Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle trotted back into Ponyville, both of them with smiles on their faces. As they made their way past some of the game booths, Sweetie Belle leaned in and nudged Scootaloo's neck again, receiving a kiss from her on the forehead in response. It was only when the two of them neared the banquet tables did a thought come to Scootaloo's mind, making her bite her lower lip as she looked at Sweetie Belle again.
"What are you gonna do about Rumble?" she asked.
Sweetie Belle looked up to her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"You two have been getting real close for the past few days," she explained as they stopped trotting. "Don't you think you should tell him about us getting back together?"
Sweetie Belle blinked a few times as she let her words sink in. Truthfully, she hadn't even thought about what she was going to tell Rumble. The first thought she had was of telling him the truth, but images of him being so happy for most of the night brought forth a cloud of uncertainty.
"I...I don't know if I should," she said after a few moments, guilt clearly evident in her tone.
Scootaloo flinched at her answer as she asked, "Why not?"
"It's just that...he seems so happy tonight. I'd feel really bad if I ruined it by telling him the bad news."
Scootaloo thought about it for a moment, tapping her chin with a hoof. "I...guess you're right," she finally said. "So, what are you gonna do then?"
A moment went by as Sweetie Belle thought hard about it. It didn't take too long for an idea to come to mind, but a wave of guilt quickly washed over her; Scootaloo might not be too keen on the idea, nor would she be willing to go through with it.
"I have an idea," she said in a soft tone. "If it's alright with you, Scoots, do you think Rumble and I can spend tonight together? It'll be just for tonight! I promise I'll tell him all about us tomorrow. We can even do it together, if you'd like! I just can't ruin tonight for him. You understand, right?"
Scootaloo looked at the ground, her eyes darting back and forth as she thought about the idea. When she came to a decision, an idea all her own came to mind, one that made her smile coyly at her.
"Alright, we'll wait," she said in a playful voice. "But on one condition."
"Okay," Sweetie Belle nervously said. "What do you have in mind?"
"Since the concert is starting soon, you owe me a dance."
They stared at each other for a few moments, Sweetie Belle with a confused look and Scootaloo with a playful grin. After a moment, Scootaloo began laughing, encouraging Sweetie Belle to follow suit.
Her laughter subsiding, Sweetie said, "Deal."
They shared another kiss and bid each other farewell until later. As Scootaloo began heading towards the concert stage, Sweetie Belle began galloping to the banquet tables, hoping that Rumble was still there.
Rumble sat at one of the many tables underneath a red and white striped tent, stuffing a pastry in his mouth and marveling at the apple-filling inside. Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he took a drink and got ready to eat his last cupcake when he heard a familiar voice call out to him, making him stop in his tracks.
"Hey, Rumble," she had said, making him turn to see that Apple Bloom trotted up to him. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it when he saw the beautiful dress she was wearing.
It was a simple red dress with a green neckband and pink saddle with hearts all around it, but what made it stand out was that all of it was sparkling with an array of different shades of silver; even her hair bow [which was exchanged from red to green] was glittering before his eyes. To top it all off, her mane was back in the braided style from a couple of weeks ago.
"Hey Abby," he finally said, pushing his plate to the side. "Gosh, you look beautiful."
"Thanks. You look great, too," she said with a blush, mentally thanking Rarity for making sure it was, as she said, 'ravishing with her complexion'. Reluctantly, she put those thoughts aside and regained her focus on why she was here.
Before she could speak, Rumble said, "You know, I haven't seen you around all week. How's it been?"
"Fine," she responded, gritting her teeth as the memories of what happened rushed back to her. "Ah'm just peachy."
Silence soon followed as Apple Bloom thought about how she was going to tell him. Watching him munch on his cupcake, she cleared her throat as she decided to start with a simple conversation first.
"So, you an' Sweetie Belle have been spendin' a lotta time together lately," she said innocently.
"Yup, we sure have," he said as he finished up his last bit of food.
"You two look like yer really close."
"I guess you can say that."
Okay, just say it, she thought as she took one last breath and said, "Rumble...there's somethin' ah hafta..."
She was immediately interrupted when they heard Thunderlane call out from above them, "Rumble, there you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!"
"Hey, Thunder," he said as his brother landed beside him. "What's up?"
"It's almost time for the concert! We'd better hurry if we wanna get a good spot."
Getting up and gathering his trash, Rumble said, "Okay. I was just waiting for..."
"Here I am!" Sweetie Belle called out as if on cue. Trotting up to them, she said, "Sorry it took so long!"
"There you are, and just in time!" Rumble exclaimed. "We were just about to head for the concert!"
"Great, let's..."
Sweetie Belle was interrupted by Rumble trotting up to her and bringing her into an embrace, nudging against her neck as he smiled warmly. She returned the gesture by wrapping one hoof around him, but quickly felt an uncomfortable shift when she saw Apple Bloom standing within close proximity of them.
Her left eye twitching, Apple Bloom slowly turned and began trotting away, mumbling under her breath as her eyebrows furrowed. Seeing this, Sweetie Belle's ears drooped as guilt reared its ugly head in again.
Releasing his embrace, Rumble turned and watched Apple Bloom trotting away. "Abby," he called out to her. "Where are you going? I thought you..."
"Nowhere," she quickly said, not stopping her trot. "Ah just have...somethin' ta do. Ah'll see ya'll there."
Before anyone could say anything else, she began galloping away.
"Okay, then!" Rumble called out to her, even though he was certain she didn't hear him. Shrugging, he turned to Sweetie Belle and said, "Well, let's get going!"
Sweetie Belle nodded as all three of them headed towards the stage. Deciding that it was best to talk to Apple Bloom about it tomorrow, she smiled and began galloping towards their destination, the thoughts of sharing a dance with Scootaloo entering her mind. Rumble didn't wait for an invitation as he began galloping after her, neither of them noticing Rarity not too far away.
"Found them," Thunderlane said nervously as the foals galloped away. "Are you ready to go?"
"Absolutely," she answered. Catching a passing glance, Rarity noticed the beaming smile on Sweetie Belle's face. As she and Thunderlane began trotting after them, she let out a sigh of relief as she smiled.
Well, it looks like Sweetie Belle finally put Scootaloo behind her and decided to enjoy herself, she thought. I'm so glad to finally see her happy, especially with Rumble. I'm so relieved to see that everything is going to work out after all.
Anticipation rose as a huge crowd gathered in front of the concert stage. It was the same stage as the opening ceremony, but several new light fixtures on the sides and overhead was added. In the back of the stage, Vinyl Scratch and Neon Lights were prepping the final touches before the show started.
The two of them nodded to each other as they began programming the lights to dim and blue smoke to start engulfing the stage, prompting the audience to fall silent in awe. Among them, Sweetie Belle and Rumble stood side-by-side, both of them with wide eyes and huge smiles as they prepared to see their first concert together.
As the smoke thickened until it was hard to see the stage at all, a loud voice that sounded like it was talking through a microphone yelled out, "Hello, Ponyville!"
Everypony was taken aback when a loud explosion echoed as the two unicorn singers, Savannah Café and Trench-Stud stood in the middle of the stage. Where she wore a seductive gold outfit that hugged her body in all the right places, he simply wore a suit that made him look extremely regal for a singer. Then, the audience broke out into a thunderous applause as they smiled and waved.
"I'm Savannah Café and this is Trench-Stud!" she announced. "We're ready to celebrate the 'Festival of the Night' with a bang! But first, let's hear it for our guest of honor, Princess Luna!"
As the crowd began stomping their hooves in response, Princess Luna, who was standing off to the side of the stage, bowed her head in response, Princess Celestia patting her on the back and smiling as well.
"Are you ponies ready to rock?" Trench-Stud asked.
Everyone shouted and cheered in response.
"Are you ponies ready to party?" Savannah asked.
When they got the same answer as before, Trench turned to Vinyl and said, "Spin it up, DJ!"
Vinyl Scratch saluted as she began playing the music and Savannah started singing. Almost everypony recognized the song and began cheering as loud as they could. When she got to the chorus line about "spreading a little love", it came to no one's surprise that the whole crowd began singing along with her.
Off to the side of most of the crowd by several tables and chairs, Rarity and Thunderlane watched the concert side-by-side. While Thunderlane eyed the outfits they were wearing with amazement, Rarity was rocking her head in time with the music.
"Those outfits you made for them are great!" Thunderlane shouted, hoping her could be heard over the loud music.
"Thank you, sweetie!" she responded, a smug look coming across her face.
After a while, the song ended and everypony cheered. Seeing this as his opportunity, Thunderlane said, "Hey, Rarity!"
"Yeah?" she asked.
"Do you...wanna dance?"
As Savannah began singing her next song that everyone recognized as her most recent track called "You'll be Mine", Thunderlane extended a hoof and smiled. Rarity didn't need to answer with words; she simply smiled in return and took his hoof into hers. Then, he led her to the dance floor, where they began moving in perfect harmony with one another; despite the upbeat music, they still managed to enjoy the romantic moment.
Meanwhile, Rumble looked over to his left to see that Thunderlane and Rarity were engaged in their dance. His cheeks blushed as he decided to follow suit.
"Sweetie Belle?" he asked as he tapped her on her shoulder.
"Yeah?" she answered with a smile.
"You...wanna...you know...dance with me?"
"Sure!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. For a brief moment, she thought about Scootaloo and that she had promised her a dance, too. However, she looked at Rumble and thought, Well, I guess one dance can't hurt.
Not too far away, Scootaloo watched as Sweetie Belle and Rumble began dancing with each other, a smile forming on her face as she watched how happy she was making him. After several moments, the song segued into a song about "chasing a shadow" or something, where Trench-Stud began taking over the lead vocals. As she bobbed her head to the music, she was surprised when she saw Apple Bloom trot up to her. With the way she was acting, she appeared to be trying her best to see what Sweetie Belle and Rumble were doing.
"Hey, Apple Bloom!" she called out to her, making her jump in surprise.
"Oh, hi Scootaloo," Apple Bloom said, quickly flashing a smile. "What're ya doin' here?"
"Just enjoying the party! How about you?"
She scratched be back of her neck as she answered, "Same."
The two of them fell silent as the song continued, the two of them keeping a close eye on the two as they continued dancing face-to-face and side-to-side, both looking like they were having the time of their lives.
"You know, I've never seen Rumble this happy," said Scootaloo.
"Yeah, ah know!" Apple Bloom responded as she started gritting her teeth. "They're really somethin'. Must be hard ta see her dancin' with him instead-a you, huh?"
Scootaloo let out a laugh. "No, not really, especially since me and Sweetie Belle made up and are back together!"
"WHAT!?" she practically shouted in surprise. "YA'LL MADE UP!?"
"Well, yeah!"
Apple Bloom hung her head as the look of disbelief remained there for several moments, her eyes fishing around for something, anything, to say. After a few seconds of thinking about it, an idea popped in her head, making her smile sinisterly as she looked from Scootaloo to Sweetie Belle and back.
"Hey, Scoots?" she asked nonchalantly.
Scootaloo answered by asking, "Yeah?"
Apple Bloom chuckled. "Why don't cha dance with Sweetie Belle, since yer back together and all?"
"That's a great idea!" she said as she jumped up with joy, her wings fluttering. "She still owes me a dance!"
Apple Bloom watched as Scootaloo began weaving through the sea of dancing ponies towards Rumble and Sweetie Belle with anticipation. It didn't take very long for her to confirm she was out of eyeshot for her to rub her hooves together.
Easy-peasy cider-squeezy, she thought. Now ta wait 'til he's alone so ah can talk ta him.
As the music went on, Thunderlane and Rarity trotted over to the nearest table. Both of them were hot and sweaty from all their dancing.
"Wow, you're a pretty good dancer," said Thunderlane.
"Why thank you, dear," Rarity said as she wiped her head with a napkin. "You're not so bad yourself."
As Thunderlane sat down, Rarity said, "I'll be right back. All that dancing has made me famished."
Quickly, he got up and asked, "Would you like me to get you something?"
"It's quite alright, darling. I'll manage."
Thunderlane smiled and nodded as she trotted off to the concession stand to get a drink. Sitting back down, he looked out at the party and saw that he had a clear view of Sweetie Belle and Rumble. The moment he saw them dancing harmoniously together, he couldn't help but smile. He had never seen his brother so happy before and it warmed his heart to know that Sweetie Belle's feelings were clearly mutual to his.
"Hey, Thunderlane!" a familiar voice called out to him, snapping him out of his thoughts. Turning his head, he watched as Applejack trotted up to him and sat in the seat across from him.
"Hey, Applejack," he said. "How's it been?"
"Great! Just takin' a break fer a while, is all. What're ya doing?"
"I'm just waiting for Rarity to get back."
The two of them smiled as they continued to look on at the rest of the ponies in the audience. It took little to no effort for Applejack to spot Rumble and Sweetie Belle dancing. Instantly, she raised an eyebrow at them before turning to Thunderlane, who was keeping an eye on them as well. Looking back at them, a strange wave of uncertainty washed over her as she tapped her chin with a hoof.
The song ended with a similar echoing boom from before, resulting in most of the ponies stopping their dancing to applaud the singers.
"You want another one?" Savannah asked.
When the crowd responded with a loud cheer, the next song started to play. It was another song most of them were familiar with, one where she and Trench sang about them "running the night", whatever that meant.
As the song started to play, Rumble turned to Sweetie Belle and smiled, resulting in her smiling back. However, they were interrupted when they heard a familiar voice ask, "Mind if I cut in?"
The two of them turned to see Scootaloo standing there with her hoof out to them, waiting for somepony to take it.
Rumble opened his mouth to say something, but was immediately cutoff by Sweetie Belle saying, "Sure!"
A confused look on his face, Rumble watched as she took Scootaloo's hoof and the two of them started dancing with each other. He turned away and decided to get some rest before dancing again. It was only when he saw their dance change did he stop and stare at them, even more confused than he was moments before.
At first, they began dancing much like he and Sweetie Belle had been doing all night. Then, she and Scootaloo began dancing with their hooves in the others'. They twirled and spun, their eyes locked onto each other while smiles remained on their faces.
He tilted his head and continued to watch this for a while, unaware that Apple Bloom was still looking on and becoming more annoyed by the minute.
"Oh, for Celestia's sake! Don't just stand there!" she shouted aloud. Face-hoofing herself, she let out a groan as she said, "Fine, I'll just go to him!"
From where he was sitting, Thunderlane watched as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle danced with each other. Raising an eyebrow at them, he let out a scoff as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Wow, they look like they're close with each other, huh?" he asked Applejack, who was also looking at the two fillies. "With the way they're dancing like that, you'd think they were in a relationship or something."
He was taken aback when he heard her laugh in response. "Are ya kiddin'? Ya know they're as close as two peas in a pod!"
Thunderlane gave her a questioning look. "W-What are you talking about?"
Applejack laughed again. "Sorry, sugar cube, ah don't mean ta laugh. It's just funny how ya act like ya don't know, that's all."
"Don't know what?"
His answer made her stop laughing, though the smile remained.
"Ya know...'bout Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo," Applejack said.
"What about them?" he asked.
Her smile had faded this time as she gave him a quizzical look. "You do know about them, right?"
Thunderlane answered by shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head.
"C'mon, Thunderlane," Applejack said. "Rarity said she told ya all 'bout it!"
"All about what?" he asked again. "What exactly are you talking about?"
It was then that all the pieces began fitting together. Turning her gaze away from him, Applejack removed her hat and began rubbing the top of her head. She didn't know whether she was more shocked or outraged, but there was one thing she did know and she was having a hard time coming to grips with it.
Rarity, ah don't believe ya! Ya lied ta me...ya lied ta him...ya lied 'bout everythin', she thought as she began taking several deep breaths. Then, a determined look came across her face as she put her hat back on and nodded. Well, there's only one thing ta do.
Looking Thunderlane in the eyes, she straightened her posture and said, "Thunderlane, sugar, we need ta talk."
Wiping her mouth with a napkin, Rarity trotted back towards the concert stage with a smile on her face. As she began to make her way to where Thunderlane was sitting, she quickly shot a glance in Sweetie Belle and Rumble's direction. The moment she saw that her sister was no longer dancing with Rumble, but instead with Scootaloo, her heart began to pound in her chest as her breathing became more and more labored. What made it all worse was when she saw Rumble watching the two of them not too far away.
"Oh no!" she practically shouted as she began weaving around anypony in her way, desperately trying to get to Thunderlane before it was too late.
As Applejack finished telling him about Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, Thunderlane sat back in his seat, his mouth hanging open.
Shaking his head disbelievingly, he said, "No...No, you're wrong! You're lying!"
"Ah'm sorry, Thunderlane," Applejack said firmly. "But what ah'm sayin' is the honest truth!"
"No," he said again. "I don't believe you! Rarity said Sweetie Belle wasn't into fillies, that she loved Rumble, and that..."
"She also said that she told you everything and that you were okay with their relationship!" she interrupted. "Was that true?"
He got up from his seat and began to back away from her. "This...this can't be right," he muttered to himself. "She wouldn't do that...she wouldn't lie to me!"
Looking back at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, still dancing closer than ever, he began to really think about them being in a relationship. All he could say was, "She wouldn't...would she?"
He fell silent as he continued to watch them along with Rumble, though the latter didn't know it. They watched as they twirled around, hooves together and bodies really close to one another. Still struggling to get to them, Rarity began pushing ponies out of her way as her eyes became pinpoints and sweat began forming on her forehead. All the while, Apple Bloom tried getting to Rumble with a determined look on her face, not even giving Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle a passing glance.
For all the ponies that were fixated on the two dancing fillies, everything came to a complete standstill at what happened next.
When the song ended, Scootaloo held Sweetie Belle in her arms as the two of them looked at each other with loving eyes. For them, nothing else matter except each other; it was like everypony had disappeared and had fallen silent, leaving the two of them locked in their tender moment together. Holding each other close, they closed their eyes, leaned in, and kissed.
Rumble and Thunderlane shared the same sentiment by staring with their eyes wide and mouths agape. From where she stood, Rarity froze in her tracks as her beating heart came to a sudden stop, her breathing becoming shallow. For all of them, the sounds of the rest of the crowd seemed to fall silent, despite the fact that they were all cheering for the singers.
His mind spinning in different directions, Rumble practically shouted."Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo!"
Their kiss ending earlier than they anticipated, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle turned to look at Rumble, unaware that he was watching them the whole time. Quickly, they released each other as their cheeks began to flush.
"What are you doing!?" he asked. "Why are you kissing each other like that!?"
They gave each other worried glances as the question seemed to hit them harder than they expected. Scootaloo lowered her head in shame as Sweetie Belle took a step towards him.
"I'm sorry, Rumble," she said. "We were gonna tell you..."
"'Tell me'?" Rumble repeated as an eyebrow rose. "Tell me what?"
Embarrassment settled in as Sweetie Belle lowered her head and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. Taking several deep breaths, she finally managed to say, "Scootaloo and I are...are...are together."
"What do you mean 'together'? I can see you're together! Why would you...?"
Rumble didn't need to finish his question for the answers to become clear. It was only when he thought about the kiss they shared that everything began falling into place; now he knew why they were always spending so much time together without Apple Bloom around.
"Wait...," he said hesitantly. "You mean...you two are...together...as in together, together?"
The only answer Sweetie Belle gave was a slow nod as she bit her lip and lowered her head again.
Rumble slowly began to back away as tears were streaming down his cheeks. How can two fillies be in love with each other? Wasn't it only supposed to be between fillies and colts? Within those questions, the thoughts about him and Sweetie Belle being together began making him even more confused than before.
"But...I thought...you and me...we were..." he said, unable to get any thoughts together to form a proper sentence.
"I-I'm sorry Rumble," Sweetie Belle said as she took another step towards him. "I just..."
He began backing away. "Stay back...stay away..."
"Rumble..."
With everything hitting him at once and none of it making sense, Rumble began galloping away as tears streamed down his cheeks faster than before. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo just stood there, neither of them knowing if they should follow him or not.
Exchanging guilty looks, all Sweetie Belle could do was stand where she was and say, "Oh no."
It felt like Thunderlane's world began to slowly crumble around him as he watched the two fillies kiss each other. He didn't have anything against them or anything, but it was everything else that he began to question, and all of them revolved around one mare.
"It can't be," he whispered. "It can't be."
Everything that Applejack had said was true; Rarity lied about everything, from Sweetie Belle being in a relationship with another filly to claiming that her feelings were mutual to Rumble's. With these new revelations in mind, he began to question whether or not everything she said was true, like how she said she loved him.
He didn't have time to delve into why for the sight of Rumble running towards and past him with tears in his eyes captured his attention.
"Rumble!" he called out as he began to gallop after him. "Rumble, wait!"
"Thunderlane!" a familiar voice called out to him. He turned his head to see Rarity galloping after him with a look of sheer panic on her face. "Thunderlane, please! I can explain!"
Anger coursing through him at mere sight of her, Thunderlane furrowed his eyebrows and shouted as loud as he could, "DON'T BOTHER!"
The response made her stop galloping immediately. All she could do was watch as the two of them disappeared over the horizon, no doubt heading towards the inn. She could have sworn she heard somepony trotting up to her, but that didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore, except for the heartache she was feeling and that she had caused. She didn't even move as Applejack trotted beside her.
Applejack only stopped for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed, as she simply said, "Ah'll deal with you tomorrow."
With that, she began galloping after Thunderlane and Rumble, leaving Rarity alone. The spotlight was back on her again, feeling like she was exposed to everyone in town for the liar and deceiver that she was. Then, the tears that pooled in her eyes began streaming down her cheeks.
Out of the frying pan..., Rarity thought as she lowered her body onto the ground. Not caring about anything, like how her dress was getting dirty from the way she was positioned, she said the rest of the sentence out loud as she began crying uncontrollably.
"...and into the fire."