From Rumble With Love

by Locomotion

Chapter 5: Cutie Mark Crusader Matchmakers

All in all, Scootaloo enjoyed her weekend with Rainbow Dash, but for some reason it didn't feel quite the same as the last few times they had hung out with each other. Even when Rainbow Dash flew her up a nearby mountain and back the following day, she couldn't help feeling sorry that Rumble couldn't be with them.

Strangely, Rainbow Dash appeared to take this very much in her stride, and whenever Scootaloo seemed distant, bored or even lonesome (despite the fact that she was with the one pony she ever wanted to spend time with, ironically!), she simply kept her thoughts to herself. Only when she was about to leave for the Academy that evening did she finally say anything about it.

“See you round, Scoot,” she said, patting Scootaloo's back in a sisterly way. “Hope your training sessions go well, and don't be afraid to show any feelings you may have about him.”

“Sure thing, Rainbow Dash – so long,” smiled Scootaloo, and watched as her idol flew off into the sunset. She remained where she was for another few minutes, thinking about everything they had done together over the last two days – but that was when Rainbow Dash's words started to sink in, planting a few seeds of confusion and unease in her head. It wasn't to do with her training session though; the way she had said it, she seemed to have a fair bit of faith in Rumble. If anything, it was more to do with what she had said about showing feelings – but what kind of feelings was Rainbow Dash talking about? And why would she be afraid of showing them in the first place? It wasn't as if there was anything to be afraid of, was it?

The orange filly shivered, remembering how Rainbow Dash had unintentionally traumatised her with those ghost stories during the Winsome Falls trip; only after her close call with the waterfall and her subsequent bond with Rainbow Dash had she finally managed to get over the nightmares she had experienced as a result. She still couldn't quite understand how her feelings about Rumble were supposed to make her feel scared, but she didn't like the idea of them becoming as bad as to induce further nightmares.

“Come on, Scootaloo, snap out of it!” she scolded herself. “Rainbow Dash is just having another joke with you – there's nothing to worry about!”

She slipped her helmet on, mounted her scooter and raced away at top speed, trying to clear her head with a good fast run across town. But the faster she went, the more Rumble's voice echoed in her head, cheering and laughing heartily just like he had been two days earlier as she had whisked him back home. She could even feel his forelegs wrapped tightly around her waist, even though there was actually nopony behind her.

Scootaloo screwed up her eyes and folded her wings again, letting herself coast along. “Why can't I get that colt outta my head?!” she muttered through clenched teeth. “Why does my chest seem to burn when I think about him?! What the hay is wrong with me?”

But the answer never came – just more excited whooping from inside her head as if Rumble was still riding with her.

---

When Monday morning came, Scootaloo was so tired that she nearly arrived late for school. She had lain awake for hours, thinking about Rumble and trying to work out why he had stuck in her mind, but only succeeded in ruining her attention span in class; once or twice, she fell asleep at her desk and earned herself a reprimand from Cheerilee. At recess, she hoped that none of the other foals would say anything about it, but it wasn't her lucky day.

“Class getting too boring for you?” asked an obnoxious voice from nearby.

Scootaloo didn't even bother to look up from her Zap-Apple fritter; she knew exactly who that was. “Lay off, Diamond Tiara,” she grumbled. “I'm not in the mood right now.”

“No wonder Miss Cheerilee must think of you as the worst student in her class – if not the whole of Equestria,” smirked Diamond Tiara, ignoring Scootaloo altogether. “There are chickens who are better at learning than you are.”

“Yeah, it's bad enough that you're useless with those wings, but now you're making out as if your mind's as blank as your flank?” added Silver Spoon smugly.

Scootaloo gritted her teeth, trying to fight the urge to punch one or other of the two fillies in the eye. But before any of them could say anything else, they were cut off by the almost explosive sound of thunder, and a lightning bolt struck the ground between Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Looking up, they noticed Rumble hovering overhead on a dark cloud, glaring fiercely at them.

“Hey!” he snapped. “You leave Scootaloo alone, you snobs!”

Silver Spoon backed away nervously, but Diamond Tiara was trying her best not to look perturbed. “What's this, Scootaloo?” she mocked. “I didn't realise you had a coltfriend.”

“I do not!”

Rumble glared even harder. “Are you listening to me?!” he shouted. “I said leave Scootaloo alone – now beat it unless you want me to use this thunder-head again!”

“More like 'dunderhead',” sneered Diamond Tiara. “No snotty little Pegasus colt like you would dare use that thing on a lady like me.”

But this turned out to be a mistake. Before Rumble could slam his hooves down the cloud, Scootaloo leaned in towards Diamond Tiara, her face livid with rage. “YOU DARE CALL RUMBLE A SNOTTY DUNDERHEAD!” she stormed, shaking an angry hoof at her. “HE'S THE NICEST COLT IN ALL EQUESTRIA, SO YOU LEAVE HIM BE, OR YOU'LL BE SORRY!”

Diamond Tiara cowered upon seeing the deadly expression on Scootaloo's face. She hadn't been expecting the orange Pegasus filly to be so furious, and for once she was beginning to regret making fun of her or Rumble in the first place. Reluctantly, she turned and ran off towards the other side of the playground, never once looking back at the two Pegasi. Silver Spoon followed closely, and Scootaloo and Rumble were left in peace again.

Rumble touched down next to Scootaloo, taking care not to land too close in case she suddenly lashed out at him. “Are you okay, Scootaloo?” he asked softly.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” replied Scootaloo, still glowering at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. “I can't believe that those two had to be so stupid as to pick on you like this.”

“Oh, it's nothing,” countered Rumble. “I can take a bit of mockery from other colts or fillies every now and again. Normally it's when they make fun of my friends that I get really ticked off with them – especially if they're putting them down for weak wings or blindness or whatever,” he added feelingly. “Those......twerps don't know what they're talking about; just because you can't fly now doesn't mean you never will, and even if you don't, you're still a better stunt-rider than they could ever imagine.”

Once again, Rumble's praise and encouragement of her stunt-riding skills made Scootaloo feel a lot better about herself. In addition, his angry words against Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, along with how he had leapt to her defence against them both, touched her so deeply that she could barely hold back her tears.

“What's wrong, Scootaloo?” asked Rumble anxiously.

Scootaloo didn't respond immediately. She simply sat and stared into Rumble's eyes, unable to work out what to say. Then, before the grey colt could even think of anything else, she wrapped her forelegs around him and hugged him tightly. Rumble was taken by surprise, but he very soon relaxed and returned the hug.

“Thanks for sticking up for me, Rumble,” whispered Scootaloo warmly, nuzzling affectionately against Rumble's neck.

“You're welcome, Scootaloo,” answered Rumble kindly.

But what neither pony realised was that Tootsie Flute had been spying on them from across the playground. The moment she saw the two embracing, she realised exactly what might have happened three days ago.

“Well, of all the ironic...!” she exclaimed.

Sweetie-Belle looked up from her sandwich, confused. “Of all the what now?” she asked blankly.

“You know I said Scootaloo had been acting rather weird a couple of days back? Well, the reason's over by the schoolhouse,” Tootsie Flute clarified, pointing towards the two Pegasi.

“Huh?” Sweetie-Belle glanced in the direction Tootsie Flute was pointing – and nearly dropped her sandwich in her surprise. The last thing she had expected was to see Scootaloo cuddling with some random colt she hadn't met before, especially after what had happened at the clubhouse, and yet there it was, plain as daylight! Whereas normally she would have been overjoyed to see something as sweet as this, she was now utterly speechless.

Dinky, on the other hoof, found it most heart-warming. “Scootaloo's got herself a coltfriend? Aww, that's so cute,” she cooed, holding both her front hooves close to her chest in adoration.

Only then did Sweetie-Belle find her voice. “Cute?!” she spluttered. “It's......unbelievable is what it is! I didn't realise Scootaloo had it in her!”

“What's going on, girls?” Tornado Bolt had overheard the commotion and come over to see what the fuss was all about.

“We've just found out why Scootaloo's been acting so out of character,” explained Tootsie Flute, pointing back towards Scootaloo and Rumble. “She appears to have a crush on that grey Pegasus colt.”

Tornado Bolt blinked and raised an eyebrow. “I wondered why she seemed so dreamy last Saturday,” she mused. “To think just a few days ago she was complaining about how sappy dating was to her – and now she's starting to like Rumble?”

“Rumble?” repeated Dinky. “What's 'Rumble'?”

“That's his name. He and I often go to the Friday after-school club, and we've become pretty good friends.”

“So you know him well, huh?” asked Tootsie Flute.

“Oh yeah,” affirmed Tornado Bolt. “He and I do get a bit competitive with each other though, so I have been known to get into races with him.”

By now, Sweetie-Belle had finally managed to come to terms with what she had seen, and was starting to see the cute side of it at last. As she watched the two Pegasi hanging out with each other, an idea flew into her head, causing her to break into a wide and palpably eager toothy grin which she directed towards her two fellow Crusaders.

“Um......something on your mind, Sweetie-Belle?” asked Tornado Bolt, confused.

“Don't you realise it yet?” squeaked Sweetie-Belle enthusiastically. “Those two are perfect for one another – if we bring them together, that could well earn us our Cutie Marks!”

Tootsie Flute brightened up at once. “Of course!” she burst out. “Matchmaking Cutie Marks – why didn't we think of it before?! Wait until we tell Apple Bloom about this!”

“That'd be totally awesome!” agreed Tornado Bolt.

But Dinky wasn't so sure. “Are you sure about this, girls? The last time any of us tried matchmaking was when Sweetie-Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo tried to hook Miss Cheerilee up with Big Macintosh,” she said uneasily, “and we all know how that turned out.”

Sweetie-Belle laughed and brushed off Dinky's observation. “Ah, c'mon, Dinky,” she retorted, “there's no way we're using the love poison again. We've just gotta get them in a romantic enough setting for one to ask the other to be their very special somepony.”

“Yeah, lightning's not gonna strike twice on this plain, Dinky,” chimed in Tornado Bolt, “so pony up and stop worrying.”

Dinky was about to protest further, but at that same moment the school bell rang, so she decided against it. Instead, she followed her classmates into the schoolhouse, still brooding over their matchmaking plan.

---

Over the course of the day, Sweetie-Belle and Tootsie Flute spread the word to Apple Bloom, Noi and Pipsqueak that they were to meet at the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse immediately after school. Wisely, neither filly explained why in case Scootaloo should overhear, and once school had finished, they all headed over to Sweet Apple Acres as quickly as they could, leaving Scootaloo and Rumble to their own devices.

When they arrived, Tootsie Flute explained to the others what she, Dinky, Sweetie-Belle and Tornado Bolt had seen during recess, and the suggestion that Sweetie-Belle had subsequently put forward. Noi and Pipsqueak were wholly in favour of the plan, but Apple Bloom was still annoyed with Scootaloo.

“So now she admits that she was wrong about dating, does she?” she said huffily. “Well guess what, Scoot, yo' on yer own, 'cause Ah'm not bailin' y'all outta any problems y'all end up with!”

“Come on, Apple Bloom,” protested Tornado Bolt, “the whole reason you three formed this club was so we could help each other get our Cutie Marks, so why not our own coltfriends – or fillyfriends in the case of Pipsqueak, for example?”

“Well, maybe Ah would if Scootaloo would only apologise fo' bein' so impossible last week!”

“You were the one who offended her about her flying skills,” objected Tootsie Flute. “I don't think it fair that you should be the one demanding an apology off of Scootaloo, and besides, she was right all along about dating not getting us our Cutie Marks, however rude she was about it.”

Apple Bloom slapped a hoof to her face. “Whose side are y'all on?!” she burst out, frustrated.

“I'm just stating a fact, Apple Bloom. Now either you help us get Scootaloo and Rumble together, or we're all voting for Sweetie-Belle to take over as Cutie Mark Crusaders leader.”

“What?! But...”

“But nothing, Apple Bloom,” stated Tootsie Flute firmly. “You need to let it go, or you'll just end up losing more friends than just Scootaloo.”

Apple Bloom sighed heavily. “Ugh, fine,” she grumbled reluctantly. “Ah'll help y'all get Scootaloo an' Rumble together – but only 'cause y'all want me to.”

With that, the Cutie Mark Crusaders all hoof-bumped to a cheer of “Cutie Mark Crusader Matchmakers – YAY!”

Comments

[A-Trash-Kid]

When i read this an ad for e-harmony popped up, it scared the living crap outta me

[shimmer_rose_006]

Dawwwwwwwwwww, that was so sweet of Rumble to defend her. Although, the Cutie Mark Stalkers were kinda pushing it there. Couldn't they of just asked Scoots why she was acting different? Eh, I guess if they did that, it would be a pretty short chapter. Good job so far! If my emoji thing would pop up, you would get a thumbs up!

[Mr mustash]

Noooooooo you stupid ponies don't mess with there relationship you idiots

[Deathclaw2014]

Applebloom's accent is really hurting my eyes - It's all over the place and the grammar is all wrong.

[Nightflight406]

How could this end badly? Let me find my list. It was here just a second ago. Oh! There it is! That big roll of paper I use as a nightstand.