Keep On Truckin'
Rainbow Dash blew her whistle and adjusted her coach’s cap. “Okay, you two, time for some laps around the clouds. Try to keep up.”
Without any further warning, she was off, leaving the two young speedsters struggling to catch up. Rainbow dashed from cloud to cloud, leaving her signature streak in a zigzag pattern, even as it was joined by a dark grey streak and a purple one.
Once she got back to the pond, she took a moment to take in the pair. Rumble was faster in straight lines, but his new training buddy was better in turns, always gaining one little inch on him despite his best efforts.
They both crash-landed in the water, of course.
“Rumble? What do you think you’re doing?”
Rumble surfaced and raised an eyebrow at his older brother. “Thunderlane? What are you doing here?”
“Checking up on you. Chitter told me about what happened at Blue Moon Bloom. And what do you think you’re doing, Rainbow Dash?”
“My job,” Rainbow replied coldly. “These two asked me to give them flying lessons, and I’ve got a clear schedule for today, so if you don’t mind.”
“Uhuh. So who’s that you were flying with?” Thunderlane nodded towards the water.
Rumble reached under the surface of the pond and pulled up an orange pegasus colt with a purple mane and tail. His mane was done up in the Cloudsdale triple forward spike fashion, which was the style for boys at the time. That is, boys who followed the style, like Button Mash or Shady Daze, rather than setting it, as Rumble did.
The orange colt wasted no time hopping out of the pond and shaking himself dry vigorously enough to splash Thunderlane. Then, after flicking the last bit of defiant liquid off of his very rugged and decidedly un-girly unkempt tail, he extended a hoof towards the stallion. “Hey there. I’m Truck.” He spoke with an odd sort of drawl, the kind Thunderlane had learned to associate with surfer types.
Thunderlane eyed the weird kid for a second, before shaking that hoof. “Err, hi, Truck. I thought you were someone else. Isn’t Scootaloo flying with you, Rumble?”
Rumble got out of the pond and folded his arms over his chest. “No. I’m not allowed to hang out with her, remember? So I don’t.”
Thunderlane winced at his little brother’s shot of defiance. “Sheesh, keep it down, would ya?”
Rumble nodded towards his new friend. “Turns out Truck here’s a speedster, like me, so I don’t even have to hang out with Scootaloo anymore. Now I’ve got somepony else to compare to, somepony who isn’t a girl.”
Thunderlane nodded, if confusedly. “Oh, okay. Um, are you from around here, Truck? I don’t think I’ve seen you around.”
Truck chuckled. “Who, me? Yeah, I’m from around here, dude. I, like, hang out with the other guys, like String Bean. You’ve seen him around, haven’t ya?”
“Err, yeah, sure,” Thunderlane lied.
Rumble cleared his throat. “Right, so if you don’t mind, big brother, I need to get back to my flying lesson.”
“Right. You two take care. Nice meeting you, err, Truck.” Thunderlane turned and took off.
“Nice meeting you too, dude.”
Rainbow Dash did her best not to break out in raucous laughter. “Nice going, Truck. You don’t think he’s gonna ask around about a kid named String Bean?”
“Nah,” Rumble replied. “Colts come and go all the time in Ponyville; he’ll never notice.”
“If you say so. Okay, next, you’re gonna practice pulling up from a dive. You’re not always going to have water to break your fall, you know,” Rainbow Dash said.
Truck marched up to the imaginary starting line. “Roger. Just say where and when.”
Rainbow Dash pointed to a pair of clouds set up a couple hundred yards away. “You head on over there, make a left turn at the clouds, then swoop in and try to land on your hooves. Aim for the water the first couple of times. Got that, Rumble?”
Rumble took his spot next to his flying buddy. “You’re going down.”
“Well, duh, dude, we’re practising, like, our landings and stuff.”
Rumble grumbled and lowered his head, eyes set on those clouds.
Rainbow Dash raised her hoof. “On your marks, get set…”
“This time I’ve got you beat, Rumbley-Wumbley-Bumblebee.”
Rumble grinned. “In your dreams, Truckaroo.”
The changeling grinned right back.
Rainbow gave the signal. “Go!”
The End.
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I'm not that worked as a final chapter.
Final scene, yes. Final chapter, maybe.
6323995
It's more of an epilogue, really. Remember, in the original version, the previous chapter would have been the last one. This last one just provides some more clarity. But since it doesn't fit as neatly into the previous chapter, it became a one-scene final chapter to wrap this one up. Again, this thing took forever to write and edit.
absolutely brilliant, and eagerly awaiting your future work.
Well, that turned out fairly well. Thunderlane may not truck with Rumble spending time with strange fillies (for a given, highly restrictive definition of "strange,") but he can't complain about this. And if he does find out, he'll probably have some more pointed objections than the gender of his brother's training partner.
I do have to wonder about that "Colts come and go all the time in Ponyville" line. Is there just a big turnover rate as families decide the schools and convenient proximity to Canterlot aren't worth living next to an unnatural hell-forest, or is it something else? Whatever the case, looking forward to part three.
...Okay, what happened at Blue Moon Bloom?
...Dammit he's not going to stand up to his family is he? I bloody knew it.
Good story, dude.
6324486
Give Rumble a break. This is like his family being some of those super-Christian Yank nutters, and him wanting to come out as liberal, atheist and/or gay. Not bloody likely, or at least not until he's no longer living at their home.
6324486 6324548
Part of the reason I wanted to write a part 3 was because I didn't want Rumble's parents to come off as one-dimensional, terrible individuals. I wanted to give them some reasons, and give the tradition of wedlock itself some background. I ended up wanting to give them screentime, basically. I can't do that within the confines of this story, so some changes were made here and another sequel was made.
That said, before either of you get upset for things being one way or the other, I'd like to point out Rumble and Thunderlane's parents haven't actually shown their faces in this canon yet. Neither has Thunderlane's lifemate, for that matter. Another issue I had with ending the storyline here is that... Chitter is the only bona fide rousette in this entire story who gets any dialogue, and remember she didn't think him drinking the Blood Cup was a good thing, either. It's not even fully established what that ritual was supposed to do, what it does for rousettes. Rousettes need some background as a race and culture for things to make total sense.
There's only been one actual rousette who has voiced their opinion on this thing, and she's only a child. The ponies who know (note the plural), stay quiet as a rule. So not everything is clear-cut.
If you really want everything spelled out before I publish the sequel, I'll gladly PM the whole background, before it gets explained or implied in part 3. But I prefer to have my readers think about it and try to figure things out on their own. Things like: wouldn't this sort of situation have popped up before in other families, and why is Rumble's case so special?
6324330
It's a slightly meta remark about the fact that in the show, boys aren't shown consistently on screen. Heck, Cheerilee's class looks to be all-girls first time we see it. Lickety Split, Featherweight, Rumble himself, they don't tend to pop up on screen as often as the random girls. Heck, Hurricane Fluttershy or Flight to the Finish from the perspective from poor, permanently upstaged Rumble are both stories in and of themselves.
My take on it is that boys in Ponyville have their own hangouts, their own code of honour, and their own social circles beyond city limits. Or, like in the Filly Cupcakes fic, they're just all in afterschool clubs.
6324627 Okay, that still doesn't tell me what happened at the Blue Moon Bloom. The way Thunderlane talked it was like he did something wrong there.
I don't think I'll be reading part 3, this story aggrevates me too much. I am curious as to the background of all this though.
6324657
Rumble was supposed to meet up Chitter someplace, since they didn't have a babysitter. He did, in fact, not show up and -- horror of horrors -- went about in Ponyville on his own accord.
And if you don't want to read more, that's cool. I ain't one to force people. If you've got any questions or want to use any of the headcanons, you can always PM and I'll try to reply as clear and concisely as I can.
6324019 the main problem is that the last chapter is basically the climax the entire story was just "it's complicated" over and over with little variation. Then we finally get a climax with him finding out her secret and chasing her down then a small resolution to their relationship, finally finding out That "it's complicated" is really just "it's traditional" but it just feels incomplete cause...
well after thinking about it a bit Rumble really shouldn't be the main character in this story. With rumble as the point of view this story feels incomplete because nothing has been solved for him really, he found a midway point to his problems but he still hasn't confronted his problem and gotten a resolution. I don't know, I'm not great with explaining the thoughts in my head. It feels a bit like the Eragon movie. All the build up with a major obstacle on the horizon culminating in a sort of half way battle with the actual obstacle still there on the horizon only to end there unfinished and unresolved. It didn't do well enough for a sequel too so it's just still unfinished lol.
Anyway I still stick by my original thoughts that the other story you cancled was better by far. More tension, intrigue, and plot twists. All handled very well with the weakest part of the story being a character that didn't really fit, that same character being the reason the story won't be continued cause he can't be used in it anymore. The irony.
"It's just my opinion though"
6324761
Hence the part 3 coming. Maybe I'll continue it past that with some side stories, maybe I'll let it be. The whole Quorum Sensing thing has certainly been the one to take longest so far. It was either publish it flawed as is or not publish at all, basically.
Edit: I got the same response to Changeling Blood, actually, which was also in storage and editing for a long time. Some people like the way that turned out, some do not.
Also, I did not cancel Second Skin. I ended it. It is finished, and there's no way for me to write a sequel to it.
6324810
A little oneshot first, then part 3 to this, then probably Flight Camp sequel or something in the Changeling Blood series. I'm seriously questioning whether I want to add any more stories to this series, but yeah... there are one or two ideas floating around...
Namely: a oneshot of a pony mom and her son eating at a rousette pizza place, with all the awkwardness that ensues from the culture difference established in part 3, and a story about Chitter's lifemate and maybe Truck getting some romantic interests.
6324841 I see no reason not to add to it at the moment. in addion to "part 3", of the 3 mentioned the first one just sounds funny
for the laughs, the other 2 sound promising and hay no loose ends right?
6324627
I do intend to read this story's sequel, and I do like you writing style, so please don't spoon the answers at me. Unless you want me to proofread for you, in which case I'll be glad to help you.
6324989
Much obliged, but I don't think I'll get any proofreaders involved. All the edits have slowed it down enough, I kind of want to keep some momentum.
Which I just now realised means I need to hurry up on that other story I was writing...
Anyways, if you liked this, you'll love the next one. It's not exactly about adoption, but it gets kind of close in principle.
PleasebeScootspleasebeScoots
HOW DID I NEVER NOTICED THIS SEQUEL TO QUORUM!!! MOST READ NAU!!!
Duuddee! It's like a great sequel and stuff! Me likes it!
You set up the trap perfectly letting us think that Rumble is some kindmof vampire or werewolf but it's exactly the other way around! Duuudeee!
6632707
It is inspired by it, but not based on it. There's a subtle reference to it in the next part of the series. So subtle it's gone entirely unnoticed so far
7056510
I have been looking all over it, but this is the gif:
i.imgur.com/zamSvaC.gif
Edit: and if it worked, it'd show River Song doing a shush motion and saying 'Spoilers'. Shame that imgur doesn't want to cooperate anymore...
Well, this was certainly an interesting story...
Though I have one question in regards to this epilogue:
Why Truck?
I hope the answer isn't just "It's the first thing that came to mind", and is at least a bit more complex.
It's not that I have anything against the name itself, it's just that it seems... odd, especially as a name for a pony.
7317404
A couple of reasons, actually.
-the idea of 'Trucking on', meaning to persevere, was one element.
-it had to be a single-syllable name, for more boyish/over-the-top masculine look and feel.
-the very, very, very subtle reference to that other creature who cannot fly on his own and who is a big fan of Rainbow Dash: Tank. If Rainbow Dash would name her pet after an armoured vehicle, it stands to reason a buddy named after a powerful pulling vehicle has a better shot. Besides that, remember the turtle in Finding Nemo? The one who teaches Marlin that kids can and will try to stand on their own two feet which is kind of what Rainbow is trying to do in this story? His name was Crush. And he also spoke with a surfer accent. Tank+ Crush= Truck. This one only came in hindsight, though. The surfer thing was because I tend to base Rumble's character on Aqualad from Teen Titans (in every story I've had with him), and a surfer personality makes for a good contrast to that.
-Scootaloo's name gets associated with her scooter. Scooters are lightweight, nimble. A truck is clumsy, strong, heavy. I could have gone and called him Truckaroo, but then it wouldn't have been much of an alias.
-I also wanted a name that just outright makes fun of or parodies everything boyish. The sort of thing a girl who knows nothing about boys yet pretends to be one would pick. Like Mulan, early on in her military career, trying to spit everywhere and pick fights.
Thanks for the feedback, glad you found the story interesting.
7318095 Those all make perfect sense, actually.
Thanks for the info.
This story was for the most part... okay. It felt like it was lacking focus a lot of the time and the character development suffered for that. As a whole though it was decent enough to get me to want to read the next one...
And it still gets a favorite for "truck"
So, is Second Skin supposed to be non-canon, then?
8997542
To this story? Yes, that is what it says.
I don't catch the joke in this part
Is that not the same? or is a accent or something?
The story is not bad... And the prequel was also good but I think it need something... Maybe it's because I'm not good at romance stories, even if this is not really a romance story but your story is good. While the ending it was a surprise. I decided to not read the last story, sorry.
9173181
It's not a joke. Featherweight calls Chitter a 'bat girl.' Rumble gets very annoyed at that. Featherweight tries to say he meant 'rousette,' and insists on it by saying he wanted to say that and meant to say that.
"I wasn't going to say bat girl, I didn't want to say bat girl." It's that kind of stumbling apology.
No worries about the not reading the sequel bit. I write a lot of different stuff, not everything will appeal to everyone.
10013735
You know what, that is a fair point.