//------------------------------// // Running Errands // Story: Rumble Gets The Mares, But Doesn't Get It // by sniggles //------------------------------// Rumble woke up, his eyes shooting open abruptly as his bedside alarm played the opening bars to Van Halo's hit "Jump!" The last time he was awake, Rumble's clock read 1:23 am, and his back was hunched over a piece of paper, his mouth holding a blue pen and scribbling away, recording numbers onto a scroll. He recalled burning the midnight oil to record his brother's debts onto paper, to remind him to pay them off in the morning. It was not out of some brotherly obligation to help Thunderlane on his debts; rather, it was just that Rumble would be expecting vexing requests from his brother for money once the truth got to his thick skull. Besides, Thunderlane was known to be lazy and sloppy in the organization of his work, and without a habit of making lists, Thunderlane would definitely miss out an important debt or two. Unlike his unproductive featherbrain of a brother, Rumble believed in the value of hard work, which stemmed from his hatred of his brother's guts. He didn't mind his work life, which consisted of two jobs, and his schedule was usually so full that Sundays were his only free day off. On Sundays, he was the one doing all of the house chores; Their parents weren't home most of the time, since they were professional weather pegasi who worked at skies far away from Cloudsdale. However, at the times they did come home, Thunderlane would cower and find an excuse to be out of the house; his relationship with his parents was strained to say the least, for Celestia knows why. Sour feelings were unlikely to be mutual in this relationship; from Rumble's point of view, his parents were affable ponies, the type who'd wave hi to everypony they met in the neighborhood. Furthermore, they seemed to be the only ponies who recognized and appreciated Rumble's aptitude for hard work. And here Rumble was, flicking the cloud covers off of himself and trotting up to his desk, a sleepy head the least of his problems. There was little sign of lethargy in his movements, his hooves soberly going through the books on his desk for the paper he toiled on the night before. His desk was made of cloud; just like every house in Cloudsdale, all furniture was composed of cloud, which was genuinely sturdier than it looked. With a 'voila!' Rumble produced the large scroll from a the inside of a cloud cupboard, placed atop a stack of chemistry books which were neatly piled. He tucked it under his leg and headed for Thunderlane's quarters. Due to his seemingly voracious hunger for knowledge, his parents didn't have to fork out as much cash for tuition or learning programs for him as they had for Thunderlane. For that, his brother would call him an egghead, but his parents would praise him as learned, even once describing him as a prodigy. Of course, Rumble would brush off these comments and downplay himself, but his old folks would describe this behavior as humble, adding to their list of his qualities which, in their opinion, would make him a fine stallion for any mare to wed when he came of age. Rumble laughed at the idea of ever wedding. Little did many ponies know, Rumble had another characteristic that was attractive to mares, remembering this as he glanced into a large mirror as tall as himself fixed to one wall of the room. It seemed that his obsession for hard work leaked into his physical training, pushing himself into doing hundreds of wing ups and push ups, and galloping hundreds of miles across Cloudsdale daily. This resulted in the colt looking more like a stallion everyday; on his body where there was once smooth and supple skin there would be hard, impenetrable muscle. His legs were glorious muscled pillars, with revealing blue veins and bordering-on-abnormal convexity when flexed. His neck was straight, firm and strong, and his jaws were wide-set and rough, a fortress of bone that could be easily felt by running a hoof under his mouth. And to complete the look, there was his signature slicked back black mane which he meticulously combed daily and black eyes, which held an interminable, hypnotic depth. Or at least that was how Cloudchaser and Fltter described him on their last stay; the two pegasi sisters were a friend of Thunderlane's, and visited frequently. Though they used to visit solely for the purpose of babysitting Rumble, it was apparent now that he wasn't a colt anymore. (Fact is, if anypony in the house needed babysitting, it would be the unbudging Thunderlane.) As of late, they'd been coming for visits a bit too frequently, even more than they did in the past. Rumble couldn't help but notice the pegasi sisters' prying eyes staring the entirety of his body like a spotlight following an active trapeze artist in the circus. They'd find every excuse to close distance between themselves and Rumble, with Cloudchaser going so far as to stroke Rumble's wingbones sensually, nestling her head into his feathers. Rumble took their advances innocuously, never discouraging them; He didn't seem to mind their grooming and massaging, since his muscles ached from a chaotic day of galloping and flying. Rumble got to Thunderlane's room and pushed the door open, calling out to him curtly and loudly. "Thunderlane! Get up!" "Urgh... It's 7..." the black coated pegasus groaned, swishing his frazzled light blue mane with white highlights. He took a glance at his bedside mini-clock atop a cloud cupboard, and his veined eyes shot wide open. "And it's Sunday! You're insane...." "Come on, bro. If you'd take the initiative now and then to do..... something, you wouldn't accumulate all of these tasks to do," said Thunderlane's little brother, Rumble, standing at the door of Thunderlane's room. Thunderlane's room was simple, with a soft cloud bed in the center and a cloud wadrobe leaning on the wall to the bed's left, along with priceless, patterned cloud windows at the room's right wall, which were currently shut, draping the room in darkness, save for the light coming in by the open door held open by Rumble. Rumble unfurled a long scroll outlining Thunderlane's plethora of tasks to do, most of which were debts he seemed wont to pay off. All of the debts, painstakingly recorded by Rumble by request of his brother, seemed to come from PonyVille. That left no wonder on where Thunderlane went to on his long 'business trips': Debts were accumulated at every single stall at the marketplace, at the Carousal Boutique, Sugarcube Corner, even Sweet Apple Acres, just to name a few places. Rumble scoffed; it was usually some mare, a mare with whom Thunderlane would be acquainted to briefly. They'd be away for a whole day, then in the wee hours of morning, Rumble would be up, ears perked up for the sound of a cloud door slamming and a riled up Thunderlane pacing drunkenly through the house, occasionally knocking over things before reaching his room, all the while mumbling nonsensical garble. Rumble let out an exasperated sigh as he trotted over to his brother's side and managed to prod Thunderlane's shoulder, only to be met with a long grunt and a 180 degree turn from him. Rumble frowned deeply and rolled up the scroll hastily, briskly trotting out of Thunderlane's room. He'd wasted 2 minutes trying to talk his brother into doing errands, errands which, for long weeks on end, remained untouched. Rumble glanced quickly at a nearby wall clock, which read 7:28, then reacted in a cool yet swift manner; he picked up his blue ball point pen, which was nearly always nestled behind his ear, in his mouth and unfurled the scroll, his eyes trailing rapidly up and down the list. There was no time to lose. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ On the edge of the cloud platform atop which his home was nestled, he had an unobstructed view of the town of PonyVille miles below. His home was at a specially low altitude, below the bulk of clouds overhead, promising a panoramic view of the beautiful town. The sun had only just risen, leaking a few rays onto buildings which Rumble had once visited himself on hoof; the Town Hall, the Marketplace, and far away, near the edge of Everfree Forest, the rustic dwellings of a certain animal-loving friend. Rumble didn't have time to remember names, especially of ponies he had interacted with long ago; it had been nearly two years since his last visit to PonyVille, and those two years had kept him busy enough. With his blue pen, he scribbled down the names of some places he'd like to go to after completion of his errands on the scroll: words like 'school', 'Pip's' and 'library'. After that, he'd roll the paper up and place it into a brown saddlebag, which he'd sling deftly over his back. Spreading his wings, he tested the wind direction and strength as air batted his feathers. The wind was strong, but nothing new to him; once, out of curiosity, during a visit to the Wonderbolts academy, he tested an air tunnel cranked up to, he was told, 'an unnaturally high level'. At the end of it, he felt that he had barely kept his feathers intact after placing them under unprecedented strain in that hellish tunnel, but the other Wonderbolts who had watched were lost for words; apparently, even experienced trainers had problems keeping their position with that amount of air resistance acting on their muscles. Now, the wind that blew was foal's play in comparison, and his wings had grown since the air tunnel incident. Rumble swooped down from the clouds, the passing air hugging his wings as he did circles in the air, getting accustomed to the currents and warming up his muscles. Then, like a clap of thunder, he burst through a cloud and sped straight for Sweet Apple Acres. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Applebloom stomped a hoof deep and hard into the soil, then withdrawing back almost instantly, shaking the soil off and nursing her new bruise on her hoof's sole with her tongue. A large frown adorned her face as she swept her eyes around the apple orchard; the apple tree branches were laden with fruit and the trees were waiting to be bucked. Normally, her siblings would be helping her on Apple bucking day, but they had 'things' to do. And that was how they simply put it to her. 'Things'. Then with a swing of the door, they would rush off, not to be seen anywhere near the farm in a matter of seconds. Such a condescending tone could have been used on a foal, but not a teenage mare like Applebloom. She sighed, striding up to the first of hundreds of trees and raising her legs. There was no escape either, keeping in mind how Applejack could find and literally rope her flank back to Sweet Apple Acres for an unbridled, drawn out punishment. Just then, before her hooves felt bark, she heard a voice call from above. "Hey, Applebloom! Are your siblings around?" called Rumble, who, in a deft motion, folded his wings and did a full circle in the air before landing on the ground beside Applebloom. Her eyes widened as they gazed upon an angel. Starting from the bottom*, her pupils made lazy circles, mapping his muscle mounds eagerly. The hooves and legs that would give Big Mac a run for his money. A slender neck that would be perfect when entwined with hers. The 'bad boy' styled, unruly mane of his that seemed to flutter around like long grass in the breeze. And that jaw, a jaw that would accommodate her own when he'd romantically pull her into a passionate smooch. Then, her mind would blank out, a sanctuary that would keep her safe and warm, away from the yapping of her brother and sister, away from apple trees, leaving only this angel and Applebloom-- "Hello? Equestria to AB? This is Rumble. You know? When we were really young foals?" said Rumble, giving her a concerned smile. That smile. It was a mare-killer and worth a thousand bits. No, a million. Applebloom shook her head and returned to reality, only to be slowly thrust back into that dream world by Rumble's dark eyes. It was so right, yet so wrong at the same time; Ms Cheerilee might have taught about colt-filly relations, and how silly love at true sight was. Superficial relationships were wrong, but now, to Applebloom, wrong was probably right. "Oh! Uh.... sorry. Ain't r-ringin' no bells," said Applebloom, rubbing her face and turning away from Rumble. It didn't make sense. Rumble was that cute little colt she studied with a long time ago under Miss Cheerilee, not this hunk of a stallion. "Are you alright? Your face is all red," said Rumble, his expression turning nervous. "Ah'm fine! What're ya here for?" burst out Applebloom, manning up and staring Rumble in the eye. It was manners, after all, to talk to somepony else and look them in the eye. But manners didn't prepare her for Rumble. "Oh, yeah. Thunderlane owes Sweet Apple Acres, eh...." he said, reaching into his saddlebag for the scroll of tasks. He quickly pulled the large article out and unfurled it with his teeth and took it in his hooves, blocking most of Applebloom's view of his body, drawing her focus to his pristine face. "Woah. 565 bits, inclusive of that shed he wrecked the week before, and the 3 boxes of apples that were supposed to be shipped to Manehattan. Oh yes, and the roof of the barn he promised to fix but wrecked instead," said Rumble, rolling his eyes as he described his brother's antics. Applebloom couldn't tear her eyes away. It was sinful, naughty, but imperative that she study Rumble like a scientist. His grey muzzle, long and matured, just screamed out to be nuzzled. She took a step closer, her eyes never leaving Rumble's, the latter of which left their place from the scroll and shot back up to Applebloom's. "Applebloom, is it fine if I pay off the debts right now? I can fix the roof and shed, but I'm not sure on how to pay off those shipping apples..." said Rumble, in a loud tone, as if to snap Applebloom out from her trance. Applebloom's ears perked up at keywords. Fine. Damn right he was. Right now. There was a plethora of things they could do right then, things that would make her siblings tsk in disappointment but make her granny nod in approval. Shipping. Romance wasn't exactly her thing, but it was amazing how in that moment, romance suddenly became her everything. In the history of the Apple family, not one pony ever had a pegasus spouse, but there's always a first time for everything. Apples. Rumble's apples. "Heh, pickin' apples..." said Applebloom to herself. Rumble seemed to be beside himself with worry, he eyebrows furrowed down. "I'm sorry. Do you need some rest?" said Rumble, trying to come across as polite as possible. Applebloom gave a little yell and widened her eyes, then hastily picked herself up. "Alright, but.... take yer time," said Applebloom with a smile. Rumble seemingly found no ill intention behind that smile, instead getting off of his hooves and heading for the site of the ruined shed, which looked like a miserable pile of wood planks. Applebloom took off on her own hooves and headed for the shed. It was quite the distance to gallop to, but in the sky she saw flashes of gray that seemed to be a zipping Rumble, flying to and fro between the barn and the shed. By the time she was at the shed, Rumble was around ten planks away from completion, the shed looking better than it had when it was first built. At Rumble's hooves were several tools and wooden planks which were gathered from the barn. Apparently, the speedy trips between the barn and the shed made the gray pegasus tired; sweat dripped from his legs, body and face. Applebloom's mouth hung agape, her prey looking juicier than ever. Rumble didn't seem to notice. "Roof!" cried Rumble after he nailed the last plank of the shed, gathering up the tools and heading for the barn. With Rumble gone, Applebloom ran as fast as her hooves could carry her towards the large red building. It was quite the distance, however, and she groaned and sat on her haunches midway. "Ain't... huff.... worth it..." Applebloom said as she panted. "Ah don't even know what's his personality like." Just then, she felt thunder clap through the ground, and in front of her was the pegasus, wings flared , presenting a glorious sight to Applebloom. "Totally worth it," gasped Applebloom, and got back onto her feet. "What?" said Rumble. "Nothin'." "Great. Well, I can't ignore the pressing problem of apples. How should I pay for that?" said Rumble, his hoof on his chin and his eyes squinted in concentration. "Ya could... er... " started Applebloom uncertainly, though she had the entire ideal scenario played out in her head. "Yes?" said Rumble, his eyes brightening up and a smile stretching over his face in eagerness. Applebloom let out a little squeal of glee** at Rumble's joy, then blurted something out. "Buck with me!" she said. Her cheeks immediately flushed red at Rumble's shocked expression and her breathing intensified slightly before she hastily recovered. "I meant, buckin' a... apples," she said slowly, then flashing an unassuming smile. Rumble seemed to be playing along with her act as he nodded swiftly. "And.... ya can admire mah plot, er, mah plot of land, that is," she said, blushing many shades of red at the innuendo. She hoped that Rumble would be getting her drift, but his expression was deadpan as he proceeded to grab some baskets for apples. In the half hour that followed, Applebloom didn't even raise a hindleg, satisfied as she was looking at Rumble work his legs at the apple trees that, by right, were her responsibility. After repairing the roof and rebuilding the shed, Rumble's strength showed no sign of waning, working his finely toned legs out; in no time, 20 baskets were filled, with the pegasus still chipping the bark of the trees with his firm kicks. Pegasi weren't naturals at apple bucking, or that was what Applejack told her younger sister; arguably the fastest flyer in Equestria, Rainbow Dash, could only manage about a dozen or so trees before giving up. Which is why she chose to gather up the apples in a whirlwind instead of slaving her legs away. Why didn't Rumble do that? "Hello? Applebloom? Are you going to just sit there?" said Rumble loudly, as the wood of the tree he bucked resounded, followed by a downpour of apples. Applebloom nodded. "Er, Ah was up extra early this mornin' and was buckin' apples fer like, 3 hours or somethin', ah'm really, really tired," lied Applebloom. Her eyes were drawn to the waterfalls of sweat pouring down from Rumble's body. Apparently, he was a heavy sweater though his strength maintained Herculean through his stay at the farm. She followed the trail of sweat, leading down from the back of his head, down his neck, along the back of his body, down to his flanks. She let out a gasp. "Dat Flank!" she cried, but softly. Those two globes were toned and round, almost like a mare's. They looked firm, but there was really only one way of finding out how hard they were. "What was that?" "Er, nothin'. Perhaps we could strike up some conversation!" suggested Applebloom. "Alright, fine. But I'm not much of a talker," said Rumble, wiping the sweat off of his brow. He divulged everything about himself to Applebloom, showing that he was clearly a colt that had nothing to hide. His family, his lazy brother, Cloudchaser and Flitter, flight school, his dreams to become a Wonderbolt, even telling her how many exercises he did daily and what their nature was (her request). Rumble proved to be quite the hypocrite when he said he wasn't much of a talker, rattling off about anything and everything about himself, never really letting Applebloom have a side in this 'conversation' which was turning into a monologue. Rumble was one of those thinkers, who'd have a mind mostly inundated with thoughts, waiting for an outlet to pour them out to; when Rumble did let his thoughts loose, the result would usually be a long, mostly one-sided talk. Not that Applebloom was paying attention; it was merely background noise that came with the main attraction. Rumble's concentration was focused, rather, on his work and talking. "... And then, I think to myself, what were the Wonderbolts even thinking? I mean, to accept Rainbow Dash's resignation that easily? That's bull, no offense to any minotaurs around," said Rumble with a chuckle at his cold joke, recalling the story his brother told him about Rainbow Dash's one and only shot at joining the Wonderbolts. Applebloom, however, laughed like a madmare at it, leading to a long and awkward silence. After a minute of that, Applebloom asked Rumble one thing. "What do ya look for in a mare?" "... What?" "Ya don't have ta answer, Rumble, just..." "No, it's fine, AB," said Rumble, with a weak smile. The bucking was evidently getting to his muscles. "Um, I guess, they'd have to be really smart? I mean, I'd love a girl who's got a brain, who always speaks her mind." "Earth pony, unicorn, pegasus?" said Applebloom quickly, hanging onto every word he was going to say. "Oh, AB. My granny used to tell me the only thing that truly matters is a pony's character. And I agree!" Rumble answered cheerfully, as the next batch of apples fell from the trees. His legs seemed to be giving out, so he slumped down against the tree, truly fatigued. He stared at the baskets in front of him. He had filled 43 of them. "Wow. I think I've more than paid for the apples, Applebloom. It's time for me to go, my list is a lot longer and afternoon is fast approaching. See you arou-" "NO!" cried a seething Applebloom. This chance was once in a blue moon, after all. "What is it?" said a concerned Rumble. "Ah..... want yer body," said Applebloom, her mane disheveled and her eyes slightly bloodshot. Had Rumble seen her lick her chops then and there, he would have skedaddled right out. But the blissfully ignorant Rumble gave a smile and chuckled. "Ah, you remind me of Cloudchaser. Heh, of course you can massage me," said Rumble innocently, lying on his belly on the grass and letting out a sigh of relaxation, expecting a pair of firm hooves on his weathered down wing muscles and leg muscles. Applebloom stared down at Rumble's body, which was gleaming with sweat, sweat that needed to be removed. Her body tingled and her tongue hung out of her mouth as she lowered herself onto him for a cleaning he'd not easily forget. Rumble stretched, ready for a good, sensual massage. In a few moments, however, instead of what Rumble was expecting, he felt something else entirely servicing him. Something light on his neck. Light and wet. "Argh! Applebloom!" he cried, as the mare rained kisses down on his neck, her hooves planted on the ground around him. He edged away from her. "Don't you understand the meaning of 'massage'?" "Nope!" she cried curtly as she dived down and licked the sweat off of his back. Applebloom was driven by Celestia knows what to feel Rumble, and she didn't seem content with just using her hooves as probes. After a feel of Applebloom's shivering taster on his back, Rumble couldn't take this physical treatment anymore. "Cold!" cried Rumble as he went on all fours and had a good look at Applebloom. It was a madmare he was looking at. "Alright, AB, I don't know what you're trying to pull but I do not like how this is going. I am not that type of colt. You have been kind enough to let me help around the farm but unfortunately I have to draw the line for my payments right this instant. For both of our sakes, I am willing to put all of this behind me, and I will deny ever having interacted with you in such a... lewd manner. Thank you, and good bye ma'am!" he said indignantly, turning around to take off into the skies. "Wait!" cried Applebloom, to the annoyance of Rumble. Grudgingly, he turned back to face Applebloom. "Ah want.... Ah want a kiss," she said, running a hoof through her mane and rubbing her eyes in a futile attempt to make herself look presentable. She pouted and planted her front hooves side by side and rested on her haunches, while magnifying her eyes to unnatural sizes, in a display of innocence and adorableness, but looked more on the desperate side. "I guess... a kiss wouldn't hurt. You have been a great host after all," said Rumble, trying his best not to let sarcasm seep into his words. He gazed into Applebloom's eyes, then puckered his lips a little. He leaned in, and Applebloom followed, her heart pounding in excitement as she was about to share her first french kiss with a colt. Her forelegs were raised, in anticipation of grabbing Rumble's back, predicting a passionate kiss, where they will close their eyes and lose themselves in the moment, with Applebloom feeling his firm jaw. They'd be in each other's legs, and they'd include tongue in their deep mashing of lips, tumbling across the muddy soil, getting down and dirty. In reality, Rumble picked up her hoof and kissed it. Then, he flew away immediately without a word, shaking his head as Applebloom stared blankly into space. Then, about 2 minutes after Rumble left, she hit her head with her hoof repeatedly and gave a loud groan to Celestia above. "What's wrong with me!" Applebloom cried, then picking up an apple and giving it a clean lick and rubbing it down with her hoof, causing it to shine in the rising Sun. She stared at the gleaming apple, then glanced at the gray speck in the sky that was growing ever smaller. "Rumble's... No no no no no! No more! Get yer flank back on track, Applebloom!" the mare said with finality to herself, as she slung two apple-laden baskets over her back and headed for the barn.