• Published 28th Jan 2013
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New Revelations - Phantom Shadow



Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who have been "together" for three months, are put to the test when a new foal comes to Ponyville, igniting feelings that Sweetie Belle is all too familiar with.

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Chapter 20: The Moment of Truth

The next morning, Sweetie Belle trotted towards the school as quickly as she could, her heart racing with anticipation. As her destination came into view, she took several deep breaths as she trotted up to Apple Bloom, who was waiting for her in front of the school. By the way she was biting her lower lip and shifting her weight, Sweetie could tell Apple Bloom was just as anxious as she was to put their plan into motion.

"Hey, Apple Bloom," she called out, getting her attention. "Is he here, yet?"

"Hey, Sweetie," responded Apple Bloom, her voice shaky. "No, not yet."

"Good, let's get started."

Nodding in agreement, the two fillies trotted into the building as other foals were either entering with them or already sitting in their seats. Weaving past the rows of ponies, they made their way to Rumble's desk. After making sure nopony was looking or paying attention to them, Sweetie Belle turned to Apple Bloom and nodded her head once. Taking a deep breath, Apple Bloom placed her saddlebag down, took out a small piece of paper that she had neatly folded, and placed it on his chair.

"Ah hope this works," Apple Bloom said as she and Sweetie Belle trotted towards the door to wait for Scootaloo.

You and me both, Sweetie thought as she said aloud, "It'll work, trust me."

Patting Apple Bloom's shoulder for support, the two of them trotted out of the building just in time to see Scootaloo riding in on her scooter. Once there, she got off and placed it securely on the side of the school with her helmet on the handlebars. Trotting up to her, Sweetie Belle gave Scootaloo a hug and kiss before all three of them trotted into the building.

"So, Scoots, are you doing anything later?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"No, not that I know of," Scootaloo answered. "Why? You wanna do something?"

"Sure, only if you want to."

"Alright. I'll meet you at your place, then."

The two of them shared one last kiss before making their way to their seats. Although they paid it no mind, they both could see Diamond Tiara sticking her tongue out, pointing a hoof in her mouth, and making an audible gagging sound. Although most of them either weren't looking or didn't care, it did get a chuckle out of some ponies, like Silver Spoon and Toby.

The mood then shifted for Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom as they watched Rumble trot through the double doors, also with an anxious look on his face. They could only look at each other for a moment before looking back at him as he made his way to his desk. Apple Bloom felt her heart skip a beat as she watched him pick up the paper, tilting his head in confusion.

What's this? Rumble thought as he turned the paper over. One of his eyebrows rose as he read the writing on the back: Open After School.

When he began scanning the room, both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked away, going incognito by either looking at the front of the room or pretending to get something out of their bag.

"Alright, my little ponies," Ms. Cheerilee announced to the students as she got up from her desk. "It's time to begin."

Quickly, Rumble tucked the paper into his saddlebag. He didn't dwell on the paper for long; he'd have a look at it once he accomplished what he had to after school. Nodding once, he closed his bag and sat down, trying his best not to think about any of it until later.


Tensions rose when the last bell of the day rung and all the fillies and colts exited the building. The first to leave were Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, with Scootaloo not too far behind.

As the latter went to get her scooter, Sweetie Belle said, "Remember, wait at the clubhouse until he comes. It shouldn't be too long."

"Alright," Apple Bloom nervously said. "Thanks, Sweetie."

"You're welcome and good luck!"

Waving a hoof, Apple Bloom galloped away as Sweetie Belle trotted over to Scootaloo.

"Hey, where's she going?" Scootaloo asked as she watched her friend disappear over the horizon.

"Oh, she had to go home," Sweetie Belle said with a content smile. "She's...expecting company."

At first, she raised an eyebrow at her, but shook her head and quickly dismissed it. "Okay, if you say so. Well, I'm gonna drop my stuff off at home. I'll be right over."

"Okay," Sweetie Belle affirmed. "I'll be waiting."

Then, the two of them shared a kiss before going their separate ways. Humming their Cutie Mark Crusader theme song, Sweetie trotted towards the Carousel Boutique with a content smile.

Everything is working great, she thought. Soon, Rumble and Apple Bloom will be together and I won't have to worry about choosing between him and-

"Sweetie Belle," a soft voice called out to her. Stopping in her tracks, she turned around to see that Rumble was standing there, his cheeks a small shade of pink and the anxious look still on his face.

"Rumble, what are you-?" she began, before quickly stopping herself. Immediately, she drew her eyes away from his, looking at something on the ground as she said, "I mean, what's up?"

"N-Nothing, I just..." he said, his breathing heavy. "I was wondering...if you were...I mean, if you...can you..."

Taking a deep breath and exhaling loudly, he quickly blurted out, "I have something I really need to talk to you about."

Silence fell upon them for several moments. Sweetie shifted her eyes back and forth, waiting for him to say something that he never did. All the while, the two of them avoided making eye contact with each other by looking at either the ground or the sky.

"O-Okay," Sweetie prompted nervously. "What's up?"

Rumble's cheeks puffed up for moment before the words could escape his mouth. "C-Can we talk s-somewhere...you know...private?"

"Okay...we can go to my house, if you want."

"Actually, can we go somewhere...you know...more private?"

Sweetie gave him a suspicious look. "Why? What's going on?"

"It...It's private, you know? I'll tell you, but...but we need to be...alone."

Sweetie Belle had to shake her head quickly several times as déjà vu rushed over her; it felt like she had had that conversation before with Scootaloo many months ago. However, she managed to push the feeling aside as the thoughts of Apple Bloom waiting for him at the clubhouse ran through her mind.

I need to get him over there, she thought as she suggested, "How about the clubhouse? That's nice and private."

"Actually, I have somewhere in mind," he said. "I mean, if that's alright with you."

"I...I don't know. I mean, I'm supposed to meeting Scootaloo today, and..."

His heart sped up as he interrupted, "T-This won't take too long! It's just for a little while, I promise. What do you say?"

"Um...okay...I guess. Let me just drop my bag off and we'll go."

Nodding in compliance, the two of them parted ways to drop of their belongings. As she trotted, Sweetie Belle took several deep breaths to regain her composure.

It's fine, it'll all be fine, she reassured herself as she trotted through the doors of the Boutique, placed her bag down, and left. Just find out what he wants, direct him to the clubhouse, and get back here.

Lost in her thoughts, she had reached the inn in no time to see that Rumble was standing outside waiting for her. Taking a deep breath, she trotted up to him and said, "Okay, I'm ready."

"Great. Let's get going" he said nervously as he began trotting away, leading her to this place he had in mind. As they trotted, panic began erupting within Sweetie as her thoughts shifted from Apple Bloom to Scootaloo and back.

"So, Rumble," she said innocently. "Any plans for today?"

Not turning to look at her, he rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof. "N-No, I don't."

Oh no! Please tell me you read the note, she thought. "Are you sure? I mean, you're not going anywhere...or seeing anypony...or going anywhere to see anypony...something...anything?"

"No. Why? Am I supposed to?"

"Of course not, I was just curious."

The two of them fell silent as Sweetie face-hoofed herself. Great, just great! Now Apple Bloom is going to be waiting for him and he's not even going to show up! Ugh! How can this possibly get any worse?


Scootaloo trotted out of her house with a small flicker of a smile on her face. She had an idea of what the two of them could do for the rest of the afternoon, seeing that they hadn't spent that much time with each other for a while. As she began trotting in the direction of Sweetie Belle's house, she immediately stopped when she saw a familiar pony trotting past her.

"Is that...Sweetie Belle?" she asked aloud, an eyebrow rising. Remaining completely motionless, she watched as she trotted right past her house, not even noticing her standing there. Immediately, she opened her mouth to call out to her, but so many thoughts ran through her mind that it prevented her words from coming out.

Where does she think she's going? Scootaloo thought as she slowly began following her. Keeping her distance, she saw that she was going towards Rumble's place. Why is Sweetie Belle going there? What is she up to now?

She didn't have to ponder for long, for she immediately saw Rumble standing outside, seemingly waiting for her. Her tiny wings unfurled and her eyebrows furrowed as she watched them talking to one another for a moment before they began trotting away together.

I don't believe her! She just said she wanted to do something with me, and now she's gonna stand me up to go with him? What gives, Sweetie Belle? Scootaloo mentally asked as he cheeks turned red with anger. Well, not this time! I'm putting an end to this right now!

However, she took only a few steps when she realized something about the two of them: Rumble was leading Sweetie Belle out of town.

Where is he taking her? Scootaloo thought as she slowed to a halt. It was only then that all the events from the past few days began rushing through her head, making her tap her chin in deep thought. Rumble has been spending a lot of time with Sweetie Belle, whether it was from Rarity or not. I don't know why, but something tells me he's up to something. I'd better follow them and get to the bottom of all this.

Nodding her head in confirmation, she hid behind the closest thing she could get behind and watched them from a distance. As they continued to exit town, she began to follow them as swiftly and silently as she possibly could.


The two of them continued trotting in silence as they left Ponyville, traveling along the dirt path that led to their destination. Sweetie Belle trailed behind Rumble, who kept his focus on the road for the majority of the journey. Twenty minutes had gone by, more or less, before the two of them were in front of Whitetail Woods. Although it wasn't as foreboding as the Everfree Forest, it still sent an uncomfortable chill up Sweetie Belle's spine.

"R-Rumble," she said uneasily. "W-Where are we going?"

"Not too far," he answered, sounding almost as worried as she was as he began trotting into the woods, Sweetie not too far behind.

"A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I am."

They fell silent again as they slowly trotted through the vast amount of trees while remaining on the dirt path before them. As Rumble scanned the ground in search of the flowers Rarity had mention, Sweetie Belle began to feel frightened, the visions of her nightmare flashing through her mind.

Shaking her head, she tried to think about other things to keep the nightmare out of her thoughts. It was only when she looked at Rumble in front of her that Sweetie instantly noticed something different about one of his wings: while one of them rested at his side with ease, the other seemed to be gripping tightly, as if it were holding onto something.

"Rumble," she said again.

"There they are," he announced, pointing ahead of them towards a series of purple flowers along the dirt path that branched off in another direction. "We're almost there!"

"Almost where, Rumble? Where are you taking me?"

Looking ahead, he could see the clearing Rarity was talking about. Taking several deep breaths, he turned to Sweetie Belle and said, "Sweetie, I know this is going to sound...odd...but you have to trust me on this."

Swallowing hard, he continued. "I need you to close your eyes."

Tilting her head and raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Why? What's going on?"

"P-Please...just trust me. It's...a surprise."

Biting her lower lip, Sweetie let out a huff through her nostrils as she closed her eyes. "Alright, now what?"

Turning around, he said, "Just grab onto my tail and follow me."

Reaching out, she managed to find his tail and hold onto it. Then, they began trotting again, Rumble making sure to stay in a straight line and direct Sweetie where to go and to watch out for anything she needed to avoid, like stumps or rocks. They traveled like this for about seven minutes before they finally stopped.

Whoa, Rumble thought as he overlooked where they were. This is...perfect!

"Can I open my eyes now?" Sweetie asked impatiently.

Taking her hooves, he walked her five paces more before sighing one last time and saying, "Alright, Sweetie, now."

The moment she opened her eyes, Sweetie Belle gasped in awe at what was before them. The two of them were atop a hill, overlooking a grassy field where many beautifully colored flowers were strewn about. Various shades of blue, red, yellow, among many others went as far back as the eye could see. With the way the sun was hitting each flower perfectly, it looked like a sea of colors that danced whenever the breeze came by. Looking at the magnificent scenery, Rumble could see why Rarity had chosen this spot for them; there were no words to describe the sheer beauty without it being an understatement.

As much as he wanted to marvel at its splendor, he began refocusing his thoughts on the now, on the moment he had been preparing for [and dreading] all this time. His heart pounding in his chest, Rumble tried to find the right words to say as his wing clutched the small velvet box. He took several deep breaths as he tried to find his voice, desperately trying to get his thoughts in order. Fortunately, Sweetie was the first to speak.

"Rumble," she said in a breathy whisper. "This...this is so...beautiful."

"I know," he responded. "It is, isn't it?"

Like him, Sweetie Belle wanted to stare at the beauty of the flowery field for a long time, but the thoughts of why they were here withdrew her attention from it and onto Rumble. Her heart pounding in her chest, she tried her best to look at him without looking directly into his eyes.

"W-Why did you bring me here?" she asked him, her tone a bit louder now. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Well...the thing is...," he said as he tried to make his eyes look up to hers. However, he fought them, trying to wait for the opportune moment like Rarity had suggested. "There's something...I wanted...to talk to you about...but...I just don't know how...to say it..."

Sweetie Belle managed to see that he was looking extremely nervous; the poor colt couldn't even look her direction, let alone at her. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn he was about to cry.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, tilting her head.

"No, no," he quickly replied. "It's just that...well..."

His heart began pounding in his chest even harder now, his breathing starting to become affected by it. As much as his body tried to make him leave and call the whole thing off, he fought it as much as he could, his neck starting to tense up.

As much as Sweetie Belle tried not to, she began to feel her eyes beginning to try and look at his eyes, forcing her into the moment she tried so desperately to avoid. She even tried turning her head away from him to help avoid it, but that didn't seem to help either.

Don't do it, she kept thinking to herself as she squeezed her eyes shut. You don't feel that way about him, so just ignore it. Besides, Apple Bloom is still waiting for him at the clubhouse, so try and hurry this along.

Just say it, Rumble's thoughts screamed at him. Just tell her! What's the worst that could happen? If she says no, then it's no, but you have to say it!

"Sweetie Belle...I...I," he said boldly, the words on the tip of his tongue but refusing to leave his mouth. "I...I wanted to...to..."

As she looked at him, he turned away and let out a groan, mumbling, "Why is it so hard to talk to you?"

The gesture sparked a hint of worry. "Rumble, are you sure everything's alright?"

"I don't know," Rumble replied with his back still turned to her. "I don't know anymore. I don't know what I'm doing. I really don't."

"Rumble...you're starting to scare me. Please, just tell me what's wrong."

Relax, just calm down, his thoughts desperately tried to reassure him. Just do it and get it over with!

Straightening his posture, he slowly turned to Sweetie Belle, making sure his eyes were facing hers. Fortunately, Sweetie Belle was looking right at him, forcing their eyes to meet with one another.

Like all the times before, everything around them vanished; they couldn't hear or see anything except each other. Time stood still as the anxiety both of them were feeling started to slowly dissipate into nothing. Both of their ears rested against their heads as Rumble began trotting up to her until he was about six inches in front of her. As Rumble smiled at her, making Sweetie follow suit, they could have sworn they heard rustling of the grass behind them, but they didn't care; all that mattered was the here and now.

Slowly, he unfurled his wing and revealed the small box concealed underneath, making Sweetie Belle look down at it. Her eyes widened as Rumble put it in his hoof and held it out in front of her, prompting her to take it.

"Sweetie Belle," he said, his voice soft and confident but still shaky. "I...I bought this...for you..."

"For…me?" she asked, not taking her eyes off of it.

"I...I thought you would...like it," he said as he used his other hoof to open the box and revealed what was inside.

The moment she laid her eyes upon it, Sweetie Belle let out a gasp as she put one of her hooves over her mouth. Inside was a silver necklace that sparkled in the sunlight before her eyes, making rainbows form in the corners of her vision. On the end was a small silver music note, small diamond studs going all around it. Sweetie Belle’s heart pounded as she looked at the necklace at all angles, completely speechless at the gift.

Seeing that she was at a loss for words, Rumble asked, "Do...do you like it?"

Smiling, she said, "Oh, Rumble, it's beautiful."

Although he remained calm and collected, he was pumping his hoof in the air in his mind as a victory jingle began playing in his head. He smiled at her and said, "I'm glad you like it. Would you...let me put it on you?"

She nodded her head as she turned around, moving her mane out of the way. Cautiously, he wrapped the necklace around her neck, fastening the hook and letting it dangle freely. When she turned around, the two of them marveled at the necklace, thankful that it was just the right size for her.

Sweetie Belle ran a hoof on the jeweled music-note, feeling the diamond studs rubbing against her hoof. The first thought that came to mind was to thank him for buying it for her. However, there was another question she needed to ask, one that slowly made the smile vanish from her face.

Lowering her hoof, she managed to say only one word, "Why?"

He felt his cheeks burn up in an instant at her question. Trying to remain calm, he said, "I...was told that...you liked jewelry... and…that you were really good at singing. So, I thought this was...you know...fitting for you."

She looked up at him and said, "No...I mean...why did you get this for me?"

Rumble's eyes became pinpoints as the moment of truth finally came. He had practiced phrasing this many times in his head, but now that the time came to say it, he couldn't remember a single word he had rehearsed.

"Well...you see...the truth is...I..." he desperately tried to say. "I...I..."

It was then that Sweetie Belle looked up to him, her eyes meeting his again. Like before, the two foals were locked in the moment, neither of them saying a word. As Rumble's breathing slowly became less labored, Sweetie Belle's was starting to become shallower than before. At some point, he must have smiled at her because she slowly smiled back, both of them not moving a muscle.

Like before, he trotted up to her until he was a few inches away. Then, with as much confidence as he could muster, Rumble said, "Sweetie Belle...I...I love you."

Before she could say anything, he took one last step, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips against hers. At first, Sweetie Belle's eyes were wide with shock, unable to make heads or tails of what was happening. Then, her heart began to calm even more as she slowly closed her eyes, giving into their first kiss.

They stayed in that position for several seconds, possibly even minutes, their kiss not going any further than the connection of their lips. Feeling her warm breath against him, a euphoric feeling washed over Rumble as a tingling sensation coursed throughout his body to the tips of his hooves. He could hear fireworks going off in the distance as everything began to feel weight-free. Even after the two of them stopped kissing each other, he could feel hearts dancing in his eyes, a soothing feeling running up and down his spine. In all his life, he had never experienced a moment of pure bliss and happiness. For the first time ever, he felt rapture in his heart causing a smile to remain plastered on his face as a contented sigh escaped his nostrils.

The same could not be said about Sweetie Belle.

The moment they pulled away from each other, a humongous chunk of her insides felt...different. She looked Rumble directly in the eyes, but something was missing. Normally, she would have found herself senselessly staring at him, the moment refusing to let her go. Now, she was able to look at him with ease. There wasn't a feeling of stationary time, nor were there feelings of 'just the two of them'. The moment was gone; it wasn't like it was taken away from her, but more like it was never there to begin with.

Tilting her head, she looked at the ground and thought, Something's not right. What's happening?

Looking back at him, Sweetie Belle narrowed her eyes at Rumble, trying to get the moment back. Despite the strange look on his face, she tried everything she could think of; she focused directly at his eyes, squinted as hard as she could, furrowed her eyebrows, tilted her head in every direction, anything to make the feeling return. No matter how hard she tried, it didn't come back.

Why isn't it working? Sweetie thought, her squinted eyes starting to strain. Frustration kicking in, she began tapping the side of her head with a hoof, as if it would trigger some kind of unseen switch in her brain. Eventually she stopped when she started to feel a headache coming on.

Sweetie Belle let out a groan as she began rubbing her head, her hooves on either side of her horn. Then, an epiphany came over her; maybe she needed to kiss him again to make it work. Not dwelling on it for a moment longer, she leaned in and placed her lips on his again, her eyes squeezing shut.

In that moment, Rumble felt an explosion of bliss run thought him. The second kiss may have taken him by surprise, but the euphoric feeling more than made up for it as he closed his eyes softly again.

Sweet Celestia, he thought. This is amazing!

Releasing her kiss, Sweetie Belle took a step back as she stared at Rumble, who sat on his haunches with huge, toothy grin on his face. She tapped her lips with a hoof, wondering what was happening to her...or not happening to her, as it were.

Sitting on her haunches, Sweetie Belle averted her eyes to the ground as she slowly began piecing everything together. She remembered feeling this way about Scootaloo all those months ago and how they were the same with Rumble. She thought about her first kiss with her and how she was still locked in the moment afterwards, even after she had rejected her the first time. However, she had just had her first kiss with Rumble, and now, the feeling was completely gone.

Could this mean that I don't love him? Sweetie Belle asked herself, a small flicker of a smile on her face. Could it be that me and Scootaloo..?

Her thoughts were cut short when the sound of a snapping twig echoed in her ear, making her turn towards the forest behind her. The second she did, she felt her heart beginning to pound in her chest again, a shocked expression coming across her face.

Standing along the path that she and Rumble had come in on was Scootaloo, her mouth hanging open and tears starting to pool in her eyes. The disbelieving look on her face told Sweetie Belle all she needed to know, like how long she had been there and what she had seen. Scootaloo began to slowly back away, shaking her head back and forth as the tears in her eyes slowly streamed down her cheeks.

Sweetie Belle took one step before stopping, the sound of the necklace jingling making her look at it and back to Scootaloo. She put a hoof on it as her breathing began to intensify, her heart beginning to sink deeper and deeper.

"Scootaloo," she said in a whisper as she shook her head slowly, tears beginning to form in her own eyes. "Scoots...no..."

"How could you?" Scootaloo interrupted, her tone starting to shift into anger.

"Wait, it's...it's not what..."

"HOW COULD YOU!?"

Not waiting for a response, Scootaloo turned and began galloping away, her eyes squeezed shut as her tears continued to pour. As quickly as she could, Sweetie Belle began giving chase while yelling out, "Scootaloo, wait! Come back! Please, let me explain! Scootaloo!"

As she galloped away, Rumble still stood in the same spot, the same look on his face. After a moment or two, he laid down onto his stomach before rolling onto his back, looking at the skies above. The look on his face shifted from the toothy grin to one of content as he let out a compassionate sigh.

"Best...Day...Ever," he said, pronouncing each word separately. "I guess Rarity was right; she must really love me for her to kiss me like that...twice! I don't know why I was so scared of this."

He turned his head to his left to see a small green snail slowly inching its way across the grass next to him. A soft smile on his face, he patted the top of its shell with a hoof, resulting in the gastropod retreating.

"Life is good, wouldn't you say?" Rumble asked it. The only answer he got was the snail sticking its head out of its shell and looking at him for a few seconds before it continued its slow journey again.

As he watched the snail slowly inching away from him, he redirected his attention to the skies once again. He closed his eyes softly and put his hooves behind his head to make a makeshift pillow for himself, feeling very good that this day had gone exactly how he had hoped it would.