Equestria Unlimited: My Little Rumble

by steel soul


Chapter Three

Ponyville

“Done and done!” Rumble exclaimed with a tired sigh, his hoof still waving to the musicians as they made their way to town hall.  When they had disappeared behind their doors he cast a glance at the filly beside him, the little mare checking off the last item on the list. “How’s it looking my trusty navigator?” He asked in a mock tone of leadership.

“All’s well and good cap’n Rumble!” Apple Bloom mused in a mock salute. “Everything is accounted for The Queen's welcoming celebration!” Both young ponies, tried with all of their might, to keep their stoic stature for a few more seconds before bursting out into laughter.

Rumble was the first to overcome from his laughter high, gently messing up Apple Bloom’s mane. “Getting kicked where the sun doesn’t shine aside," He stated, a wince of pain jolting from his groin as he did so, "This was pretty fun.” He told the little filly. “You showed me all the best places to eat. To hang out. To shop.This is, hooves down the most peaceful little town I’ve been to yet. And trust me, I've been to a lot of towns.” He smiled down at her. “Thanks for tagging along kiddo. Though I do kinda feel bad that you're missing your reunion to lead me around. I’m sure that you would have had more fun with your friends and family than with some Canterlot-Stick-In-The-Mud Noble.”

“Are y’all kidding me?” Applebloom asked with a giggle. “Mister Rumble, you are anything but a stick in the mud. Besides, ah can see my family anytime. Applejack says that making a good friend is worth its weight in bits.”

“Heh, he seems like a down to earth kind of pony.” He paused before smirking. “Pun intended.”

"And a horrible one at that. "Apple Bloom giggled before giving him a slight push. “But really, you're nothing like all those stories of snobby ponies ah hear about.”

“Well…I think I’m a bit of a different case.” Rumble said with a shake of his head.

“How do ya mean?” Apple Bloom inquired with a tilt of her head.

The gray colt sighed softly before looking to the filly. “Lead me to the library and I’ll tell ya on the way. I really just want to get some sleep after today.”

“Sleep?” Apple Bloom said, eyebrow rose. “Buts it’s just a few hours after noon?”

“True,” Rumble agreed. “But that leaves me time to catch a quick nap before having to meet up with the Queen again.”

“Oh wow…So ya really are close to the Queen, huh?” Apple Bloom asked with wide shimmering eyes.

“Well…if practically being raised by her every own hoof counts as being close to her…” Rumble said with a smirk.

Apple Bloom’s eyes widened further. “Wait…Are ya saying that she raised you?” She gasped. “Are you her-!?” Before she could get the rest of the sentence out, Rumble clamped a wing over her muzzle.

“Shhhh! Lower voice please, Apple Bloom. And no…I’m not her son or anything like that. I’m just a student under her tutelage.” He said as he let his wing fall from her muzzle. “Besides, when did you even see her married?”

“Well…ah do’h know…maybe she got one of those…um…harems?”

Rumble’s eyes bugged. “S-She’s not like that!” He near squeaked. "He looked down at the filly. "How do you even know why that word means?!"

“Okay, Okay.” Apple Bloom said in a pacifying gesture. “But ya did say she raised ya, right?”

Calming down, the gray furred teen gave Apple Bloom a solemn nod. “Yeah, she did.”

Apple Bloom wanted to voice another question but soon clamped her mouth back shut. The two ponies walked in relative silence for a while before Apple Bloom spoke up once more. ”Is she as nice as they say she is?”

Rumble looked to the mare for a moment before looking back straight. “Yeah…She's the best pony I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.”

Apple Bloom seemed to nod at that answer before falling back into silence, though a small smile played upon her lips. It wasn’t long before the pair happened upon, in Rumble’s opinion, the oddest building he had ever seen, and that’s taking into account the Gingerbread looking building he had passed in he and Applebloom’s tour through Ponyville.

~

Canterlot Castle

“All Hooves! At Attention!”

At the command of of a rather misplaced pink and poofy maned pony in light brown armor, the troops under her command all stood ridged, each pony’s hoof wrapped around the spear, the weapons tilted in a way that looked as though it was archway like path.

“Announcing the Queen of Equestria! Twilight Amilia Sparkle!” The pink mare shouted, her own hoof raised in the air in salute.

The aforementioned Queen of Equestria sighed heavily before nodding to two of her guards beside her, their horns lighting up to open the double doors in a glow of yellow and blue magic. Doned in her golden, royal attire , the Twilight Amilia Sparkle regaly cantered to her awaiting carriage, at the end of the spear archway.

Beside her, cantered a rather handsome looking  grey stallion. His body, slender and elegant, longer of limb that most ponies, though there was a certain masculine look to him, keeping the stallion from looking too much like a mare. If anything, the stallion would be quite the catch to anypony that might fancy him. The only off putting thing about him was his choice of attire. That being a odd pointy blue hat and bell adorned cape that seemed to jiggle with every movement he made. Twilight was more then sure that he was making unnecessary motions with his legs for that to happen.

Giving the queen a smile, the thin stallion addressed the her with a cool, yet teasing tone of voice. “You know, My Queen,,” He began in a gentle whisper. “With such a dour look on your muzzle, somepony might think the world is ending soon.” He gave a slight chuckle at his joke, the bells on his hat jingling in tone with his silent laughter.

Queen Twilight shot him a quick glare before sighing and folding her ears back. “Okay...You got me.” She said before smiling a bit. “It's just…I don’t know. Something seems off to me. I don’t know what it is though.”

“If something is bothering you, then it must be serious.” Starswirl mused softly, tapping his chin with a hoof “Do you want to talk about it, Princess?”

Twilight shook her head gently, giving him a warm smile. “No...No, I’m sure it's just nerves.”

“But, you love public apparences.” The wizard pony mused. “How could somepony who basically strives on giving speeches ever be nervous about meeting a few of her citizens in  the quaint little town?”

Twilight gave the stallion the most devastating sideways glare she could muster, though the subtle puff of her cheeks ruined any of the hate factor that the queen was trying to portray. “I don’t strive on giving speeches Starswirl.” The mare held up her nose in a haughty fashion as she closed her eyes. “I’m just really, really good at them.”

“Careful my queen.” Starswirl teased. “Your age is showing.”

Twilight slightly deflated, though she kept the angered expression on her features. “You're annoying...you know that?”

“Love you too, my Queen.” Starswirl said with a smug like smile.

Upon reaching the end of the spear made archway, the pink pony in armor saluted with a stern expression upon her features, she spoke with a clear cut, yet somewhat bubbly tone. “Ma’am, your carriage awaits, Ma’am.”

“Thank you Captain Pie.” Twilight said with a bow. Turning to Starswirl she addressed the stallion with stern tone. “I take it you can handle things within the palace while I am away?” She asked in a athortorive tone.

“But of course my queen.” Starswirl answered with a flourishing of a bow. “Everything will be as it was before you left.”

“Good.” Twilight turned to the pink mare with a nod before entering into the carriage, Captain Pie following soon after. As soon as both ponies felt  telltale rumble of their ride flying off into the air, the pink pony’s stoic expression dissolved into a fit of uncontrollable giggles.

“Hehehe! Wow Twilight! I’ve been waiting for this all week!” She cheered, barely able to control her vibrating body. “I mean do you know how many times the Sunrise Celebration comes in a lifetime Twilight?!”

“At least once a hear Pinkie.” Twilight said with a gentle smile, not at all off put by her long time friend’s sudden change in dimuer. If there was something that was always liked about Pinkie, it's the fact that she knew how to do what needs to be done.

“Thats right Twi!” Pinkie continued unabashed. “Thats 366 days too long for my liking! I can’t wait to see all the happy faces cheer and play and have fun all the live long day! It’s gonna be great! I’ve never been this excited! Nor this nervous?! Have you?! It's almost like I’m nervouscited! Is that a word? I don’t think it is but I’m gonna make it one! It just flows so naturally and-”

Twilight nodded, content to allow Pinkie to talk for the both of them. Her gaze fell to the passing landscape before, a inkling in the back of her mind that something wasn’t right still scraping at the surface of her thoughts. I hope I'm right Starswirl, about it being just nerves. I just really really do...

~

Ponyville

“This,” Apple Bloom mused as she ran out in front of the older pony. “Is Ponyville Library!”

“This is the Library?” Rumble asked with a tilt of his head. One had to admit, it was an odd design choice by any means. The building in question was in fact, not a house in a tree, but a tree made into a house like structure of some sort.  It was very large and wide in terms of size. He was sure that half of town hall could fit within the building easily. As he approached the door, a gently swinging sign caught his eyes.

“Sacred Oak Library, huh?” He mused to himself with a smile. “Ya know, I’m half expecting this place to be filled with books made from its very own wood.”

“Ah know right?” Apple Bloom said with a giggle. “That’s actually a running joke round these parts.”

“No kidding?” Rumble asked giving off a chuckle of his own. “Wonder if it's true or not.”

Before he could reach the place of interest, the sound of hooves beating upon the dirt road from a distance began to reach his and the fillies ears. Rumble turned to Apple Bloom

“APPLE BLOOM!!” Called a rather shrill voice. Rumble’s wings shot out and he turned to face the one making their way to Applebloom and himself, only for the little yellow filly to rush out in a battle cry of her own.

“Diamond Tiara!”

Rumble could only watch in both horror and fascination as Apple Bloom rammed head first into another little filly. The newcomer seemed to be as tall as Applebloom, if not a little on the skinny side compared to Apple Bloom’s more well toned (FOR A FILLY MIND YOU) apparence. She was a light pink filly, maybe a few shades lighter then the Captain of the royal Earth Ponies, Captain Pie. Her mane was both white and purple, complementing her fur quite well. The picture of a tiara adored the little ones flank, not that he was looking. It was just there...as it was fall all ponies.

“What the hey, Apple Bloom?!” The one that Applebloom called Diamond Tiara said in an accusing tone. “FIrst we take the time out of our busy schedule to make it to your family reunion, only to find you had disappeared. You make us run all about town, ponies telling us we just missed you every time we think we are close. Now we find you in the company of not only a new pony in town but…” She looked to Rumble before slamming her head back into the waiting yellow filly. “A totally hot stallion!”

“Wait...What?” Rublem stuttered.
 
“Oh come off it DT!” Apple Bloom said as she pushed the pink filly’s head a bit with her own. “Ah was being neighborly to a pony who needed ma help. Besides, I thought you and ya family was staying the week in Trottingham!”

“I was! Till I found out that it was a business trip for my daddy and I begged him for me to stay with Silver and her Family!” Diamond yelled back, as she repeated the other fillies head actions.

“Well, ya should have told me!!” Apple Bloom told her.

“I was going to when I saw you!” Diamond answered

“Well okay then!” Apple Bloom relented loudly.

Both fillies kept their angered looks before busting out into laughter, leaving a very confused Rumble very confused.

His thoughts were distracted by a tug on his tail. Looking to his side, Rumble found himself staring at the blushing features of a gray filly, her mane s rather nice shade of silver. The bangs of her mane did a very poor job of hiding the lavender eyes of the blushing filly, her gaze always flicking from the ground and Rumble’s own.

Leaning down slightly he moved to get eye level with the filly. “Ah...Yeah? Can I help you?”

Rumble saw the already blushing filly’s features turn another shade of red as he spoke, her eyes widening and her body trembling. The young stallion barely heard the “ILIKEYOURMANE!” Squeak from the filly before she dashed away in a cloud of dust.

“Silvy?” Diamond called out after her retreating friend, her and Apple Bloom’s argument forgotten as she watched the young gray filly disappear down the road. Looking back to Apple Bloom, she would nod curtly, the yellow filly returning the gesture before both filly dashed after the gray one. Leaving a rather confused Rumble, still rather confused.

“I...Don’t think I will question it…” He said softly to himself before turning towards the door to the Library. With a heavy tired sigh, Rumble would open the door that was to be his temporary housing, hoping to get a bit a rest, and maybe a bag of ice as well for his still stinging groin. Maybe he could even-

*WHAM*

As Rumble felt himself tumble into a heap on the ground, he would contemplate where his life went wrong. Sure he wasn’t the most...Good of colts when he was young, but he would be damned if he didn’t say he tried his very best to be a good pony. Maybe it was just his fate to get tacked by unknown ponies today. If it was, it was a very odd fate in deed.

Landing on his back, Rumble would groan in pain, the feeling of something pinning his body to the floor the only thing he could register at the moment. As consciousness slowly came back to him, his violet eyes would gaze into a pair of sharp Emerald ones, cat like slits forming the irises instead of a normal circles.

“You kept me waiting Rumble.” Said a voice above him, the tone both hurt and sultry at the same time. “So I’m taking my compensation...In spades”