It was a lively day on the playground. The birds chirped a pleasant tune while the little school ponies frolicked in the field under the warmth of Celestia's sun. Today was a day for all the children of Equestria to be happy, all except one that is. A little colt named Rumble to be exact. It appeared that this little colt was very unhappy on this day. He did not frolic with the other fillies and colts, nor did he welcome the embrace of the warm sun. Instead he decided to dwell in bitter isolation on a motionless swing set, far from his fellow classmates. A guess as to why he did this, one would say he was lost in thought, his mind a slave to the notion of a girl, and a very special girl at that. Her eyes, her coat, her smile, her every feature was pure. He dreamed of the warmth of her presence and the softness of her voice. It brought a smile to his face and a warmth to his soul. But these were far more than fantasies. His smile faded quickly and was replaced with a lonely frown.
Yet this little love struck colt was unaware of how real it actually was. For there, across the playground, a certain filly was thinking of him as well...
Scootaloo sat with her friends and fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. She was somewhat behind Rumble and was watching him from a far. Her eyes locked on him as she dazed about him, completely unaware of how he felt about her. She quickly snapped out of her daze when Apple Bloom shook her.
"SCOOTALOO!!!" she yelled at her.
"Huh? Wha..."
"We called your name three times. Are you OK? You look lost." Sweetie Belle asked. Scootaloo didn't want her friends knowing about her crush on Rumble. If they knew, they might tease her or even tell him. She quickly came up with a lie.
"Um, yeah. I-I was just, um, looking at the beautiful day and enjoying the outside air!" She put on a nervous grin hoping her friends would buy the lie.
"Yeah. It is nice out today." Sweetie Belle said with a smile.
"Ah' bet Applejack and Big Mac are enjoyin' this weather too." Apple Bloom said. Scootaloo let out a quiet sigh of relief. She looked to her friends for a moment. She smiled and looked back to Rumble. Her smile faded into a small, slight frown. Sweetie Belle quickly noticed Scootaloo looking at Rumble. She saw her staring at him and watched as she got lost in a daze. She then noticed the frown on her face. She nudged Apple Bloom and got her attention.
"You know what, Scootaloo," she started. The statement caught her off guard once more and she quickly looked to her friends with a jump. "I think we should go to the swings. What do you say?" Sweetie Belle gave her a devious grin. Scootaloo started to panic.
"W- Wha- Why do you want to go on the swings? Aren't we planning on how to get our Cutie Marks? Yeah! I think we should focus on that!" She grabbed the paper and pencil and started writing.
""No, I want to go to the swings with you. Let's go swing, Scoots." Sweetie Belle said, getting up from her seat on the bench and started walking towards her. Scootaloo didn't want to confront Rumble. She didn't want to talk to him yet, and even if she did, what will she say? She would freak out and panic. Scootaloo, now panicked, tried to find a way out of this. She just had too.
"I- I think you should take Apple Bloom to the swings with you instead!" Scootaloo said, trying to stop the little unicorn.
"But I want to swing with you! Besides, Apple Bloom is busy planning our next adventure." She gave the earth pony a wink and Apple Bloom got the hint. She grabbed the paper and pencil from Scootaloo and started to write stuff down. Sweetie Belle grabbed Scootaloo and dragged her towards the swing set. This was it. She had no other chance. She froze and just let her friend drag her to the swing set. They finally reached the swing set where Rumble was still in his daze. He was completely unaware of the two fillies right next to him Sweetie Belle cleared her throat and sat next to him on the swings. Rumble snapped out of his daze and looked over. He saw Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo right next to him. He blushed and looked away. In a quiet tone, he spoke up.
"Hi Sweetie Belle.... " Sweetie Belle quickly responded to his 'hello' with a smile.
"Hi Rumble!" Sweetie Belle said in an extremely happy voice. Scootaloo just stared at him with wide eyes.
Paralyzed.
Unable to move a single muscle, she just sat there. Just before she was about to speak, the school bell rang. Rumble quickly got up and ran to the classroom. Scootaloo got up faster than Rainbow Dash could do a Sonic Rainboom. She was about to run until Sweetie Belle stopped her. "Scootaloo." she said in a low tone. Scootaloo froze and turned to her friend.
"Yeah, What?" she said nervously.
"I know." Scootaloo's eyes got wide again. She blushed and looked down.
"K- Know what? I- I don't-" She was interrupted by a single hoof.
"I know you like Rumble, and so does Apple Bloom." Scootaloo sat down and started to tear up. Sweetie Belle sat next to her friend and put an arm around her to comfort her.
"You're going to tell him, aren't you?" Scootaloo said crying.
"What! No! Why would we do that?" She turned Scootaloo's head so she was looking at her eye to eye. "Look, so what if you like him. It's OK! You just need to tell him how you feel." she said with a smile.
"But Sweetie Belle... what if he doesn't like me back?" Scootaloo continued to cry, not out of sadness, but out of fear. Scootaloo looked down.
"Scootaloo, look at me." Sweetie Belle said in a very demanding tone. Scootaloo slowly looked
to her friend, wiping her eyes. "If you don't go and ask now, you will spend the rest of your life wondering what could have been. Sure you may forget about it when you're an adult, but the pain and memory will still be there. You need to know. Did you see how he reacted when he saw you? He looked away and barely said a word. Scootaloo, I bet if you just go and ask, you might find out the truth. Maybe he does like you and is going through the same thing you're going through. You will never know until you ask." Scootaloo wiped her tears from her eyes. She smiled and gave her friend a hug.
"Thank you Sweetie Belle." Sweetie Belle returned the hug.
"Sure thing Scoots. Now, we have to get to class." They both let out a small chuckle and made there way to the classroom. Sweetie Belle walked in first and took her seat next to Apple Bloom. Scootaloo walked in not too long after Sweetie Belle. She looked up and almost died of a heart attack. The seat she sat at every day was taken by another filly. She looked around and saw only one seat open. The seat she didn't want. The seat right next to Rumble. He wasn't paying any attention to what was going on. He just had his head on his desk and was playing with a pencil. Cheerilee walked into the class and spoke up to silence the young fillies and colts.
"Alright my little ponies! Settle down and take your seats."
"Ms. Cheerilee," Scootaloo started, "I don't have a seat. My seat was taken and I don't think there are any others."
"Why there's a seat right next to Rumble, Scootaloo." She pointed a hoof to the back of the room where Rumble was sitting. He looked up to his teacher after hearing his name being called. He then spotted Scootaloo standing next to her. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom both smiled and tried their hardest not to laugh. They weren't laughing to be mean, but because they knew she like him and wanted them to be together. Rumble's heart sank. His eyes grew wide and his pupils got smaller by the second. Scootaloo sighed and walked over to the seat and sat down next to him, without saying a word or making eye contact. Cheerilee walked up to the chalk board and started her lesson. Scootaloo told herself to stay calm and focus, but for some reason, she couldn't do it. Everytime she tried to focus on Cheerilee, she would find herself staring at the young colt next to her. She went to her saddle bag and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pencil. She thought that writing would help her take her mind off of Rumble. She began taking notes of the lesson Cheerilee was talking about. It was working! Her mind was fully on the lesson and not on Rumble.
While she was writing, she had the strangest feeling that some pony was watching her. She looked over and saw no pony looking at her. She simply shrugged it off and continued writing. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Rumble taking small glances at her. He too was writing, but every so often he would move his eyes over and watch her. Her heart pounded and she tried hard not to blush. She couldn't take any more of this. She finally had a sign of relief as the school bell rang. She quickly put her stuff in her saddle bag and jumped out of her chair. However when she did this, the strap to her bag got caught on the chair and ripped the whole bag open. All of her supplies fell out. Her pencils, papers, pens, and highlighters, all of it was on the floor.
"NO!" she yelled as her stuff fell and rolled on the floor. Scootaloo rushed and tried to get her things back in her bag. Rumble saw this and realized that this was an open opportunity to talk to her and walked up to her.
"D- Do you, um, need some help?" he asked in a nervous and shaking tone. Scootaloo's eyes grew wide as she recognized the voice. Her fast and rushed attempt to get her things came to an instant halt as she froze in fear. "Do you need some help?" She didn't want to say anything. Actually, she didn't know what to say at all. She had the feeling of pure excitement because he was talking to her, and fear because he was talking to her. She looked around and saw Sweetie Belle at the door, who simply stared at Scootaloo with a stern and calm face which said, 'Just talk to him'. Scootaloo nodded to her friend and took on last breathe.
"Yes. Yes, I do need some help." Her heart pounded faster with every word she spoke. She tried not to look at him, for her face was completely red. Rumble smiled and started to help clean the mess. No one was around and the room was completely empty, which made things a little awkward for the both of them. The two stayed quiet and didn't say a word. Scootaloo wanted to say something, but was way too shy to say anything. Rumble felt the same way. He tried to force himself to open his mouth, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. After they got everything picked up, they made their way out of the classroom. They still said nothing and avoided eye contact. While walking, Scootaloo let out a big sigh of relief. Her hooves were shaking and she couldn't control it. She knew that Sweetie Belle would be at the tree house. She also knew that she would want to know what happened.
Scootaloo finally made it to the tree house. Not three seconds was she there when Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom came running asking what had happened.
"Did you talk to him like I said?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Um... well..." Scootaloo was interupted by Apple Bloom.
"Why of course she talked to him! What kinda' question is that?"
"Well, actually Apple Bloom... I didn't. I couldn't do it. I mean I really wanted to, but I just couldn't." Scootaloo sat her stuff down and also took a seat on the ground. She started to turn red again and had tears forming in her eyes. "This is stupid! Why can't I do the most simple thing ever, talking to someone!" She bagan to get angry. Sweetie Belle started thinking.
"Hey Apple Bloom, can I talk with you for a minute?"
"Sure Sweetie Belle, what's up?" They walked a few feet away from Scootaloo so they could talk.
"What if we set those two up? Isn't Pinkie Pie throwing a party at the Cake's shop later, and if I remember correctly, Rumble was invited as well! We can get those two together at the party!"
"Oh ma' goodness! That's ah great idea!" Apple Blooms face then turned to a worried expression. "Wait, what is Scootaloo doesn't wanna go?" Sweetie Belle thought for a moment.
"Well, I guess we will have to tell her the truth then." Apple Bloom was confused now.
"What? Why would we do that?"
"Think about it. If we tell her that Rumble is there, she will want to go!"
"Ah don't think it works like that Sweetie Belle."
"Trust me, it will work." They walked back to Scootaloo, who was lying on her stomach in the grass. She was obviously upset. "Hey, Scootaloo, you want to go to Pinkie's party later with us?"
"No thanks. I think I'll just sit here and do nothing." she said in a low tone.
"I heard Rumble will be there." Sweetie Belle said. Scootaloo's ears perked up and her face got red. "I also heard he wants to see you there."
"Really!" Scootaloo said in excitement. She then cleared her throat. "I mean really? Why would he want to see me?"
"I think he likes you. You should go. I'll take you the my house and Rarity will get you something nice to wear."
"You mean like a dress?" Scootaloo said in disgust. "There's no way you will get me in a dress!"
"Come on Scoots. It will be for one night. Do it for Rumble." Scootaloo thought for a minute. She then let out a sigh.
"Fine. But only for tonight!"
"Good! Now come on! The party starts in one hour." She grabbed Scootaloo and they made their way to Sweetie Belle's. She then turned to Apple Bloom before leaving. "Go to Rumble's house and tell him that Scootaloo is going. If he refuses, tell him that she will want to see him. Got it?" Apple Bloom nodded and made her way to his house.
"I don't know Apple Bloom. I can't show up there." Apple Bloom was starting to get irritated.
"But she wants to see ya'. Look, Scootaloo wants you to go!"
"Yeah, I know, but I don't have anything to give her."
"Say what now?" Rumble sighed.
"My brother told me that when a colt likes a filly, the colt is supposed to bring her something nice on their... uh, date. He said it's what a true gentlecolt would do."
"Aw, that's sweet."
"Yeah I know. The only problem is that I don't have anything to give her."
"Well then you can buy her somethin'."
"I don't have any bits." Apple Bloom looked around and saw that he had a lot of comics. An idea sprung in her head.
"Why don't ya sell one of your comic books?" Rumble's ears shot up.
"What! I can't do that! These are rare collectable, limited edition, mint condition Dr. Coltsteen comics! I can't do that! I love these comics." He hugged one of the comics close to him and then looked down at it. "But I love Scootaloo more." He sighed and looked to Apple Bloom. "I guess I can sell number 124, 'Return of Mr. Chaos and the Slim Slackers'. It wouldn't go for much due to the comic having a new writer in this issue, and the art wasn't the same. A lot of fans say it was the worst in the series, but I don't care. I liked it." He looked at Apple Bloom, who had a confused look on her face.
"Ah didn't make a lick ah sense of what you just said, but I did hear you say sell! Come on, let's go get something nice for your date!" Rumble blushed gave Apple Bloom the comic.
"OW!" Scootaloo screamed.
"Oh I am so sorry dear, but you must hold still so I can make this dress." Rarity said. She had accidently poked Scootaloo with the needle. "All... Most... Done!" She backed away from Scootaloo so she could look at her self in the mirror. The dress didn't look bad, it actually looked great on her. Still, Scootaloo wanted to hit herself with a hammer. She hated dresses. "So," Rarity started. "What do you think?"
"Well it's nice, but..."
"But, what dear?"
"I'm just not used to wearing dresses. That's all." Rarity gave the young filly a smile.
"Well you look great Scootaloo. You really do." Scootaloo looked at herself in the mirror. Her ears fell back and she sighed.
"I just hope Rumble thinks so."
"How much?" Rumble yelled at the cashier.
"Ten bits, and that's with the vase." Rumble looked at Apple Bloom.
"What am I going to do? I only have eight bits." he asked. Apple Bloom thought and then walked up to the cashier.
"Can he buy just the flowers?"
"Why of course, but it would look better with the vase. They are only five bits. Are you sure you want just the flowers?"
"Yes ma'am." The cashier gave Apple Bloom the flowerts and then Rumble gave her the bits. They thanked the cashier and made their way to the party. "You did a brave thing today by selling that comic for the flowers, Rumble. The flowers look nice though." said Apple Bloom. Rumble's ears fell and he sighed.
"I just hope Scootaloo thinks so."
They finally got to the party, where Sweetie Belle was waiting outside. She called for Apple Bloom.
"Hey Rumble, you should go inside. I'll be in there soon." Apple Bloom said, trying to get rid of the little colt. He nodded and went inside the shop. As soon as he was out of sight, she quickly ran up to Sweetie Belle. "So, where is she?"
"Right here." Scootaloo said in an emotionless tone, walking out from behind the building. "Are you sure this will get his attention? I feel stupid wearing this, no offense to Rarity."
"None taken." Sweetie said. "I'm absolutely sure he will love it. You look great. Just go in there and make him yours!" She pushed Scootaloo inside. When Scootaloo walked in, the whole party stopped and stared at her. They then started giving her compliments about how good the dress looked. Scootaloo started to blush. After the whole crowd of ponies gave her the compliments, they resumed what they were doing. The party was amazing, and there was a band playing there. They were new in town and played classical music. Scootaloo noticed Octavia playing her cello with them. She gave the sophisticated earth pony a wave, but Octavia didn't see her. She was too caught up in her beautiful music. She also noticed one of Pinkie's Party Cannons lying out in the open. Pinkie wasn't watching it, and quite frankly, that scared Scootaloo. She knew Pinkie Pie was crazy, but for her to leave the Party Cannon out in the open without some pony watching it was just... crazy! She ignored it and continued her way in the party, with Sweetie Belle following close behind. Apple Bloom was near the front door. She stayed behind and talked to their classmate and friend, Twist.
Sweetie Belle spotted Rumble near a table. She told Scootaloo to walk next to him to show off her dress. Scootaloo agreed and made her way to Rumble. When Scootaloo passed him, he fell over on the table, breaking it, and landed on the ground with a thud. When she looked back to see if he was okay, she stepped on the end of the dress and stumbled. She fell on the unguarded Party Cannon and it misfired. Confetti flew across the room, hitting a hanging lamp and caused it to fall, making the party stop. All of the party ponies stopped what they were doing and tried to figure out what happened. They tried to find Pinkie, but she was nowhere to be found. During the confusion, both Rumble and Scootaloo got out of there as fast as they could. Rumble went out the back and Scootaloo went out the side door. They had never been so embarrassed in all of their lives.
They looked around to make sure no one saw them escape the embarrassing scene. They backed up into eachother, giving both of them a fright. When they saw that is was just them and no other pony, they let out a small chuckle.
"You scared me Rumble. I thought you were somepony else." Scootaloo said with a chuckle.
"Same here." They then started to walk away from the party. "So, Scootaloo..." Rumble started to look away and at the ground. "You look great. I like the dress you're wearing. It looks really good on you." Scootaloo blushed. "Oh, I got you these." He then gave her the broken flowers. "Sorry, they got smashed."
"How did they get smashed?" Scootaloo asked. Rumble blushed at the question.
"I, uh... I wanted to give you those in a pretty vase, but when I went to get the vase, I fell on the table. That's why it broke and that's also why I had to leave the party." He paused for a moment. "I was hoping you wouldn't see that."
"Yeah, I saw what happened. Are you OK?"
"Yeah, just my head hurts. I'll be fine." he said rubbing the back of his head. "So, Scootaloo, why did you leave the party?" She looked away.
"Well I showed up in this stupid dress to..." She stopped walking and Rumble stopped too. "I showed up in this dress to get your attention. It looks like I got it." she said laughing. Rumble blushed even more. "Plus I fell and caused Pinkie's Party Cannon to go off. I didn't want you to see me after that." She blushed and looked away. "You see Rumble, the reason I got dressed up to get your attention is because I like you... a lot, and I just-" She was interrupted by his hoof. He didn't say anything. He just simply stared into her eyes. She knew what he was thinking. She closed her eyes and moved in, as did Rumble. They moved in closer and kissed. Scootaloo got so caught up in the sudden kiss, she dropped the flowers. After a brief moment of kissing, they moved back.
"I like you too Scootaloo." Tears formed in her eyes. She gave the colt a hug.
"So," she started. "now what?"
"You want to go to my house for dinner? My brother is making hay burgers tonight." Rumble said with a laugh.
"Oh my gosh, I love hay burgers!" She said fluttering her wings in excitment. She picked up the flowers and they made their way to Rumble's house.
Two little ponies who were afraid to show their true emotions towards one another, finally had their wildest dream come true. They were together! They had confessed their love for each other, not knowing how the other would react. They took this brave move and the consequence was even more than they could ever ask for. They finally had each other, and they couldn't be happier.