//------------------------------// // Chapter 11; "It's My Job" // Story: "Just Kiss Already!" And Other Rumbaloo Tales // by Candy-Sweets_12 //------------------------------// Rumble sighed as he knocked on the door. And the exact stallion he was looking for answered it. "Oh, hey Rumble." He said. "Um, hello Sir." Rumble said. "Do you need something?" "Um, is Scootaloo home?" Rumble asked. Scootaloo's dad raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "No, why?" he asked, leaning on the door frame and crossing his forelegs. "I wanted to ask you something." Rumble mumbled, looking down as he scratched his head nervously. Scootaloo's dad nodded and waved him in. "Okay, lay it on me." he said, sitting back in his chair. Rumble looked away and shifted his gaze to a few pictures on the shelves. He found a picture of a filly Scootaloo with a determined look on her face, another with her friends, the third with her Cutiemark, and the final one of her was her when she was sixteen. On another shelf, he found a bunch of pictures of her dad wearing golden armor and wearing royal guard attire. There was one picture of Scootaloo holding the camera and smiling while her mother and father stood in the background. "You like those?" he asked, following Rumble's gaze to the photos. "Yeah, they're nice." "So you see how important Scootaloo is to us don't you?" The stallion said, throwing on a serious and stern look and pointing it Rumble's way. "Yes Sir." Rumble swallowed the lump in his throat. "And you can also see how I was a member of the Royal Guard can't you?" the stallion walked over to the photos and looked directly at one that contained him saluting. "Yes Sir." Rumble nodded, sweat breaking on his forehead. The stallion turned to him and edged slowly to him, making Rumble back away until he hit the wall. "Look Rumble," He said as he drew near. "I like ya, a lot actually, and something tells me that you came here about my daughter." His eyes grew cold and lifeless as he stared Rumble down, making him shrink down. A frown started to form on the stallion's face, terrifying Rumble, considering he'd never seen the stallion frown the way he was right now. "Well?" He asked. "Yes Sir." "What did you come for?" "I-I came to ask you i-if I-I could date your daughter." Rumble couldn't help but blush. "And you expect me to just let you date her by you asking?" The stallion said. "Um... No Sir." Rumble hesitated. "Well you can't expect me to say yes if you're going to shrink down like a wuss. If you want to convince me that you've got what it takes to date my daughter, then ask me like a stallion." he looked at Rumble expectedly. "I...I want to date your daughter." Rumble said. "Okay then, and exactly how will you prove that you can do that?" "Um..." Rumble looked down at his hooves. 'This was a stupid idea, I shouldn't have came.' He thought. "Look Rumble," the stallion repeated, softening a bit. He started bringing his face closer to Rumble's. He was mere inches from his face and stared at him with cold unmoving eyes, causing Rumble to crouch back even more. "You want to know why I'm being so tough on you?" The stallion asked, expecting Rumble to nod. When he got no response, he continued anyway. "I've been a member of the Royal Guard for years, way before Scootaloo was even born, It's my job to protect those that need protecting, maybe even overprotect them. I've faced many threats, and came face to face with death more times than I could count, as a guard, you have to put other ponies before yourself, so imagine my role as a father. I need you to do the same for Scootaloo." The stallion leaned away, looking over to his side. "I admit that I can be very overprotective, but as a father, and having her as my only child, I say that it's my job to be." He then pushed his face into Rumble's again, where he scowled at him. "Got that?" He asked, poking his chest. Rumble held his breath as he nodded. "Good. So will you look after my daughter Rumble?" "Yes Sir, I promise that I will." Rumble swore. "Will you treat her right?" "Of course Sir." Rumble said. "Good, then I shouldn't have anything to worry about." He said, turning and sitting back in his chair just as casually as before. It was as though the past few minutes never even happened. Causing Rumble to sigh in relief. "Thank You Sir." Rumble said, a relieved smile growing onto his face. "Hold on a minute. I've got one more thing." He said, sinking deep into his recliner and throwing on his usual happy face. "If you ever hurt my daughter, or break her heart, if you make as much as one mistake, not only will you never see her again," he brought his hooves together and cracked them loudly and ominously. "you're going to regret ever meeting her." he said. The most terrifying thing wasn't just the calm tone of his voice, but was rather how completely normal his expression was. He was smiling like it was any other day, and his relaxed yet laid back posture really sold how unsettling it all was. Rumble found himself shaking as though he was in the middle of a blizzard. "Yes Sir." he said. "Okay go ahead." then he turned back to the TV.