School went as normal for the rest of the day, or at least as normal as it could get with the Cutie Mark Crusaders in the class. Diamond Tiara continued to call them “blank-flanks” under her breath when she thought Cheerilee wasn’t looking and, during the study period after lunch they were trying to draw up new plans on getting their cutie marks. This time, however, their attention soon turned to Rumble, sitting in his chair going through his math book again.
“Hey, Rumble,” Apple Bloom asked. “Would you like to come with us crusadin’ next week?”
“I guess that would be fun,” Rumble said. “What were you going to try getting your cutie marks in?”
Apple Bloom looked back and forth as though suspicious of her surroundings before turning back to Rumble. “Well, Sweetie Belle brought up the idea of a kissin’ cutie mark.”
Rumble was aghast. “You want… you need me to… you’re trying to get… wha…!?”
“Oh, come on, Rumble!” Apple Bloom pleaded. “You know it’s a little problematic for a mare to kiss another mare… I don’t think Applejack or Rarity would be too pleased.”
“Wha… but… I don’t get…”
“It’ll be fun!” Apple Bloom said, keeping quiet and looking over to make sure Cheerilee was still not paying attention. “Just think: you with us, a few tries at kissin’… maybe even a little private time in the clubhouse…”
“Uh… I-I think I’ll pass…” Rumble said, grabbing his desk and scooting it away from Apple Bloom. The scratching of the desk along the classroom floor was what made Cheerilee finally look up from her work.
“Rumble! Apple Bloom! What is going on back there?”
Rumble tried to seize the opportunity. “Miss Cheerilee! Apple Bloom is—”
“…just gettin’ his help on one of the homework assignments!” Apple Bloom cut in quickly. “And I was just seein’ if he wanted to help us with a study session later on.”
Cheerilee put an approving smile on her face as she looked over in their direction. “Helping others is a great way to succeed! A lot of jobs later on will have you work in groups, so it’s good to learn and get comfortable with working with others.”
Rumble slammed his head on the desk. You’re not helping…
Apple Bloom turned back towards Rumble with a smirk on her face. “You heard what Cheerilee said,” she whispered mischievously. “We have to learn how to help others and work in groups.”
“That does not apply to kissing,” Rumble mumbled.
“I don’t get what the problem is,” Apple Bloom shrugged.
“It’s not that I don’t like you or anything, but don’t you think you’re a little, um, young to get a kissing cutie mark?”
“Well… I… I suppose you have a point… but it isn’t too early to start, is it?”
Rumble let his head hit the desk again.
“What I mean is do you really want your life to be based around a kissing cutie mark?”
“Well, I guess not… but we could still do it.”
Rumble let out an exasperated sigh. “What exactly are you trying to do?”
Apple Bloom went silent. Her eyes looked away from Rumble, and the colt noticed a small amount of red appearing on the filly’s cheeks. “Well, Applejack’s been tryin’ to get Big Macintosh to have a marefriend. She was sayin’ somethin’ along the lines of he should have had one years ago.”
Rumble was flabbergasted. “You’re saying you want a coltfriend?”
Apple Bloom looked down and rubbed her front hooves together. “Maybe…”
Rumble had no more time to ask about it. Cheerilee was calling the class back together.
* * *
After class was over, Apple Bloom had run away so fast that Rumble had been unable to speak with her again. It was a little much for him to process that Apple Bloom had practically asked him to be a coltfriend. Rumble wasn’t sure if he wanted one anyway, but he felt a little bad for Apple Bloom for making her feel bad. He didn’t have the chance to tell that to the other Crusaders with how fast they went out to catch Apple Bloom.
Rumble met up with Archer and started walking out of the classroom when a voice came from behind Rumble.
“Rumble! Can I speak with you for a minute, please?”
Rumble turned to Archer. “I’ll only be a minute, Archer.”
“Alright. I’ll wait just outside.”
Archer trotted outside and sat down on a bench near the door as Cheerilee closed the door behind her before trotting back to her desk.
“Is this about my behavior at lunch?” Rumble asked.
“I think I heard enough once I heard Diamond Tiara practically admit to bullying you all for not having cutie marks,” Cheerilee said. “What I actually want to talk with you about is your homework.”
Rumble gulped. “Um… you mean my math homework?”
“Yes.” Cheerilee pulled out the paper from her pile. “I was grading this today during lunch. You probably should take a look at it.”
Rumble looked at the paper. The page was covered in red marks to the point where Rumble’s own work was almost unreadable. It was horrible. Then Rumble looked at the grade at the top.
“I’m pretty sure that would normally be a failing assignment, Miss Cheerilee…”
“Nonsense. I wanted to call you in because that is the best assignment you’ve done recently.”
Rumble looked at the grade and back to the marks. “Miss Cheerilee… I believe this is more marks than I had on my last assignment that I got a sixty-eight on.”
“They’re all very small mistakes.”
“But I only did seventeen problems of the twenty.”
“But you’ve done a decent attempt at it. I gave Apple Bloom full credit once because she did eighteen of the twenty. But the thing is you attempted the assignment.”
“Didn’t Apple Bloom do an extra credit problem with that assignment?”
“That point is that you tried.”
“…you’re avoiding my question.”
“Oh, who cares? It’s just one assignment. I have no doubt you’re at least trying to do the math, as opposed to some other students.”
There was another paper filled with almost as many marks as Rumble’s paper. The name at the top was Diamond Tiara, and the score said fifty-two, the grade Rumble was currently feeling he should have got.
“But… why me?”
Cheerilee opened her mouth to respond, but her cheeks went pink. It was an expression Rumble had only seen her have once when she had managed to get a Hearts and Hooves day card from all of her students, even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Realizing what she looked like with her mouth open and her cheeks pink, Cheerilee shook her head. “Why don’t you run along now?” she said to Rumble. “I’ll speak with you tomorrow.”
Rumble gave the paper back to Cheerilee and headed out. Archer was waiting just outside.
“Well, I didn’t hear any yelling or scolding,” Archer said. “Everything turn out okay?”
“No,” Rumble said. “It didn’t feel right at all.”
He’d never been so disappointed about an eighty-eight percent in school before.
* * *
Rumble and Archer walked through Ponyville. Rumble was to wait just outside Ponyville for his brother to come and get him. Archer’s home wasn’t too far and Scootaloo was supposed to be at Sweet Apple Acres not far away, anyway, so she decided she’d join him. The two were sitting on a small bench a few yards away from the last houses within sight of Sweet Apple Acres, and Archer was still bugging Rumble about what happened.
“Were you talking to her about Diamond Tiara?” she asked.
“No. She said that was cleared up at lunch,” Rumble replied.
“Were you talking about your science homework?”
“No; I did everything right there.”
“Did you talk about you leaving on vacation?”
“No. I’m not even going on vacation anytime soon. I would have told you if I was.”
“What about Apple Bloom? I saw her blushing when she was talking to you during study time and she certainly left in a flash.”
“I couldn’t even talk to Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo about what happened to her. They all left so fast.”
“I’ll talk to my sis about that later,” Archer said, waving a hoof dismissively. “Why don’t you tell me what you were talking with Cheerilee about!?”
“I got an eighty-eight percent on my math homework. There, happy?”
“You’re depressed about an eighty-eight percent?”
“You should have seen the paper. I could hardly read my own writing! I did worse than Diamond Tiara on that assignment! I didn’t even finish the assignment, and got more points than I should have received!”
Now Archer was beginning to see why Rumble was upset. She put her hooves over her mouths and gasped. “So she just gave you the grade?”
“Basically. I’m not satisfied. I should earn the grade, not be given it.”
Archer stared at him. “And Cheerilee didn’t believe it?”
“No!” Rumble nearly shouted. “I don’t get it!”
“Don’t get what?”
Rumble and Archer looked around, noting the voice that had appeared. The two looked up and saw a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane staring down at them from a small cloud overhead.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash,” Archer said.
“Hello, Miss Dash,” Rumble said.
Rainbow Dash took off the cloud and landed next to them with a thud, causing Archer and Rumble to jump an inch off the bench. The cyan pegasus flipped her mane and walked over to them. “So, what’s going on?”
Archer shrugged. “Just school stuff.”
“School?” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Just wait until you get into the real world. With what I’m doing, some basic stuff is required, but it pays good without as much schooling. Rumble probably could do it easy soon as he gets of age.”
“Anyways,” Rainbow Dash continued, “that’s not why I’m here. Rumble, your brother has to work an extra few hours on weather patrol. He asked if I could fly you home since I’m off already.”
“Will you be staying afterwards, Miss Dash?” Rumble asked.
“Nah,” Dash said. “He won’t be too late, so he said you could be home alone for an hour or two. But there’s a gale coming through here shortly, so you wouldn’t be able to fly upward when that comes around.”
Rumble nodded, then turned to Archer. “I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”
Archer nodded but didn’t say anything. Suddenly, Archer’s normally blue cheeks got a very vibrant shade pink. Rumble barely had time to process what she was doing before the dark blue pegasus filly had thrown her hooves around him and had hugged him. Even quicker, there was a quick peck on his cheek before releasing him.
“Yeah,” Archer said, like nothing happened. “See you at school.” Before Rumble could ask her anything, Archer dashed off back into Ponyville almost as quick as Apple Bloom had shot out of the school house.
Rainbow Dash looked curiously at Archer. “What’s gotten into her?”
Rumble shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“So, you ready for take off?”
“Yes, Miss Dash.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
With two powerful flaps, one from Rainbow Dash and one from Rumble, the two were soon off in the air and flying back over Ponyville to Cloudsdale.
“You know, you can stop calling me ‘Miss Dash’,” Rainbow Dash called to Rumble flapping alongside her.
“You’re my bro’s boss,” Rumble said. “You should at least have some formality.”
“Eh, formality’s not my thing,” Rainbow Dash said with a shrug of her shoulders. “And I may be over your brother, but I’m not head of the weather team. There’s someone above me.”
The two flew in silence for a while.
“Do you mind me asking what exactly you and that blue Scootaloo were talking about?”
“Her name’s Archer,” Rumble said. “She’s Scootaloo’s twin. And we were talking about a homework assignment I got points for that I shouldn’t have.”
“You mean Cheerilee’s picking favorites now?” Dash asked.
“I guess. But that’s not it. It’s not just Cheerilee. Apple Bloom and Archer have been acting weird around me lately. That hug back there was not normal for Archer. We’re just friends.”
“That looked like more than a hug. That looked like a kiss, too.”
“So that’s what happened when she tapped me on the head.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged again as they entered Cloudsdale and slowed their pace. “Sounds like somepony’s a mare magnet.”
Rumble raised an eyebrow. “Come again?”
“Dude, two fillies already got an eye on you and you’re still in primary school?” Rainbow Dash laughed. “You’re already hitting it off with the fillies! Heh, I don’t blame them either.”
Rumble touched down and landed on the bouncy cloud outside his home. Rainbow Dash remained airborne. “What do you mean?” Rumble asked, digging around his saddlebags for an extra set of keys for his home.
“Well, you are kinda cute for a colt,” Rainbow Dash said, coming down to the cloud. “I mean, you got the air-blown mane and tail, stunning violet eyes, nice lot of wingpower in there… Heck, you might be an eligible bachelor when you get your cutie mark. I bet your bro is jealous of your looks.”
Rumble was getting more and more uncomfortable by the minute, especially since Rainbow Dash had been walking towards him the whole time and her face was now only a few inches from his own with a rather relaxed look. “Um, what are you doing, Miss Dash?”
“I told ya, squirt,” Rainbow Dash said. “Stop calling me ‘Miss Dash’. Heck, I might even let you call me ‘Dashie’.”
Rumble found his keys. “I have to go now Miss Dash thanks for taking me home I’ll tell my brother everything went fine thank you again.” In a flash, he unlocked the door, let himself inside, and slammed the door before Rainbow Dash could say or do anything more.
He needed to have a talk with Thunderlane, and it had nothing to do with the math assignment.