At the Hospital
Chapter 5: At the Hospital
Thunderlane sat in the waiting room of Ponyville General Hospital with his head hung low. He pressed his hooves into his shut eyes as the breeze of the ceiling fan above gently tousled his mane. He shivered from the chilly air, but was too nervous to notice. It was an impulse, nothing more, as his mind was focused on something far more important than the temperature of the room.
Thunderlane returned home from the park after his ill-fated meeting with Caramel and Soarin’. He was exhausted and hoped to get in a quick nap, hoping that Rumble would understand if he didn’t answer the door as he normally did. He needed sleep if he hoped to pull off a convincing minotaur act for his brother later on. Well, sleep, as well as a cheap loincloth and pair of plastic horns that he had bought at the local cultural shop (a tiny store specializing in cultural items of different races: griffons, diamond dogs, minotaurs, everything).
Yawning and stretching, Thunderlane placed the horns and cloth onto the table before he stumbled into the living room and collapsed onto the couch. The last thing he remembered thinking before passing out was how incredibly sunny it was outside. Perhaps, he thought, a sign of a better evening ahead to make up for the bad day he had because of the Caramel incident.
He had been asleep for about an hour when the doorbell rang. He groggily shouted for the pony to leave, but after a few rapid, urgent rings, Thunderlane realized the guest wasn’t going away until he answered. Cursing, he pushed himself out of the couch. He opened the door with the intention of arguing only to have his rage vanish when he saw the brown pegasus mare standing on the ‘WELCOME’ mat with a worried look in her eyes. She wore a spotless white jacket with a small red cross embroidered onto the front of it. He immediately recognized her as one of the hospital’s messenger ponies that were sent off to alert family members of sick and injured ponies that their relative was hospitalized— something that, thanks to his binge drinking father, had happened more often than he would have liked.
To Thunderlane’s shame, he found part of himself hoping that his father was the one in the hospital, as the only other possibility he could think of was that Rumble was admitted. And that was something he didn’t even want to think about as a possibility.
Unfortunately the messenger confirmed Thunderlane’s worst fear and told him that it was, indeed, Rumble. Before the messenger mare had the chance to explain further, the frantic Thunderlane nearly knocked her over as he bolted out the door and flew to the hospital.
Once he arrived, he zoomed into the emergency room before landing just short of slamming into the glass separating him from the receptionist, who sat in a chair with a clipboard in hoof, chewing a piece of bubblegum. Out of breath and panicked, Thunderlane demanded to be let in so he could see his brother. Putting on a pair of reading glasses, the receptionist scanned Rumble’s records to confirm that he was admitted and told Thunderlane to take a seat in the waiting room.
After Thunderlane vocalized his disapproval at not being allowed back to see his brother for a good five minutes the receptionist threatened to call security. Stomping his hoof definitely, Thunderlane nevertheless caved and after taking a few deep, calming breaths he trotted over to an empty chair and plopped his flank down on it. There he waited as patiently as the sibling of a hospitalized patient could wait.
And he waited.
And waited.
And waited.
The room was remarkably empty, and Thunderlane could hear his heart thumping against his chest like his drunken father’s head on the front door when he wanted to be let inside. He had never been so frightened, thoughts about what could have happened to his little brother flashed through his mind. He pictured a hydra crushing Rumble beneath one of its massive feet. He pictured Rumble tumbling off of a cliff into a gator-filled river below. He pictured a group of bullies stomping their hooves into poor Rumble’s face until his nose split open and his eyes swelled like grapes. There were so many possibilities, each more devastating than the last.
Thunderlane bit down on his lower lip to keep himself as composed as possible. His forelegs had gone numb and he felt as though he was going to start crying any minute. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw a multi-colored bolt fly through the automated doors. He looked up quickly to see Rainbow Dash pass by and almost crash into the glass separating her from the receptionist.
As if this situation wasn’t stressful enough, ‘SHE’ had to be here.
He could deal with his drunken father every night no problem, but for some reason he got nervous whenever the bossy pegasus was around. Ever since she seemed to focus so intently on him when they had to create the tornado, he couldn’t help but be afraid. But this time something was different. But instead of being cocky and aloof, as Thunderlane had known her to be, Rainbow Dash was visibly panicked.
“Where’s Scoots? Where is she?” Her voice cracked slightly as she shouted. Her hooves slammed into the glass a couple of times and Thunderlane jumped at the sound, surprised the glass didn’t shatter from the force of the pounding.
“I’m sorry, who?” The receptionist asked, peering over the thin rims of her glasses.
Rainbow Dash reached through a small opening in the receptionist’s window, took the receptionist by the back of her head and pulled her forward. Their muzzles virtually touched, the glass acting like a thin barrier that fogged under their breathing.
“Scootaloo!” Rainbow Dash released the receptionist, who immediately fell back into her chair. Shaking off her stumble and re-adjusting her glasses, she got to work looking through a stack of folders. She raised an eyebrow and Rainbow Dash jumped a little in place, biting her lip anxiously.
“Huh. I don’t seem to have a folder out for any ‘Scootaloo’,” the receptionist looked back up at Rainbow Dash. “Are you sure she’s here?”
“The messenger pony you sent told me she was.” Rainbow Dash’s voice cracked slightly, her anger seemed to be replaced with worry and Thunderlane leaned forward.
“What else did the messenger tell you?”
“I don’t know. I just got home from working out at the gym, and there she was. As soon as she told me that Scoots was in the hospital I made my way over. I was too scared to wait around and listen, I had to make sure she’s okay.”
“Well I’m sorry I don’t see her records in this pile.”
“Well do you remember seeing her?” Rainbow Dash put a hoof about a foot off of the ground as if measuring some invisible being. “She’s about yay tall. An orange pegasus filly with a purple mane, sort of cut like this.” Rainbow Dash pointed to her own mane cut. “Ring any bells?”
Suddenly the familiar face of Nurse Redheart popped into the receptionist’s room. Upon seeing Rainbow Dash she smiled. “Oh, hello Rainbow Dash. I take it our messenger went to grab you about Scootaloo?”
Rainbow Dash pressed her face back up against the glass. “Yes! I was told that she’s back there?”
“Yes she’s back here, but don’t worry she is fine.”
Rainbow Dash sighed, her tense body softening as it appeared that a thousand pounds had been lifted off of her back.
“Why aren’t her files out?” The receptionist held up the stack of folders, clearly puzzled.
“Because she isn’t being treated so her medical records weren’t needed.” The nurse turned back to Rainbow Dash, “The only reason that she’s here is to keep the company of a young colt who we admitted earlier.”
“A colt?” Rainbow Dash asked, her relief replaced with sudden confusion and, apparently, anger. As if her repetition of that word re-charged Thunderlane’s common sense, he snapped out of his state of sorrow and looked up at the receptionist. “What colt?”
“Rumble...” Thunderlane muttered. Rainbow Dash turned and glared at him as if he just said something insulting about the size of her flank. The stallion felt his stomach churn from the coldness of the mare’s magenta stare. He clenched his teeth and slowly moved towards the receptionist’s desk, which seemed to have a magnet-like draw as everypony was gathered near it.
“Is she with,” Thunderlane swallowed nervously, feeling the imagined heat Rainbow Dash’s eyes on the back of his head. “Rumble?”
Nurse Redheart nodded. “Why yes, in fact she is.”
“Why...why would she be in there with him?” Thunderlane asked, genuinely confused. He had no idea Rumble had such devoted friends, especially ones of the opposite gender.
“She and her friends brought him in when he was having an allergic reaction,” the nurse continued to look through the papers in front of her, “and she decided to stick around until somepony came to pick him up.”
“He had an allergic reaction?” Thunderlane never felt such a mix of panic and confusion. Rumble wasn’t allergic to anything, was he?
“Yep, that chocolate shake sure did a number on him. But don’t worry, he’s perfectly fine now and should be out in a little bit.”
“Oh thank Celestia,” Thunderlane gasped in relief. Suddenly, a wave of confusion hit him. “Wait a minute. Did you say a chocolate shake?”
Nurse Redheart nodded, “Yes. Rumble is allergic to chocolate.”
Thunderlane just stared for a moment. It was no mystery that his brother loathed chocolate more than anything else, so Thunderlane was confused as to why he would even try the stuff. But even more than that, he remembered his brother trying the dark sweetness and though he stuck his tongue out and let out a ‘blech’, he didn’t have an allergic reaction to it.
“That’s...impossible. I’ve seen him eat chocolate before. I mean it has been a few years since he hates the stuff, but it never caused his throat to close or anything.”
“Sometimes it takes years for somepony to develop an allergy. Anyways, Rumble will be out in a minute so why don’t you both take a seat?” Thunderlane thanked the nurse and trotted back over to the chairs and let himself back into one. Rainbow Dash trotted over Thunderlane and took a seat. Both pegasi were next to each other.
“Ya know, your brother better not be up to anything funny with Scoots.”
Thunderlane glanced at Rainbow before looking away, preferring to pretend that she wasn’t sitting so close to him and that the waiting room was, as it was before, his own silent haven. “I’m sure everything is fine.”
“Well I’m still keeping my guard up."
Thunderlane glanced up at Rainbow Dash before he looked away and continued to adjust himself in his seat so he was a few centimeters further from the polychromatic pegasus.
“I see you moving away from me,” Rainbow Dash said. Thunderlane turned to see Rainbow Dash giving him a rather bemused look.
“Yeah? So what?” Thunderlane asked with a stern glare, trying his best to act like she hadn’t been spot on with her observation.
“What do you mean ‘so what’? Do I intimidate you or something?” Rainbow Dash sneered.
Thunderlane pressed his hooves to his temples. “Ugh. Look could you please just leave me alone?”
“Whatever.” Rainbow Dash shook her head and looked towards the door that led into the back where Rumble and Scootaloo were. There was an unnerving silence for about a minute where neither pony looked directly at each other. Thunderlane stole the occasional glance at Rainbow Dash, who kept her eyes glued to the door, her hooves swinging back and forth while her flank was teetering on the very edge of the chair. He wanted to ask her a question, but also didn’t want to break the silence. Clicking his tongue against his cheek, Thunderlane finally caved to curiosity and spoke up.
“So...why are you waiting on Scootaloo anyway? I know you aren’t related to her or anything.”
Rainbow Dash turned towards Thunderlane, her eyebrow raised. “What? I can’t show concern for somepony without them being related to me? Can’t it be enough of a reason that I care about her wellbeing?”
Thunderlane held his hooves up defensively, “Calm down. I didn’t mean anything by it, I was just curious. Especially since the messenger went to get you ahead of anypony else.”
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to retort but stopped. Her face seemed to relax a bit as she let out a sigh, her shoulders slouching slightly.
“I’m her emergency contact. Her mother isn’t the most reliable...Look! Just...just keep your brother in check, okay? I don’t want him to hurt Scoots.” Rainbow rubbed her foreleg with a nervous fervor.
“He won’t. Trust me, Rumble isn’t like that.”
“You mean like your father?”
Thunderlane looked down, biting his lip so hard he could taste blood. “He is nothing like him. Neither of us are.”
“When I was a young filly, back when I lived in Cloudsdale, there was this saying. Maybe you’re familiar with it? ‘The rain doesn’t fall far from the cloud’.” Rainbow turned to Thunderlane.
Thunderlane slowly nodded, clenching his teeth. “Yes, I’ve heard that before.”
“Then you’ll understand why I’m still not totally on board with your little brother being around Scootaloo?”
Thunderlane didn’t respond, and Rainbow Dash turned her attention back to the door. And just like that, both ponies re-entered their state of mutual silence that had before seemed so unsettling, but now was extraordinarily welcome. At least that’s how Thunderlane felt, thinking that if the polychromatic mare beside him opened her mouth one more time to badmouth his brother, he was going to snap.
“Sun-1.”
“Miss. Sky-17.”
“Miss.” Rumble said, adjusting himself into a more comfortable position in the hospital bed. The sheets were pulled up his legs so they reached his waist,covering the entire lower half of his body. Scootaloo was on the bed as well, but stayed above the sheets.
The swelling that was caused by Rumble’s reaction had since abated so that he looked as healthy as he had before the first drop of the shake touched his tongue. The only rash left on his body was on his foreleg, beneath the tape and gauze that had been placed after the IV had been pulled.
The part of the hospital that Rumble and Scootaloo were in– where checked-in patients lay in sweaty beds– was almost completely empty, giving it an air of almost complete silence. In fact, the only noise seemed to come from both Rumble and Scootaloo’s breathing, as well as the occasional squeak of wheels against tile that sounded when nurses passed their room pushing carts of medical supplies. The walls were a blinding white, an effect enhanced by the ceiling lights and sunlight that streamed into the room through a window.
Rumble was focused on the colorful board game that Scootaloo had dug up from the Hospital’s recreation room, a place that was devoid of young colts and fillies that most likely lacked the high spirits needed to get out of bed and make the journey down the hall.
“Not in the same room, of course,” Scootaloo giggled, “I’m obsessed with Rainbow Dash, but not that obsessed. Well, except one time on Hearth’s Warming Eve I did sleep in the same bed as her, but that was a one time thing, and it was like she was an older sister,” she looked down as her cheeks turned red, “or a mother.”
Rumble was certainly curious about Scootaloo’s relationship with Rainbow Dash. So he decided to ask a question that had been on his mind for the past few minutes, ever since Scootaloo started talking about her innocent little “mare-crush”.
“Why do you spend so much time with Rainbow Dash anyway?”
“Duh,” Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes. “Because she is the coolest pegasus ever. You name one cooler and I’ll name you a liar.”
After a quick laugh they both continued to play the game long after both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom had left. Rumble was happy that all three fillies stayed with him when he first came in, and then stayed until they were certain that he would be okay. Rumble told them that they were free to leave, but Scootaloo, who at the time had been sitting by his side at the edge of the bed, offered to stay until he was fully checked out.
“Rain-4”
“Miss. Sun-9.”
“Miss. You know, Scootaloo. You don’t have to stay here. I’ll be fine. Trust me.” Rumble said.
“I know you would be, but I still want to hang with you.” Scootaloo said with a soft chuckle, “Trust me. If I really wanted to leave, I would have left with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Cloud-2.”
“Miss,” Rumble muttered. “Yeah but I just feel bad. I ruined the day for you guys. You were planning to go crusading and here I just had to muck it all up. Rain-7.”
“Miss. Yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask that. Why did you get the shake if you didn’t like chocolate? Cloud-16.”
“Dangit, you hit my cumulus,” Rumble said, taking the small cloud-shaped piece off of the board and placing it to his side along with the other pieces Scootaloo managed to knock off. “Sun-10.”
He looked up to see Scootaloo looking at him expectantly, as if waiting for an explanation.
“Answer my question.”
Rumble shook his head and pointed to the board, ignoring the concerned expression on Scootaloo’s face. “I just made a move. Let me know if I hit anything, and then I’ll talk.”
“Nice try buddy boy,” Scootaloo shook her head and crossed her hooves over her chest. “We aren’t going to continue playing this game until you tell me why you lied.”
Rumble could feel his stomach turn out of anxiety.
“Are you really doing this?” Scootaloo didn’t respond. Instead, she kept staring at Rumble like a mother that knew her son had done something wrong, and was waiting for an admission of guilt.
Rumble sighed and leaned back against his already-dented pillow, “Fine...when I saw how happy you were that I ordered the same flavor as you, I...I guess didn’t want to disappoint you.”
Scootaloo put her hooves to her mouth. “Oh my...Rumble. Oh no, I’m sorry, I...I didn’t know that I made you feel that way.”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
“But if I didn’t make such a big deal about the chocolate, you wouldn’t be in the hospital.” Scootaloo’s eyes went wide before she looked down, her lower eyelids moistening. “It’s all my fault.” Scootaloo shook her head and sniffled. “My fault.”
“Scootaloo, don’t worry. I’m fine, see.” Rumble waved and gave the filly a small smile. “I’m telling you, it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know. Heck, nopony knew. If anyone is to blame here, it’s me, I never should have ordered the shake if I didn’t like it. I should have been honest from the start.”
Rumble sighed. “Then again, if I knew that my throat would close and my head would swell to the size of a melon I probably would have probably reconsidered.”
“Probably?” Scootaloo asked, her guilt seeming to subside as she smiled weakly. Rumble shrugged and Scootaloo burst out laughing. Rumble smiled, somewhat happier that Scootaloo was back to her old self after her momentary slip into blaming herself. Once she stopped, he pointed back at the board.
“So, now will you tell me if I hit anything?”
Scootaloo nodded, though she smiled as if she knew something that Rumble did not.
“Okay. Tell me what your move was again.”
“I...” Rumble trailed off, his mind blank as he tried to recall the coordinate of the ‘attack’ he made. “Oh...crud, I can’t remember!” He then looked at Scootaloo, who looked like she was trying to hold back laughter. “Can you tell me?”
Scootaloo shook her head. “Now why would I do that? Sorry bud, you’re gonna have to remember yourself.”
Rumble pointed at Scootaloo accusingly, “You set me up to forget, didn’t you?”
Scootaloo finally let out what she had been holding in, bellowing a loud, obnoxious laugh while slapping her thigh. “Gotta keep focused, dude!”
“Grrr,” Rumble growled, but it didn’t take long before he let out a light laugh, “that’s a cheap move there, Scootaloo. Cheap...but actually pretty clever.”
Scootaloo’s laughter slowed and she wiped a stray tear from her eye. “Thanks. Rainbow Dash taught me that one.” Scootaloo looked up at Rumble with complete sincerity. “But that was only part of the reason I stopped the game. I really did want you to open up to me about this afternoon. You’re my friend after all.”
At hearing the word ‘friend’, Rumble found his cheeks, once again, flaring up. Sunlight from the window spread across Scootaloo’s body. It was evening, and the setting sun cast an orange tint that enhanced Scootaloo’s fur coat so it looked as though she was neon. Rumble snapped out of his trance when Scootaloo stopped laughing and looked at the embarrassed colt. Their eyes met, and the confused colt could feel his heart beat faster as he let himself get lost in the violet gems.
“And Rumble,” she leaned forward with a smug look on her face, put her hoof up to her mouth like she was going to tell him some super special secret, and whispered. “Your move was Sun-10.”
Rumble’s eyes widened as he returned to reality, his grin returning. “Yes! That’s right! Sun-10!”
“Miss,” she said almost immediately with an evil grin, crushing the high hopes Rumble had built up. “My turn. Cloud-8.”
And with this, Rumble’s faltering hope crashed and burned into a hypothetical pile of ash. His eyes stared down at the lone piece on his board— the seagull. He closed his eyes and face-hoofed.
Scootaloo grinned. “I hit your seagull, didn’t I?”
Rumble let out a sigh, reaching down and pulling the bird-shaped peg from its hole on the board. With a deadpan expression, he held it up to the orange filly. Scootaloo instantly threw her hooves up in triumph. “Yes! I am the champion of the hospital bed!”
Scootaloo let out enthusiastic ‘rah-rah’ sounds, acting overly-arrogant while making it rather humorous to Rumble, who laughed as he started to stick his game pieces back onto the board.
“Good game. Do you wanna go another round?” he asked, grinning competitively.
“You bet!” Scootaloo said, getting her board situated when the door the the room opened. Rumble looked up to see the familiar face of Doctor Stable standing in the doorway. The doctor had been his physician since he was young- well...younger. He was the one that had given Rumble his booster shots and the other vaccines the colt couldn’t remember the names of. Not that he wanted to, he was still scared of getting his annual flu shot.
He was also one that had treated Rumble for a shattered leg after he fell from the swing.
Well, maybe fell isn’t the correct term. Rumble had purposefully jumped from the swing like a projectile with the hope that in doing so he would discover some kind of hidden ‘sink of swim’ survival instinct that would make him fly. Needless to say his body didn’t go into autopilot like he had hoped, and he plummeted to the ground with a ‘thud’, snapping his right foreleg in half like a twig.
The memory of the pain was so potent that it permanently burned into his subconscious. For a long while after he had a nagging fear of flying that made his ability to do so shaky, at best. Sometimes he would stay airborne for half a minute before he started to hyperventilate and would crash to the ground in a small heap of grey and black. The only thing that helped him calm down was when Thunderlane ran over breathlessly, asking questions like rapid fire; “Are you hurt?”; “Did you hurt your leg again?”; “Did you have another panic attack?”
The very fact that he was able to join the other Ponyville pegasi in creating the water spout for Cloudsdale’s reservoir was nothing short of a miracle. However, he had still yet to recapture the poise and flying ability that he displayed on that day. His fear had dwindled significantly, though it still existed, and his flying had definitely improved with his newfound confidence, but he was still inconsistent. He also wasn’t particularly good at flying at high speeds, which was a problem for a colt who aspired to be a Wonderbolt.
This led him to believe that his success that day had more to do with Rainbow Dash’s uncanny ability to milk the tiniest bit of motivation from all pegasi that were present, not that he would tell Thunderlane as that would only make him jealous, than his own personal talent. Regardless, that day was the pinnacle of his flying ability at the moment and he sought to recapture it, even with the tiny fear he still had.
“Rumble, Scootaloo?” the doctor asked. The two friends nodded in unison. “Both of your pickups are here to take you home.”
Rumble knew that Thunderlane was most likely the one picking him up. The other possibility, his father, was so unlikely it was almost deserving of laughter.
Scootaloo, on the other hoof, tilted her head like some confused puppy. “Wait, who’s my pick-up? I didn’t need one.”
“Yes, but knowing your history, I thought that it would be a good idea to send the messenger to fetch Rainbow Dash for you.”
For a moment Rumble was unsure about what the doctor meant by ‘your history’, but his attention was quickly grabbed by Scootaloo, who let out a shrill, excitable gasp at the mention of her mentor being the one to pick her up.
“Oh my gosh! You got Rainbow Dash to pick me up?” Doctor Stable nodded. Scootaloo jumped up as her tiny wings buzzed like a hummingbird’s— keeping her airborne briefly before she descended back onto the mattress. “That is so awesome!”
The doctor smiled at Scootaloo’s excitement, “I’ll send the nurse back here to lead you out to the waiting room in a few minutes.” He walked out, leaving the two young ponies alone. Both Rumble and Scootaloo looked at each other before quickly looking away with nervous laughter.
“We should probably clean this place up so the nurses don’t get mad.” Scootaloo suggested.
“Right,” Rumble responded. He and Scootaloo started to pack the board game away, placing their pieces into individual cubbies. Once done, Rumble reached out to close the game up when his hoof lightly brushed up against Scootaloo’s. They both quickly retracted and Rumble looked at the floor. His cheeks felt like they were aflame, and his stomach felt knotted. He looked up to see Scootaloo looking away as well, her cheeks a similar shade of pink.
Wow, she’s so cute. Rumble thought before he shook his head. Wait. Why am I thinking like that? What’s wrong with me? Stop it, Rumble, stop it!
Scootaloo giggled. “Sorry,” she said in such a meek way it would have made a bunny blush.
“No it’s...it’s fine.” Rumble said. Scootaloo glanced up at him, giving him the most sheepish of smiles. Nurse Redheart stopped in the doorframe and told the duo to follow her. They quickly hopped off of the bed and trailed the mare down the hallway to a door. The Nurse opened it and Rumble found himself back in the waiting room. He saw both Thunderlane and Rainbow Dash sitting in adjacent chairs.
When Thunderlane looked over in Rumble’s direction, his eyes lit up like a set of gold candles. Before Rumble get a single word out, the black pegasus flew over and embraced him tightly so that the little colt’s face was pressed firmly into his furry chest. Rumble didn’t mind. After the day he had feeling the warm fur and gentle heartbeat of his brother was more than welcome. He returned the gesture only to feel Thunderlane’s entire body shake like a leaf caught in a gust.
“Oh, Rumble! You have no idea how happy I am that you’re okay!”
“I think I have an idea,” Rumble muttered, rolling his eyes at his brother’s protectiveness. Nevertheless, he hugged him back and looked over his shoulder to see Scootaloo run over to Rainbow Dash, who was now standing with a look of relief that wasn’t quite as intense as Thunderlane’s, but still enough to convey the worry she felt. Scootaloo almost knocked Rainbow Dash off her hooves as they hugged each other.
“Do you know how worried I was, squirt?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking down with concern.
“I was fine,” Scootaloo replied. “I was just staying with Rumble to make sure he checked out all right.”
“I know that now,” Rainbow Dash nodded. “But I didn’t when the messenger told me and I was scared out of my mind until I talked to the nurse.”
Rainbow Dash pulled Scootaloo in closer, nuzzling her chin against the filly’s messy mane. Scootaloo returned the hug and turned to Rumble, who smiled at her and mouthed ‘thank you’. With a friendly smile, Scootaloo gave him a wink.
Rumble’s cheeks felt as if it was sparking like a unicorn’s horn. He that Rainbow Dash was eyeing him suspiciously and he quickly looked away to hide the blush in his cheeks. Doctor Stable talked with Thunderlane about Rumble’s allergy to chocolate, saying how he would have to carry around an epipen in case he ever accidentally ingested it in the future. Thunderlane took the small injector, thanked the doctor and looked down at Rumble before motioning to the door with his head.
“Let’s go, dude.”
Rumble nodded and both he and his brother made their way towards the door, passing both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, but not before the little filly offered Rumble a hoof bump. He stopped to take a quick, nervous glance up at Rainbow Dash who just kept glaring at him as if he had somehow wronged her. It felt as though a massive weight had been dropped into his stomach and his legs started to shake slightly at the knee. But then he saw Scootaloo, and her adorable smile and friendly offer of her hoof was too much to resist the urge to put his nervousness aside. So despite the rational part of his brain telling him that he would regret doing so, and that he should be intimidated by the disapproving blue pegasus staring at him like a criminal yet to commit a crime, he brought his hoof up to Scootaloo’s and made contact.
He looked at his hoof, the hoof that touched hers, before lowering it back down and glancing up at Scootaloo. He could have sworn that he saw the faintest blush grace her cheeks.
“I’ll see you at school.” He said.
Scootaloo giggled. “Yeah, I guess I will. Just try not to end up back in a hospital bed before then.”
Both ponies joined in a light laugh when Thunderlane’s voice boomed from the entrance. “Yo Rumble! Come on! We’re losing daylight here and I haven’t even made us dinner!”
“I’m coming!” Rumble shouted back. He gave Scootaloo a subtle nod and ran off to catch up with his brother, who was tapping his hoof against the tiled floor impatiently. Rumble was so lost in his own thoughts of Scootaloo that he hardly noticed the change in Rainbow Dash’s expression, which went from a look of accusation to a full-out, red-cheeked, lip-biting scowl that would send chills down the most fearless ponies’ spines.
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Well that's muchs better! A lot less bitchy
now she's just like an over protective mother 
2615704
Good, that's what I was going for. After all, I sort of her being like that with Scoots (or an overprotective bis sis)
Caught my eye in update section, going to give this a read :D
2615774
Awesome, hope it's to your liking.
I don't find her bitchy at all. Just a little bit over protective.
i actually like the first one better, RainbowDash being a dick kind of suited it if you ask me :p
But still a very good chapter.
2619830
eeyup.