From Rumble With Love

by Locomotion

Chapter 8: Drastic Action

Apple Bloom was hopping mad when she heard the news. “Great!” she stormed angrily. “It just had ta be Twilight, din' it?!”

“I'm really sorry, Apple Bloom,” apologised Tootsie Flute meekly. “It was my fault for not swearing her to secrecy. But I think she and Lickety-Split are right; if we don't let it develop naturally, we'll never get them together.”

“Well, Ah'm not beaten yet!” said Apple Bloom defiantly. “Scootaloo can mess with mah plans all she wants...”

“Your plans?” repeated Dinky dubiously.

“...but we're gettin' her an' Rumble together no matter what! It's time fo' drastic action...”

---

That afternoon, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were holding an emergency meeting to discuss their new plans. Apple Bloom had a map of Ponyville and its surrounding area laid out in the centre of the clubhouse, and the other foals were all sat in a circle around it, watching intently as the yellow farm filly explained what they were about to do.

“Okay, Crusaders, now here's the deal. Tomorrow afternoon, Rumble arrives home from his grandma; we'll give him until the followin' mornin' ta rest himself up, an' then we'll put our plan into action. At ten o'clock, Tornado Bolt, y'all go an' challenge him to a race around Ponyville. Ah'll be waitin' with Tootsie Flute, Sweetie-Belle, Dinky an' Noi at Chevalier's Bluff, here.” Apple Bloom pointed towards what appeared to be a small cliff on the western side of town, not far from the reservoir. “Leave that until close ta the end o' yo' race so as ta buy us some time ta prepare ourselves.”

“Sure thing, Apple Bloom, but what do you intend to do?” asked Tornado Bolt.

“Ah'll come ta that in a minute,” replied Apple Bloom patiently. “Now Pipsqueak, while Tornado Bolt's at it, y'all go an' tell Scootaloo you've found some sort'a treasure near Chevalier's Bluff, an' make sure ya bring her there ta see fo' herself. Once she gets there, we'll stage a fake dragon attack usin' that crazy costume Rarity has left over. Sweetie-Belle, Dinky, Tootsie Flute, y'all play the part o' the 'dragon'.”

“But how do we fool them both into thinking that Scootaloo's really being attacked?” objected Sweetie-Belle. “That dragon costume isn't very convincing; Scootaloo might easily see through it.”

“No she won't,” retorted Apple Bloom, grinning slyly, “'cause as soon as she sees the 'treasure', that'll be the last thing she'll remember before she wakes up.”

Dinky gasped and stared at Apple Bloom in a state of shock. “You're not planning on knocking her out, are you?”

“Unless y'all can think of a better way o' makin' it look la'k a real dragon attack, yes Ah am.”

“Now hang on, Apple Bloom,” burst out Tootsie Flute sharply, “that's taking it too far...”

“Look, do y'all wanna bring Scootaloo an' Rumble together, or do ya want our plan ta fail 'cause she realised it was a fake?!”

Tootsie Flute opened her mouth to protest further, but she couldn't think of anything to say.

“Ah rest mah case,” said Apple Bloom triumphantly, and resumed her briefing; “Once Ah've done that, Noi will come out with a bottle o' ketchup, an' we'll smear it over Scootaloo ta make it look la'k she's been brutally attacked by the 'dragon'. By that time, Tornado Bolt should be overflying the area with Rumble, an' that's when Dinky, Tootsie Flute an' Sweetie-Belle will come out an' 'attack'. Make sure Dinky's as near the mouth as possible so she can make it look as if it's breathin' fire. We can then leave it to Rumble ta do the rest. Any questions?”

“Yeah, what should I use for this 'treasure'?” inquired Pipsqueak.

Apple Bloom shook her head resignedly. “Anything y'all can think of, as long as it looks convincing,” she replied simply. “Any other points Ah've missed out?”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders exchanged glances, trying to work out whether they had any other questions. Eventually, Tornado Bolt spoke up; “Not that we can think of, Apple Bloom.”

“Good – but remember; ten o'clock on Monday mornin',” Apple Bloom reiterated. “We can't afford any slip-ups, is that clear?”

“As clear as it'll ever get,” affirmed Tootsie Flute, and the other Crusaders murmured their agreement. Secretly, the aqua-coated filly was still uneasy about all this, but she knew it was no good arguing.

---

For the rest of the day and throughout the next, the Cutie Mark Crusaders went about their business as normal, and not a word was spoken about their big plans for Monday. On occasion, one or other of them happened to cross paths with Scootaloo, but they never gave even the slightest hint of what was about to happen to her. Not that she cared, of course; whatever plan they intended to throw at her, the orange Pegasus filly thought, she would be ready for them.

Rumble returned late the following evening. He had enjoyed spending time with his grandmother, and cheerfully spoke about it with his parents throughout the evening before it was time for him to turn in for the night. But when he woke up the next morning, his mood seemed to have dipped quite heavily; his hoof-steps were slow and measured, and his face appeared weary and uncertain. He barely even touched his food at breakfast he was so distracted, and needless to say both Blue Finch and Memphis Belle were deeply concerned for him.

“What's wrong, son?” asked Blue Finch gently. “You seem rather quiet today.”

Rumble looked into his bowl of porridge for the umpteenth time. “I'm not really sure, Dad,” he admitted. “I've been having all sorts of weird emotions lately; I don't know why, but I just can't seem to stop thinking about Scootaloo. You probably don't know her, Mom...”

Memphis Belle chuckled. “Actually, Rumble, I met her just after you left to see your grandmother,” she replied. “She was asking if you were available for the weekend, but we had to tell her you weren't for obvious reasons. She seemed pretty disappointed when we did, though.”

“You say you can't stop thinking about her, Rumble?”

“Yeah, I kept wishing she could have come with me that day – even if her own parents may have been a bit wary,” went on Rumble. “She's always been a great stunt-rider, especially in my eyes, but I've come to realise she's way more than that; you remember when I told her about my cousin? Well, if it'd been any other pony, Celestia only knows what they would have said – heck, if it had been Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon, they would have gallivanted over to Trottingham just to mock the living daylights out of her – but not Scootaloo. I can still feel the hug she gave me that day.”

Blue Finch smiled fondly. “I remember that,” he observed. “I never said anything that day for fear of embarrassing you, but I thought you looked really cute together.”

Rumble blushed heavily as he remembered how his father had walked in on them. “Me and Scootaloo – c-cute?” he stammered. “That's the last word Scootaloo would want to use!”

“Well, that's what I thought at the time,” chortled Blue Finch.

“It sounds like you really care for her,” remarked Memphis Belle thoughtfully.

“Well, yeah, but it's what friends do for each other,” objected Rumble. The moment he said that, however, he suddenly felt a deep sense of guilt burning away at his heart and soul; was that all she really was, his conscience asked him? Just a friend? He fidgeted uncomfortably, feeling like a complete idiot.

“What, like massaging each other's wings and giving them advice on how to preen their feathers properly?”

“I...that is...” but Rumble tailed off, unable to finish his sentence. Right now he was in emotional turmoil, and the only response he could manage was to push his bowl aside and bury his face in his forelegs. Blue Finch suddenly felt rather foolish for having embarrassed him the way he had, and rested a hoof on his son's shoulder.

“Hey, it's okay, Rumble,” he soothed. “I didn't mean to upset you like this. It's just that your behaviour patterns ring a similar bell to when your mother and I first met.”

“What do you mean?” asked Rumble, cautiously lifting his head.

“Back when she and I were in high school, she kept following me round like a sheep,” explained Blue Finch, “and as you can imagine, I soon found that rather irritating. I told my own parents about this, but they never did a thing about it. It wasn't that they didn't care for me – far from it, in fact – they just thought it was really cute what was going on between us. In the end, I stayed indoors throughout recess in the hopes of avoiding her altogether. At first I was quite glad when I got to stay in Canterlot for a fortnight to see the Wonderbolts, because that meant I didn't have to put up with her; but as the weeks crawled by, I found myself feeling rather low, and I may have even cried a few times.

“Once again, I asked my parents about it, and they basically said I was getting a crush. I didn't know what to think at first, but then I realised I hadn't stopped thinking about her since we left. I felt like such a moron for having ignored her this whole time, and when I got back, the first thing I did was apologise for shunning her so much. After that, one thing led to another, and although we did have a few other ups and downs, we quickly grew inseparable, and I eventually proposed to her after winning that Best Young Flyers' Competition.”

Rumble gazed at Blue Finch, and then at Memphis Belle. “You mean you two had been foalhood sweethearts? That's amazing!” he gasped. Then his eyes widened in realisation. “You think the same thing could be true of me and Scootaloo?”

“Quite likely, dear,” affirmed Memphis Belle. “I mean, think about it; what do you think about whenever Scootaloo pops into your head?”

The grey colt paused, mulling it over. “I think about how brilliant she is on the scooter, and all the stunts she does while she's riding it,” he replied, as if on automatic. “I often wonder how she's doing, how good a flyer she thinks I am, whether she feels about me the same way I do her...I guess you could be right. I guess I do like Scootaloo. I just wish I knew what to tell her.”

“The truth, son,” advised Blue Finch simply. “If you love Scoot – sorry, I mean like her, then it's best to get it off of your chest, or else it could eat away at your soul forever. It's hard, I know – why, I felt just as nervous about confessing my love to your mother – but the sooner she knows, the better.”

Rumble nodded in agreement. “You're right, Dad. As soon as I see her next, I'm not holding back. As soon as I see her next, I'm gonna tell her how I feel – and hope she doesn't reject me.”

“Good boy, Rumble,” encouraged his father, patting him on his shoulder. “You're a very brave colt.”

Rumble smiled gratefully, but before he could reply, they heard a knock at the front door. Secretly rather puzzled as to who it could be, the grey colt got up and went to answer. When he opened it, he found Tornado Bolt standing outside.

“Hey, Rumble,” she said cheerfully. “How did your visit to your grandma's go?”

“It was okay, thanks,” answered Rumble. “What brings you here, anyway?”

Tornado Bolt grinned broadly, trying to hide her anxiety with an expression of excitement. “Oh, I just wanted to see how much I'd improved on my flying skills over the last week. I was gonna put them to the test against Featherweight, but I'm feeling extra speedy today, so I thought we could maybe have a race against each other around the outskirts of Ponyville and through the Whitetail Woods. That okay with you?”

“I dunno. I had planned to go and see Dad racing at...”

“Ah, c'mon, Rumble,” goaded Tornado Bolt before he could finish, “you see your Dad running races all the time. Surely it wouldn't hurt to miss this one?”

Rumble mulled it over. He always enjoyed a good excuse to get out and stretch his wings, but he wasn't sure he wanted to miss seeing his father running this particular race. Eventually, after a great deal of consideration and a little more pressure from Tornado Bolt, he turned and called back into the dining room; “Dad, is it okay if I go race with Tornado Bolt?”

“I thought you wanted to come and watch me race,” Blue Finch's voice called back.

“I'll try to make it back in time to see you finish, Dad, I promise.”

There was a short pause.

“Okay, Rumble, but take care; we wouldn't want you getting hurt now.”

“Will do, Dad,” replied Rumble. He then turned to Tornado Bolt. “Okay, Tornado, you're on.”

Tornado Bolt gave the most competitive smirk she could manage in response. “Right then, Rumble,” she said hurriedly, “on your marks, get set, GO!!!” and before Rumble could prepare himself, she took off. The grey Pegasus colt quickly launched himself into the air in hot pursuit, berating her for jumping the gun and yelling for her to slow down. As soon as the two Pegasi were out of sight, Pipsqueak emerged from behind the bushes where he had been hiding, and galloped off to find Scootaloo.

---

It didn't take very long for the mottled Earth pony colt to find who he was looking for. Scootaloo was relaxing underneath the shade of a tree near the town square, thinking about her feelings for Rumble and how she would admit them to him. She barely even noticed Pipsqueak scampering up to her.

“Hey, Scoot!” he called enthusiastically. “You'll never guess what I found at Chevalier's Bluff this morning!”

Scootaloo cracked an eye open, uninterested. “News to me that there was anything to be found there,” she murmured in a bored voice.

“Well, there is!” replied Pipsqueak. “I noticed something gold and shiny as I was walking past the bluff – I dunno what it is, but I think it could be a doubloon or summink!”

“Wait – a doubloon?!” repeated Scootaloo, leaping to her hooves with a start. “As in...pirate treasure?”

“Yeah!”

“Wow!” remarked Scootaloo. “This I must see!” She climbed onto her scooter and raced away towards Chevalier's Bluff, while Pipsqueak darted along behind her as fast as his little legs could propel him.

Comments

[A-Trash-Kid]

Im starting to hate applebloom

[shimmer_rose_006]

Hmmmm? This is turning out to be rather intersting. Although Applebloom is kinda taking it a bit far. Couldn't she have nust given them a place to meet saying that she wanted to talk like them. Knocking her out is goin' to far Bloom..........

(P.S. Nice story by the way, dont change a thing!)

[Nightflight406]

Bloomy you have seen too many action romance movies.