//------------------------------// // Making Deals // Story: My Big Batty Not-Wedding // by Wise Cracker //------------------------------// Rumble met up with the Cutie Mark Crusaders as usual. School had been the same as always. Scootaloo sneaking off and turning into a boy had become a routine. Scootaloo flying as a boy was still very much a hit-and-miss affair. “Come on, Truck, you’re not even trying.” Rumble bucked with his hooves and dashed forward again, waiting for his flying buddy to catch up. Truck looked like he bucked the air behind him, but it didn’t amount to much. “I am trying, dude. I just haven’t got the same magic you do.” From below, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle tried to make sense of the situation. “Well, Rumble’s gettin’ better at turning,” Apple Bloom observed. “That’s a plus.” “Yeah, but why can’t Scoot-” Apple Bloom glared Sweetie Belle to silence. “Ahem.” “Um, I mean, why can’t Truck use pegasus magic? After all, he is a pegasus pony with pegasus pony magic, right?” “I don’t know. Maybe he’s only figured out a part of pegasus magic, but not the whole deal.” Sweetie Belle nodded. “Maybe. Maybe we should think about that racing idea Derpy had. It might help with the you-know-what since you-know-who’s a whatchamacallit now.” Apple Bloom felt a knot form in her stomach at the very thought of it. “I dunno, Sweetie Belle. It might work, but it’s awful risky.” Up in the sky, Rumble looked around. Truck was getting tired from the failed attempts at magic and Thunderlane was nowhere in sight, so it was safe to land and talk to the other Crusaders. As he landed, Rumble noticed Apple Bloom checking his wings. She smiled at him once her inspection was done. “Thanks again for, you know, teachin’ Truck and all.” Rumble smiled. “Oh, don’t mention it. It’s fun, even if we can’t race properly.” Just as Truck landed, a pink filly jumped out of a nearby bush. “Did somepony say ‘race’?” The Cutie Mark Crusaders and colt barely had time to turn their heads before they were surrounded by their classmates. “Dude, what is going on here?” Truck started. “Hi, there, Truck! I’m Diamond Tiara, and this is Silver Spoon. We know all about racing, and we’d really like to see you and Rumble perform.” Diamond put up her brightest smile to introduce herself. Apple Bloom cocked an eyebrow. “Seriously? You wanna see Truck and Rumble race?” Diamond Tiara nodded. Silver Spoon followed suit. Archer, Featherweight, Shady, Lance, everypony around nodded. Diamond kept up her smile for the boys. “My daddy sponsors all the big races in Cloudsdale, and he sponsors a lot of the clubs around here, too. Trust me, I know where and when you can race, with nopony to get in the way.” Sweetie Belle furrowed her brow. “Why exactly would you want them to race?” “Because racing’s fun to watch, duh,” Silver Spoon replied. “But every time we go watch races, it’s all grownups. There aren’t any racers our age around here, except you two. I think everypony would love to see you two go at it, right?” She looked around for confirmation. One by one, all the kids nodded eagerly. And for some reason, Truck’s wings looked a little stiffer at that last remark. Diamond Tiara shot Truck a confident smirk. “What do you say, new kid? Are you game?” Rumble heard Lance whisper something towards him, and Featherweight was doing some weird motion with his hooves to subtly try and get Rumble moving. It didn’t take. Apple Bloom noticed Dinky Do and Archer tensing up. Sweetie Belle saw the same reaction in Shady and Archer. But what they all noticed was Truck. The boy’s breath turned slow and steady, his muscles seemed to ripple ever so gently, and whatever fatigue he had from trying to use his magic was gone now. He was enjoying this. Truck -- or rather, Scootaloo the changeling -- was enjoying her classmates’ excitement. This did not bode well. Truck smirked right back at the girl and even leaned in close. “Totally. Just say where and when.” Apple Bloom would have slapped herself if that didn’t give away her friend’s secret. But on the other hoof, Sweetie Belle had a point: if Scootaloo could feed on excitement and admiration, putting on a show would help. It would give Scootaloo the opportunity to practise flying without anypony asking questions about her sudden spike in skills, it would let her feed without hurting anypony, it was perfect. Except, of course, for one minor obstacle. “What about you, Rumble?” Silver Spoon asked. Rumble looked around to his classmates. “I-I don’t know. I don’t think I should. Let me think about it, okay?” A collective groan went through the crowd. Apple Bloom pulled him aside from the rest and pushed him behind the same brush their class been hiding behind. “Could y’all excuse us for a second?” Once she had him in private, Apple Bloom lowered her voice. “Okay, look, Rumble, I know you like bein’ on your own in your little corner or whatever, but think of what they’re offering here! You could practise racing, for real, like the Wonderbolts.” Rumble sighed. “That sounds nice, but I don’t really want to practise like the Wonderbolts do.” “You’d be practisin’ like Rainbow Dash did. Why would you not do this? Don’t tell me you have stage fright? Truck is okay with it.” The colt looked away. “It’s not that. It’s a long story. My brother wouldn’t like it.” “Well, your brother ain’t here now, is h-” “Rumble, what do you think you’re doing?” “Gah!” The children all jumped up in fright. Rumble was the first to recover. “Thunderlane? Again?! What is the matter with you?” “Come on, Rumble, it’s time to go home,” Thunderlane motioned his head towards Ponyville. Rumble gestured towards the girl he’d been hiding with. “But Apple Bloom was just asking me something.” Thunderlane just stared his little brother down. Even Apple Bloom could feel the pressure emanating from him. It felt like Thunderlane was mad, outraged, even. His cold response certainly didn’t say otherwise. “She can ask you in school tomorrow. Now come on, you need to get ready for the party.” Sweetie Belle walked up to the colt. “You’re going to a party? On a school night?” Rumble looked up to his big brother, then to the crowd. “Yeah, guess I am. Sorry about this, I’ll see you tomorrow.” “Yeah, see you tomorrow, Rumble,” Apple Bloom said, meekly waving her hoof as he lifted off. Diamond frowned. “What was that all about?” Truck shrugged. “Rumble’s family’s kinda traditional. They don’t like him hanging out with girls that aren’t his girlfriend.” Silver Spoon’s jaw nearly dropped. “Rumble’s got a girlfriend?” Truck grimaced. “Sorta, I guess. I dunno, dude, he didn’t tell me.” Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Anyway, we can get some clouds and flags set up, and we know what fields will be clear, I just need to ask my daddy. All you’d have to do is race.” Truck backed away. “Err, actually, on second thought, I might have a couple of issues. I’m kinda busy, you’re gonna have to ask my agent about that.” “And who’s your agent?” “I am!” Sweetie Belle dashed forward to stand in between Diamond Tiara and Truck. “You want to get Truck to do a race, you have to go through me.” Apple Bloom was not about to be outdone. “And I’m Rumble’s agent. I’ll handle the communications with him.” Silver Spoon shot the girl an incredulous glance. “Really? You’re his agent? Does he know that?” “Not yet, but I’m sure he’ll be happy to have me on board.” Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. “Ugh, fine. You just get him to race, and we’ll get the crowds, and all the setting up.” “Deal.” Apple Bloom extended her hoof for Diamond to shake. “Come on, everypony, let’s leave the agents to talk business with their clients.” Just like that, the crowd dispersed. The girls -- and one changeling who really needed to consult the dictionary on gender pronouns -- were left to their own devices again. “Did we just sign up Rumble for a race he didn’t agree to?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I don’t know. Maybe you shouldn’t have been so excited, Truck.” Apple Bloom prodded the boy who was usually a girl. “I couldn’t help it.” Truck shrugged. “I’ve never had that much attention before. It feels really good.” “Actually, you have, but that was before the thingamajigger,” Apple Bloom remarked. “Okay, first we gotta go apologise to Rumble, and hope he doesn’t mind racing in front of a crowd.” Sweetie Belle tapped Apple Bloom on the shoulder. “There’s just one problem.” “What?” “Thunderlane’s getting him ready for a party, remember? And he doesn’t want us talking to him anyway.” Apple Bloom grumbled. “Right. Guess it’ll have to wait ‘till tomorrow.” Rumble stood in front of the mirror in his parents’ bedroom, again. Thunderlane had managed to drag him away from talking to some girls, again. He had to get ready for a party where everyone but him and his brother were rousettes, again. And everyone would stare at him, and he wouldn’t be allowed to talk to any girl without his mediator there. Again. He put the rolled-up sleeves of his shirt just right to make his strong arms stick out some more, he adjusted his red bow tie, but it didn’t make any difference. He still looked like a plain grey pegasus colt. There was a tightness in his stomach that wouldn’t go away, one that had settled once Thunderlane had gotten him home. It wasn’t fair. He couldn’t even talk to Apple Bloom, a fellow blank flank. He couldn’t even be nice, say what was on his mind, just because of how he was born and how she was born. And Scootaloo had to wear a disguise just to hang out with him, one that was also blank-flanked just to make it easier to remember. At least he had that. He wasn’t completely alone in Ponyville anymore now, just sort of alone. Such was the fate of a rousette who wasn’t protected by the rites of wedlock. That’s what happens when you’re born of a rousette mother. He saw a dark grey figure approach him from behind. “Hey, Chitter.” The rousette girl trotted up to him, all smiles as always. “Heya, Rumbley Wumbley Bumblebee.” Rumble frowned. “Chitter, we’re not in kindergarten anymore. How much longer are you gonna call me that?” Chitter replied with a hug and a nuzzling to his neck, the traditional greeting for rousette family members trying to cheer each other up. Rumble chuckled softly, but it didn’t change his sour mood. Chitter withdrew and inspected his outfit. In her own black dress, she looked like a proper lady, if a slightly odd-looking one. The bat wings had a way of making any rousette look menacing, not to mention the slit eyes. She’d combed up the fuzz on her eartips and everything. She bit her lip and sighed. “Looking forward to tonight?” Rumble shrugged with a pout. “I guess.” “What’s the matter? Aren’t you happy to go out again? I thought you wanted your mom and dad to take you places?” “I do, but… I don’t know anymore. It just feels kinda pointless, you know?” Chitter nodded knowingly. “How are you holding up?” The boy shrugged and resumed his staring into his reflection. “Okay, I guess. Mom and dad will be here soon, Thunderlane and Nectarine aren’t on duty tonight, so we’re all good to go.” “I mean in school, with the ponies. Thunderlane giving you a hard time?” “You heard about that, huh?” Chitter nodded. “Sounds like he’s been getting worse ever since Blue Moon Bloom.” Rumble groaned. “You have no idea. I’m not even doing anything wrong: I’m just talking to girls in my class, because they want to know what I’m like, and then all of a sudden, bam!” He stomped a hoof on the ground, loud enough for his brother downstairs to hear. “Thunderlane comes dive-bombing in and snatching me away. He doesn’t even care about what I’m saying or why, I’m not allowed to talk to any girl for any reason, he’s driving me nuts!” Chitter winced in sympathy. “Maybe we should’ve switched places then, huh?” “Nah. I wouldn’t have been able to find any boy for you, and at least you’ve got an excuse not to get wedlocked. Not yet, I mean.” He smiled. He did still feel some amount of pride in sparing his cousin from the same fate, even if it was only a delay. The batty girl nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got a little more time, but I’ll still have to do it, just like you. And in the meantime, I’ve got to follow the same rules you do, remember? It’s different rules because I’m a mediator, but I still have to follow them. So does every rousette. It’s tradition, and every one of our kind has to do it.” “That doesn’t make it okay, Chitter.” She pouted, albeit cutely. “Well, what do you want? Do you really like girls that much that you’d wanna upset your family? Break tradition?” Rumble shook his head. “You don’t understand. Scootaloo wanted to ask me for help with her flying, and I needed help with my turns. And I couldn’t hang out with her, I still can’t, just because of that tradition.” “No one said it was easy, Rumble.” She patted him on the back, right on the soft spot in the middle of his shoulders and the bases of his wings. “No, but it’s supposed to be fair, isn’t it? If Scootaloo was a boy, there wouldn’t be any problem. Don’t you get it? If I see a boy crying, I’m allowed to walk over and ask what’s wrong. If it’s a girl, I have to walk away. How is that fair to them? How is that fair to me? Out of all the ponies I might like, half of them I’m not allowed to talk to. There’s already not a lot ponies I can talk to, and having to cut out all the girls doesn’t leave anypony for me at all, just because I’m not wedlocked.” Chitter looked away casually. “Well, then, would you maybe consider wedlock with a rousette you can talk to?” “I’m never gonna find a girl like that, but I don’t have any choice. I’ll probably end up tied to some hard case who doesn’t even like me.” Rumble let his head hang. Chitter smirked mischievously. “Not necessarily.” Rumble cocked an eyebrow. “Chitter, are you saying you found another girl for me to meet?” “Oh, maybe. I haven’t talked to her much, not yet, but she was really interested in meeting you. She’s pretty, too.” He gagged. “Ugh, another ‘Princess of the Night’ girl? You know how much I hate all that drama stuff.” Chitter chuckled to herself. “Actually, she’s not the princessy type, but she is related to one, if that’s what you mean.” “Huh?” Chitter wiped away some nonexistent dirt from Rumble’s shoulder, and put on her best impression of a serious voice. “I have been asked to introduce to you a young lady named Stella, the ward of Lord Nox himself.” Rumble’s eyes widened. “Lord Nox is in Equestria again? And he has a ward?” Chitter nodded eagerly. “Uhuh. She’s just your type, too.” “I kinda doubt that.” “She’s a fan of the Wonderbolts,” Chitter leaned in, smiling brightly. “Really?” Rumble’s suspicions were aroused. “Which one’s her favorite?” “She told me her favorite’s Rapidfire, but she also keeps track of the rookies in the racing circuit, and apparently she likes a certain rainbow-maned mare from around here.” Much to her disappointment, Chitter could tell from his face Rumble didn’t believe her. He kept his brow furrowed, weighing his words carefully. “You’ve found a rousette girl who likes Rainbow Dash? Seriously?” “Totally seriously. Stella’s a real athlete, too, just like you. She’s done ballet dancing and duelling, but she doesn’t like the idea of being in the Night Guard, or doing recitals, so she mostly practises on her own now. She does like to race, though.” Rumble rolled his eyes. “Rousettes can’t race, Chitter, not without training their wings; they’d break too easily. And no rousette trains their wings before they join the Night Guard; it’s tradition to wait. You’re the only rousette kid around who knows how to race, you’re the only one in Ponyville who’s sharpened her wings.” “Yeah, about that: she told me she’s done the Iron Saddle and Iron Wing training up to level four already.” Rumble’s cocked an eyebrow. “Level four? Don’t you have to be a grownup to do that?” “I guess not. Her wings are sharper than mine, and yours.” Chitter smiled inside when she felt the thunder clouds hanging over her cousin dissipate. She had his interest, surely. Rumble pondered it. “And does she work out? Who does she race against?” “No one! That’s the best part! She was raised by Lord Nox after her parents died, so she wound up travelling a lot, getting groomed to be his successor and all. But Lord Nox is settling down and moving to Ponyville soon, and she figured she might make some new friends around here.” “Oh, I get it. Another excuse to get me to mingle with rousettes some more.” Chitter prodded her cousin with a hoof. “No, silly, she’s tired of being around rousettes all the time, she’s seen a lot of what’s outside Equestria and she likes it. She thinks most of us bats are boring, and she wants to start meeting ponies instead. I told her about Scootaloo and her friends, and she sounded really excited to meet them. Think about it, it’s perfect! You just tie the knot with her, you’d have a perfect excuse to hang out with any girls you like, together.” He kept his head down. “You really think that’d work?” “From what she told me, sure. Stella sounded like she wasn’t into tradition all that much herself, so she probably wouldn’t get jealous if you just hung out with friends who happen to be girls. You could finally make friends with whomever you want, and help Stella make friends, and explain why you didn’t do it sooner.” Rumble squinted, thinking. “What’s the catch?” “What do you mean?” “There’s gotta be a catch, Chitter. A girl like that ought to be spoken for, unless she’s way younger than me. Is she?” The girl bit her lip. “No, she’s as old as you. A little taller, but the same age. As for the catch, um, there is one thing. She’s kind of a flirt, I think.” “A what?” “A flirt. Lots of swaying her hips, lots of coy smiles, I think she likes just playing around with boys, push their buttons. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d want to compete with you, honestly, see if she can make you blush? Stella’s one of those girls, I think. She’s probably going to be kinda clingy, too.” Rumble sighed. “Okay, that might be kind of an issue, if she’s mean or anything. But clingy isn’t that bad, if she just likes to hug. You hug and nuzzle me a lot, it doesn’t bother me.” For the briefest moment, Chitter feared she might have put him in shock or something, or that he was just desperate to accept any girl at all now. She couldn’t have that, of course. “So? What do you think? Do you want me to get you introduced to Stella, or do you want me to just block her? I can do all the talking, let her know you’re not interested. You just have to show up.” Rumble nodded. “I guess if she is into the same stuff I am, it couldn’t hurt to just talk to her, right?” “Great! I promise, this is gonna be great. I’ll make sure she likes you.” It wasn’t common for the Cutie Mark Crusaders to have a sleepover on a school night, but given Scootaloo’s recent changes and the sudden drop in crusading that had resulted from it, they could afford some time together. And while Sweetie Belle’s bedroom at Carousel Boutique wasn’t quite as official-looking as their clubhouse, at least it was warm and comfy in the chilly afternoon hours. Ponyville Weather Patrol had managed to shift away a storm front a few months earlier, but the cold northern wind that had brought it still managed to sneak past every now and then. Even with the setting sun out and no clouds in sight, the evenings had a way of chilling out of the blue. All the more reason for ponies to seek warmth and comfort with each other. “Thanks for letting us stay over, Rarity,” Sweetie Belle said. “Don’t mention it, darling,” Rarity replied. “As long as you don’t cause a mess, it shan’t be a problem.” Scootaloo sighed. “Sorry I can’t stick around, though.” “Aww, that’s okay, Scootaloo.” Apple Bloom patted her friend on the back. “We’re not gonna let a silly little curfew get in the way of our fun, are we?” “As long as she can be home by seven,” Rarity added. “Octavia was most insistent.” Apple Bloom needed no further cue. With only two hours left -- less, considering dinner -- she was determined to make the most of it. “Alright, then, Cutie Mark Crusaders, the first order of business: do we want Truck and Rumble to race in front of everypony?” Rarity was about to leave, but her inner gossip couldn’t resist some new information, even if it was classified. “Who, pray tell, is Truck?” Scootaloo summoned her magic and covered herself in green flames. When they cleared, a pegasus colt with a slightly darker coat and hair sat in her place. “I am.” “So I didn’t recall incorrectly, then. And, remind me, darling, exactly why are you turning into boys again?” “She needed Rumble to teach her how to fly better, because Rainbow Dash couldn’t do it for her,” Sweetie Belle said. “Only, Rumble’s family has this thing about boys talking to girls. Thunderlane’s come and pulled Rumble away twice now. It’s kind of scary, don’t you think?” Apple Bloom winced. “Uh huh. Rainbow Dash said Thunderlane doesn’t like us, but I think he might just hate us altogether.” Rarity pondered that for a moment. “Huh. That doesn’t sound like Thunderlane at all. But I suppose if it is merely to follow tradition, it can’t be that bad. He’s probably just stressed, darling, I’m sure he’ll come around.” Scootaloo turned back into her pegasus girl form. “Anyway, I say we do it. If we start racing for real, we’ll be the most popular kids in school.” “But isn’t that exactly what ya shouldn’t be doing, though?” Apple Bloom asked. “I mean, the more ponies pay attention to you, the more likely it is they’ll find out about you.” Scootaloo waved that concern away. “No, they won’t. I can keep my disguise up, I haven’t had any accidents for a whole week.” Apple Bloom wouldn’t relent. “I don’t know, you looked kinda funny when everypony was around you. Almost like you were feedin’ off the attention.” The changeling in disguise rolled her eyes. “Well, duh, of course I was feeding. How else am I supposed to get energy without draining ponies?” Rarity found herself sitting down to serve as the voice of reason. “I suppose she does have a point there, girls. Putting on a show in front of a crowd can be very exhilarating. I don’t even feed off of that and I can attest to it. Perhaps it would be beneficial to Scootaloo’s growth to perform in public.” “What do you mean, her growth?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Scootaloo only changed a matter of weeks ago, did she not? If she must feed on love to survive, it stands to reason that she had some reserves from her time as a pony. But reserves can run dry, and a growing filly can’t afford to be malnourished, now, can she?” “See? Rarity agrees with me.” Scootaloo pointed a hoof to the unicorn. “Of course, I wouldn’t know, darling, but I’m sure Twilight would. There isn’t any standard for what regular changelings need, let alone a pony that’s become one, but at the very least you should consider it.” “But that leaves us with one big problem: Rumble. He has to agree to it, too. We can’t force him,” Apple Bloom noted. “And Thunderlane would probably come pick him up again if we tried to talk,” Sweetie Belle remarked. “Just do it,” Scootaloo said. “What?” Apple Bloom felt the first twinges of outrage forming. “Just set up the race. Tell Diamond Tiara she can set it up over the running track, we can get Derpy to be in charge of safety, Rumble will agree once he sees we can set it up.” “Scootaloo,” Rarity warned, “it is not okay to force a boy to do something he doesn’t want to do.” “Oh, don’t worry about that. He wants to do it, he’s just shy like that. And Thunderlane won’t go snatching his little brother away when there’s a big enough crowd; he wouldn’t dare.” Scootaloo smirked confidently. “Are ya sure?” Apple Bloom quirked an eyebrow. “Trust me, we can get Rumble to do it. It’ll be good for him.”