright and warm like a fire on a winter's day. He wanted to stare into those eyes and see that spark rekindled again and again, growing into something that would one day be the steadily glowing embers of real love.
"How about we go to that picnic... together?"
He held his breath as he watched her. Flitter giggled then said, "Rumble, I... I can't."
His heart dropped like a stone. His whole body ran cold, and his legs turned to jelly.
"We went on the picnic for lunch," she explained. She leaned her head against his neck and he wrapped a wing around her body. "But a movie would be nice."
Rumble smiled. "Let's go see if our siblings want to make it a double."
Rising from the bench, they walked side by side through the door with Rumble's wing still draped over her. The door closed behind them and Snips let out an exhausted sigh. Looks like everypony is finding their special somepony. What's my damage? He looked up as the door opened once again. Rumble called out to his companions, "Just wait for a bit, I forgot to pay Snips for the trim."
He walked back into the shop with a serious expression. He said, "Snips, you're a real good friend. Thanks for everything you did."
Snips just waved it off nonchalantly, "No big deal. Anypony would have done the same."
Rumble shook his head, "Dude, you did more than you think. You brought me in, cleaned me up, and helped me realize what I really needed."
"I didn't-"
"Yes, you did! You listened. More importantly, you gave me a chance to tell my story. If you couldn't tell, I was kinda crushing on Scootaloo pretty hard. I didn't fully realize it until I started talking to you, but it turns out she was not what I needed. Sure she's gorgeous, but she's headstrong and too focused on her goals to spend any time on a relationship. Turns out I really wanted a pony who could love me and that I could love back. I wanted a best friend.
"I thought that could be Scootaloo, considering our friendship when we were kids. Now I see that it's Flitter. It was always Flitter. I owe you one- no, I owe you a million, but I won't forget this."
Rumble slapped a bag of bits onto the cart and extended his hoof. Snips immediately reciprocated the brohoof. They had reached an understanding, and an invisible bond had grown between them. As Rumble walked out, Snips called, "Name your firstborn after me and we'll be square!"
"Bite me."
"Sounds like an invitation." Rumble laughed as he shut the door behind him.
The sun was about to set on their small town, and it was time for Snips to close his shop again. As he turned the key, he couldn't help but think about the stories he heard that day. His heart should be light and glowing with the good deed that he had unknowingly done. There was more love in the world because of his little barbershop... then why did he feel so empty?
He sighed and walked home following the last rays of the setting sun.