Later that evening found Thunderlane in the bathroom. Rumble, his little wings flapping just hard enough to keep him afloat, was brushing Thunderlane’s mane until it went straight down along his neck.
“Flitter likes the mohawk, you know,” Rumble said through the brush.
“Yeah, but I wanted to take her somewhere special tonight,” Thunderlane replied. “For the place we’re going, I gotta look good.”
“Oh, psht,” Rumble scoffed. “Even if I do have that innate magic, she always has eyes for you when you’re in the room.”
“I’m half suspecting she’s just using that to get to you,” Thunderlane said, barely able to contain a bout of laughter. “But anyway, she’s nice and friendly and funny, and I’m glad she actually agrees to come out on a date with me every once in a while.”
“Still better than the time you dated Miss Dash. Sure, she was nice, but way too brash.”
“I know. That mare would run me into the ground if I wasn’t careful.”
“What do you do with Flitter that you didn’t do with Miss Dash, though?”
“We don’t argue as much.” Thunderlane picked up a wet washcloth and rubbed his face with it. After a minute, he set it down with a gasp and reached for a nearby dry towel, rubbing himself off with that before letting Rumble continue. “Ow! Mind the knot. Where was I…? Ah, yes. We also actually have conversations. Dash is getting better, but she’s still got some ego.”
Rumble finished taming a set of wild hair before setting the brush down on the counter and gently setting himself on the cloud floor. Thunderlane examined himself in the mirror, turning his head left and right.
“What’s going on with me tonight, again?” Rumble asked.
“Cloudchaser is coming over,” Thunderlane replied. “She agreed to watch you while I’m gone.” He turned to Rumble. “Is that alright? I mean, you barely mentioned her in your talks with me and Twilight.”
“She’s fine, I guess,” Rumble said. “She’s the one that helped me on the first few problems from that one math assignment.”
“Ah, yes.” Thunderlane turned back to the mirror. “The three that had no marks. She knows what she’s doing, alright.”
“Why didn’t you go out with her?” Rumble asked as they left the bathroom and headed into Thunderlane’s bedroom. “I mean, she fits your competitiveness.”
Thunderlane picked out a white collar with a tie around it and put it on, adjusting the tie as he spoke. “She’s a gentler Dash for me. Flitter at least knows when to work and when to play with me. I tried going on a date with Cloudchaser once, back when we were still living with mom and dad before they had to move to Manehattan for business.”
“How did it end up?”
“I woke up on the couch; she woke up on the table. I don’t quite remember anything else other than a large keg of cider in the kitchen.”
Rumble giggled.
Thunderlane looked at himself in his bedroom mirror. Rumble stood alongside him.
“Do you think she’ll like this?” Thunderlane asked. “I mean, I’m not overdoing it, am I?”
“You’ll be fine, bro. She likes you. And it’s not like you having a tie and a brushed mane is going to make you overdressed for a restaurant.”
“Yeah, you’re right. At least, I hope so.”
There was a ringing sound, causing both Rumble and Thunderlane to look out the door.
“They must be here,” Rumble said.
Thunderlane looked at a nearby clock on his nightstand. “About time, too,” he said, trotting out of the room. “We’ll be ten minutes early for our reservation.”
Rumble followed Thunderlane out of the bedroom and down the hall towards the kitchen entry. Thunderlane adjusted his tie before opening the door. Flitter was standing directly outside with her lighter teal mane wrapped up in a ponytail and a small dress that matched her mane. Cloudchaser stood behind her, her wild light blue mane as unkempt and wind-blown as ever and a plastic bag in her mouth.
“Hey Rumble,” Flitter said cheerfully. Then she turned to Thunderlane and her cheeks went red. “Hey, Thunderlane.”
“Hi, Flitter,” Rumble said politely back.
Cloudchaser made a muffled greeting through her plastic bag.
“Hey, Flitter,” Thunderlane said, his own cheeks turning pink. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah. Cloudchaser picked up something for her and Rumble for dinner, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh, no,” Thunderlane said. “I don’t think we have any leftovers from last night, so that works out perfectly.”
“Cool. See you later, Rumble.”
“Bye, Flitter.”
Thunderlane turned to Rumble. “Same rules as last time. I’m not back by ten, make sure you’ve taken a bath and go to bed, and wash your back; it doesn’t smell good from time to time. You got all your homework done?”
“I read a little of the book and finished my history questions.”
“That’s all? No math homework tonight?”
“No; the lesson’s not until tomorrow. I only had literature, history, and science today.”
“Alright, well make sure nothing’s missing.” Thunderlane smiled and waved as he left the house. “See you later, little bro.”
“Bye, Thunderlane.”
Cloudchaser waved after Thunderlane and her twin before stepping into the house. Rumble watched Thunderlane go for a minute before closing the door and following Cloudchaser into the kitchen. Two bowls of salad were out, in addition to a couple of packets of sauce.
“You know, you could have almost made one of those here,” Rumble said.
“Yeah, I could have,” Cloudchaser said. “I just didn’t know if Thunderlane would have had anything left by the last time he cooked something.”
“Probably a good idea considering his track record,” Rumble agreed.
Cloudchaser pushed a bowl with some dressing over towards Rumble. He went over and set it on the table as Cloudchaser brought her own bowl over and they began eating.
“So, you finish your homework today?” Cloudchaser asked.
“Yeah. I don’t have any math homework tonight, so I got it all out of the way already.”
“Good.” Cloudchaser took a bite of her salad. “What were you planning to do?”
“I dunno. Read, draw, play with some of my toys. Thunderlane got me a Wonderbolt set for my birthday.”
“Oh, really? You know, I always wanted to join the Wonderbolts. They’re fast, agile, strong, and all of them are really cool.”
“Thunderlane wanted to, as well. He was thinking of sending in an application sometime soon.”
“Mmm…”
The two ate in silence for a while.
“Do you want to watch a movie later?”
Rumble shrugged. “Which movie?”
“I dunno. I brought two over in my saddlebags. One’s an animated comedy, the other is an adaptation of that Mare of the Rings series, if you were interested in either.”
Rumble shrugged again. “Maybe later.”
For the first time since arriving, Cloudchaser’s face fell. “Oh,” she nearly mumbled. “Alright. Well, were you going to your room?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh… well, I suppose I’ll be out here, if you need me…”
Rumble watched as Cloudchaser threw out her empty salad bowl and trudged over to the TV, where she put in the first film. After a while, Rumble shrugged and put his salad bowl in the trash and headed back to his room, where he pulled out a book.
After a little while, Rumble began to think. Something was not right with Cloudchaser, even with comparison to her behavior from before. It was as though she was depressed when Rumble headed off to his room and left her alone. She didn’t seem to be sad when she arrived; she looked more than happy to be able to take care of Rumble while Thunderlane and Flitter were out at dinner. The more Rumble thought about it, the more he began to realize something.
“Maybe she’s been affected by it, too.” The pegasus colt tapped his chin with a hoof. “Archer didn’t want to kiss me until I was leaving, and Apple Bloom didn’t get all fussy until I told her I didn’t want to try it out with her.”
Rumble looked at a nearby clock. Seven-thirty. He’d need to take a bath soon, and he’d need to have time for his wings to dry.
There was enough time.
Rumble took his book, left his bedroom and trotted down the hall. Cloudchaser was still in the middle of the first film, which Rumble recognized as the Mare of the Rings series. Rumble went over to the couch and sat down. Cloudchaser didn’t even notice him until he had jumped on the couch, creating a little thump that shook her end of the pillow.
“I thought you had stuff to do in your room,” Cloudchaser asked, looking at him curiously.
Rumble took a nearby pillow and set it down at an angle on the couch so that he could lean back against it. “I can bring a book out here,” he said. “Besides, Thunderlane said I was old enough to watch this one now.”
Cloudchaser smiled as Rumble opened his book. “It’s not that bad,” she said as she settled herself into a lying position on the couch, head towards Rumble. “Sure it’s a little violent, but it’s all fantasy and there’s no blood.”
Rumble nodded and continued reading. The movie went on as they sat there, and eventually Rumble set his book down as three cloaked figures began to attack the ponies, though one of them had fire and was driving them away. It was dark and violent as Cloudchaser said, but it was also pretty interesting and Rumble had to admit it may have been better than the Daring Do series.
“Miss Cloudchaser?”
Cloudchaser turned to look at Rumble. “Yeah?”
“Thanks for the help on the math assignment.”
Cloudchaser tilted her head in confusion. “What brought that up?”
“The three you helped me with were the only ones I got right.”
Cloudchaser giggled and went back to watching the film. “You gonna go get tutoring for that?”
Rumble put his book aside. “Twilight Sparkle’s supposed to teach me starting the day after tomorrow.”
Cloudchaser nodded. “She would know what to do. Might help you study as well as get your homework done.”
“Yeah…”
“…hey, Rumble.”
“What, Miss Cloudchaser?”
“You can just call me ‘Cloudchaser’. Also, don’t get so down. Math’s not an easy thing. I didn’t do too well in Calculus in college myself. It’s a little bump, but you’ll get over it.”
Rumble smiled. “Thanks.”
Cloudchaser went back to looking at Rumble. “Anyone ever told you you’re cute?”
Here we go again… “Yeah. Lots of times.”
“By who?”
“A lot of ponies. I had one mistake me for a filly once because of the shape of my muzzle and that I was too cute to be a colt.”
Cloudchaser gave of an incredulous grin. “You’re kidding?”
“Nope.”
Cloudchaser burst out laughing. “I can’t believe it! You’re a little bulkier than a filly and don’t exactly sound like one.”
“I know, right?”
Cloudchaser laughed for a little while longer before calming down with a sigh. “He he, it’s been a while since I had that good a laugh. You take on after your brother, you know? I bet the mares will be all over you once you get older.”
Rumble didn’t quite know what to say about that.
“Shouldn’t you be getting in the bath soon?” Cloudchaser asked after Rumble had been silent for a while. “Your bro said you needed time for your wings to dry.”
Rumble nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go get in.”
“Call me if you need anything,” Cloudchaser called as Rumble got off the couch and headed back down the hall.
Taking a towel and a washcloth, Rumble went into the bathroom he and Thunderlane shared and turned on the warm water. Soon, the bathtub was full of warm water, Rumble’s washcloth was on the side near the soap and his towel was over the rack, and Rumble clambered in. He liked the feel of warm water in his coat. He used to take cold baths for a long time until he started flying, when his brother said the warm water was better for cleaning the wings. It was all part of the nitty-gritty work.
After a while of soaking himself in the tub, Rumble started washing himself, taking a bit of soap to his mane and scrubbing it before dunking his head underwater to rinse. Then he put some soap on the washcloth and started to wash his body. He was almost done within a few minutes until he couldn’t reach a spot in the middle of his back. He sat there and pondered his situation before gulping and strained to call out.
“Cloudchaser!” He paused, but nothing happened. “Cloudchaser!”
This time, his call was answered. There was the sound of trotting down the hall before Cloudchaser’s head peered into the bathroom.
“There something wrong?”
“Thunderlane says I keep missing a spot on my back, but I can’t reach it. Can you help me?”
“Sure. Face the wall and give me the washcloth.”
Rumble turned in the tub and sat down to face the wall. Cloudchaser took the washcloth and began to gently go over his back. Rumble could feel the hooves gently press against his back and rub him from top to bottom.
“Relax,” Cloudchaser said calmly. “You’re tensing and your wing joints are hiding the middle of your back.”
Rumble tried his best to relax as Cloudchaser continued washing his back, but it was sort of odd and uncomfortable. He was used to Thunderlane do it, but the combination of Cloudchaser being a mare and his knowledge of his innate magic made him uncomfortable, even wary of what Cloudchaser was doing, even though it seemed to him everything was fine. He even began to enjoy it for a minute as Cloudchaser started gently going over his wings, gently ruffling the feathers to clean in between.
There was a splash and Rumble felt the washcloth below the water’s surface. This was followed from the sound of a slap from somewhere behind him, but Rumble himself wasn’t touched. Rumble turned around to see Cloudchaser rubbing one hoof with another.
“What happened?”
“It’s nothing,” Cloudchaser said, straining to speak. “I just… finished and dropped the washcloth, is all.”
Rumble looked towards Cloudchaser’s hoof and found a small red mark on it. “Are you okay? Your hoof is all red.”
“Perfectly fine,” Cloudchaser said unconvincingly. “I just hit it on the table in the living room when I was coming over here.”
“…you didn’t have that entering the bathroom.”
“Well, sometimes injuries take a while to appear. I’m sure it’ll be gone shortly.” Cloudchaser stood up. “I’ll… I’ll be in the living room if you need me.” Then she trotted out of the room.
All Rumble could do was watch her, confused.
A few minutes later, Rumble was letting water out of the tub and drying himself with the towel. When he was dry except for his wings, he returned to the living room and sat on the couch. Mare of the Rings was still playing, with the group now in a city of ponies with really long ears that looked prettier than the other ponies.
“You all finished?” Cloudchaser asked hurriedly.
“Yes.” Rumble thought to ask of her strange behavior, but he left it alone. Instead, he sat on the couch and pulled a wing towards him before he started slowly biting and preening the wing.
“Do you need help with that?”
“…I suppose. You could start on the other wing.”
Slowly, Rumble extended his other wing. Cloudchaser, equally as slow, came forward and gently teased the feathers with her teeth, separating them and straightening them. Despite her own hesitance, Cloudchaser still finished the wing faster than Rumble did his and helped the young colt with cleaning and straightening his other wing. A few minutes later, both wings were neat and clean and Rumble was lying on the couch with both wings extended to let air through them.
“Thank you,” Rumble said. “That was quick.”
“You have to learn to work from the inside out,” Cloudchaser said gently. “It’s less work that way. I know Thunderlane does it outside in all the time, but he takes longer and has to go back and fix.”
“I’ll have to remember that.”
After a few minutes of watching the movie, Rumble felt his eyes drooping and it wasn’t even ten. His wings started gently dropping and he occasionally struggled to keep himself upright.
“Are you feeling tired?” Cloudchaser asked.
Rumble nodded.
“You could go to bed right now if you wanted.”
Rumble shook his head.
“Alright, if you’re sure.”
But Rumble was soon fighting to stay awake. By the time Cloudchaser had disappeared for a moment and come back to the couch, Rumble was almost sleeping sitting upright. It wasn’t long before Cloudchaser was sitting down on the couch with her back against the pillow and legs dangling off the side before she pulled Rumble over and laid him in her lap. Rumble’s wings gently folded as he felt Cloudchaser pull over a brush and gently brush his slightly-damp mane. Rumble hardly even bothered when the brush was put aside and Cloudchaser was simply petting him with a hoof.
Almost half an hour later, Rumble was fast asleep. Cloudchaser gently slid off the couch and put Rumble on her back. Rumble moved around but didn’t wake up as Cloudchaser slowly walked back to his bedroom. He looked ready to wake up, but he was soon lulled back to sleep by the gentle sway of Cloudchaser’s steps. It wasn’t long before Cloudchaser was gently sliding Rumble off her back and into his bed before covering him up with the blankets. The room felt stuffy to her and she cracked open a nearby window; no odd weather patterns were coming through tonight, so it was safe to open. The light was turned off and Rumble’s alarm clock was turned on before Cloudchaser gave Rumble a quick kiss on the forehead and left the room.