Chapter 5: Surprises
“Wait for it...” said the pink party pony that knelt down in front of them. Her forearms were extended and an extremely wide, toothy grin was on her face. Behind her, resting on four wheels, was wagon-type contraption with multicolored flags and several tubes where confetti and streamers shot out. In the very front of it was what looked like an oven, big enough for a small cake to be placed inside.
Not sure what to expect, Thunderlane and Rumble exchanged confused glances at each other before looking back at the pink pony that knelt before them. They had walked inside the building known as Sugar Cube Corner to see that the entire establishment was dark. Then, in the blink of an eye, the pink pony, who addressed herself as Pinkie Pie, turned the lights on, hitting the wagon device so that music would play, and began singing a song that welcomed the two of them to Ponyville. Judging by the way she was jumping around and getting into the music and her song, they could tell that she was a little on the hyper side of things.
Now that her song was finished, she knelt before them with a huge smile on her face, waiting for something to happen. Then, they heard a small ding sound and the door of the small oven opened up. However, instead of a cake coming out, the two Pegasi were hit with even more confetti than they thought possible. Once the confetti stopped, they saw that two of the cylindrical tubes in the way back of the wagon began to shake, as if something was trying to come out of it. The two brothers watched in surprised as a cream-colored substance flew out of it and landed directly on the three of them, Pinkie Pie included.
When it had stopped, the three of them opened their eyes to see, and smell, that the cream-colored substance was cake batter.
Before they could say anything, Pinkie Pie began to laugh. “Why do I always put confetti in the oven and the cake in the confetti cannon?” she asked in between her laughing. Then, she stepped out of the batter so fast that the cake mold hadn’t moved from its original place, leaving a molded version of the pink pony. Then, in one bite, she gobbled it up and swallowed it, letting out a small belch as she did, causing her to laugh again.
Although they were a little shocked that they were covered from head to hoof in cake batter, the two brothers let out a laugh and began cleaning themselves off; they had to admit that is was funny, though unexpected. As they cleaned themselves off, they finally got a good look at the rest of the establishment and went wide eyed at what they saw.
The entire bakery was designed to be a welcoming party for the two of them. There were balloons, streamers, several tables lined with various kinds of sweet treats and punch, and giant banner that said “Welcome to Ponyville” in different colors. As if that wasn’t enough, a large mob of ponies of different colors, sizes and species all said “welcome to Ponyville” in unison; judging by the numbers, they were convinced that almost everyone in town had come, though it was probably impossible to everyone inside the small building.
Smiling, Thunderlane said, “Thanks everypony. Thanks a lot!”
“So, were you two surprised? Where you? Huh, huh, HUH?” asked Pinkie Pie, as she leaned in within close proximity of Thunderlane’s face.
Taking a few steps back and shifting his eyes back in forth in a mix of confusion and uncertainty, he smiled an awkward smile and said, “Uh...I sure was...yeah.”
“YAY!” shouted the party pony as she bounced up and down, going so fast it was hard to make out any of her equine features, “Let’s get this party started!”
With that, music began playing, provided by the town DJ, Vinyl Scratch, and the welcoming party had officially begun. Everypony that was present came to welcome the two Pegasi to their town, including the mayor, who Thunderlane has spoken to the day prior. Amidst the greetings and welcoming, Rumble couldn’t help feel his cheeks beginning to get a little warm; he wasn’t used to a big party like this thrown for them, nor was he used to getting so much attention at one time.
“You two are going to LOVE it here!” said Pinkie Pie, as she began bouncing up and down in rapid succession again, “This is the best place in all of Equestria! We have so many things to do, so many places to see, so many stores to shop in, so many friends to make, so many sweets to eat, so many meals to cook, so many...”
Thunderlane couldn’t help but smile sheepishly as the pink pony continued with her hyper-babble, not seeming to catch her breath as she continued listing all the things they could do in town. Fortunately for him, a lavender unicorn trotted next to her and put her hoof in her mouth, silencing her long, never ending chain of babble.
“I think they get the point,” she said, “Why don’t you go and make sure there’s enough food for everypony.”
Pinkie let out a huge gasp, no doubt making up for the lack of air in her lungs. “That’s a party-rific idea! You two have to try my cupcakes! They’re simply to die for!”
Before anyone could say anything, the earth pony disappeared in a blur towards the back of the establishment and through two double doors; it was pretty obvious that the doors lead into the kitchen area of the bakery.
Clearing her throat, the unicorn said, “My name is Twilight Sparkle. It’s nice to meet the two of you.”
“Nice to meet you,” said Rumble, offering a polite smile.
“Same here,” said Thunderlane, extended his hoof to her, “Thank you so much for throwing this party for us.”
“Don’t thank me,” said Twilight, exchanging a hoof-shake with the brown Pegasus, “You have Pinkie Pie to thank for that.”
“Does she always make a big deal about every new arrival that comes to town?” he asked with a raised eyebrow and a sheepish grin.
“Oh please,” said Twilight with a roll of her eyes, “She makes a big deal about everything. You should have been here when she threw a ‘I-made-a-new-recipe-everypony-try-it Party’ last week. She accidently poured syrup in her cake batter and baked it. She was so intrigued by it that she threw a party to celebrate her newfound recipe.”
“Wow. Pinkie throws a party for just about anything, doesn’t she?”
“You have no idea...”
The two of them exchanged a laugh as Pinkie Pie returned with a tray of cupcakes in her mouth and grin on her face. She placed the tray down on the nearest table and began rubbing her hoof on her chin, lost in a thought of some kind.
“Hmmm, this needs something...” she said to herself as Thunderlane and Twilight approached the table to have a cupcake. When they did, Thunderlane took one and began munching away at it, a satisfied smile on his face. However, Twilight looked at them and cocked her head at the sight of them.
“Hey, Pinkie,” she asked, snapping the earth pony from her thoughts, “I thought you were going to make your popular rainbow cupcakes for the party.”
Pinkie let out a snorted laugh. “I wanted to, but the author said it would be a bad idea and asked that I make new ones for this story. Besides, it's always great to try new things and you know how much I love new things!”
Hearing her statement, Twilight shook her head, like doing so would magically make sense of what she said. “Pinkie...did you just say-”
“I KNOW! PUNCH!” she shouted, her thoughts focusing in on what she was missing. Then, in the blink of an eye, she vanished to the kitchen again, leaving the two ponies stunned in surprise.
Twilight blinked in surprise as Thunderlane asked, “What is she talking about?”
Offering an awkward smile all her own, she shrugged and said, “Who knows? That’s Pinkie Pie for you.”
After letting out another chuckle, Thunderlane saw several foals beginning to gather together near one of the tables near the front door. The stallion turned to his younger sibling and asked, “Are those foals in your class, Rumble?”
The small Pegasus took a look at the group. He recognized many of them from his school and was fortunate enough not to see the two bullies that had given him a hard time. Then, he turned to his brother and nodded.
“So, why don’t you go hang out with them?” he asked, smiling as he did.
“Oh...uh...I don’t know...” the colt said nervously.
“Don’t worry, Rumble. They’re not going to bite you.”
Rumble couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at his statement. Then, swallowing nervously, he slowly began making his way over to the other foals. When they saw him approach, they smiled and waved at him, reintroducing themselves like they had at school. All the while, Rumble kept shifting his eyes back and forth at the crowd, a smile on his face as he did so. He kept looking for the three fillies that had helped him with the bullies before, Sweetie Belle and the other two that he couldn’t recall their names. Where were they? Were they not coming?
Letting out a small sigh, he refocused his attention back to the other foals. He already cleared his mind of the white filly in question and he didn’t want to have a mental relapse. However, a small part of him hoped that she would come so that he could, at least, talk to her.
“Come on, ya’ll,” said Applejack as she, Rarity, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders approached the bakery, “We’re already late as it is. Let’s get a move on before the party ends.”
“My apologies, again, Applejack,” said Rarity, as she fixed the yellow sun hat that rested atop her head, “It was difficult picking out the perfect outfit for such an occasion.”
“Ah know,” said the orange pony, “Let’s just get there, lickity split.”
As the two mares trailed behind, the Cutie Mark Crusaders trotted ahead of them, talking in whispers amongst themselves.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Sweetie Belle?” asked Scootaloo.
“Of course I’m sure,” said Sweetie Belle, “It’s the perfect gift for Rumble.”
“Ah don't see what the problem is,” said Apple Bloom, “Don't ya think it’ll be a good idea, Scoots?”
“I don’t know,” said the Pegasus filly, “Something tells me that it’s not a good idea. I mean, what if he takes it as an insult or something?”
“Don't be silly. He won't be insulted,” said the yellow earth pony, “Besides, we could use all the help we can get.”
“Don’t worry, Scootaloo,” said the unicorn filly as she nestled against her neck, “What’s the worst that could happen?”
Letting out a small sigh, Scootaloo said, “Alright, I guess it’s worth a shot.”
“Then it’s settled,” said Apple Bloom.
When they finished their conversation, the group of ponies had reached the bakery where the welcoming party was in full swing. As they approached the front door, they heard the music playing from within. Immediately, the three fillies galloped to the front door to enter the party, Rarity and Applejack following close behind.
The moment they went inside, they spotted Rumble talking to the other classmates by the front door. As the three of them bee-lined to him, Rarity and Applejack trotted to the other guest of honor, Thunderlane, to introduce themselves. It wasn’t hard to pick him out among the crowd of ponies because he was the center of attention, talking with the ponies that stood around and listened to him. As they approached they heard him talking to the crowd.
“Well, it was because of personal issues that we had to move here,” he said, chuckling as he did.
“So, does that mean you won’t be staying long?” asked a mare standing next to him.
“I’m not sure,” he said, “By the way things are looking, we’re going to be here for a while. If you all are as hospitable as you are now, I might not want to leave.”
That statement got a few laughs from the ponies as he took a sip of punch from his glass. As he drank, he saw the two mares that approached from the corner of his eyes. The moment they made contact with the white unicorn with the yellow sun hat and pretty yellow dress, adorned with various gemstones along the waist and neckline, he nearly choked on his drink. After beating his chest with his hoof to regain his composure, he turned his attention to the two mares, the unicorn and the orange earth pony with a brown Stetson on her head.
“Howdy,” said the orange mare, tipping her hat as she spoke, “You must be Thunderlane, the new arrival in town. The name’s Applejack. Pleasure to be makin’ yer acquaintance.”
“Nice to meet you, Applejack,” he said, “You and your family run Sweet Apple Acres, right?”
“Darn tootin’,” she said, “How did you know that?”
“Oh please; anypony who’s anypony knows Sweet Apple Acres.”
Laughing, she extended a hoof to him, in which he followed suit by reaching out with his own. Then, he focused his hoof to the unicorn, who smiled and returned the gesture.
“It’s nice to meet you, Thunderlane,” she said.
“Hello,” he said, taking her hoof with his own bringing it to his lips, planting a small kiss on it when he did, “The pleasure is all mine. I have to say that that is one beautiful dress you are wearing.”
The comment made her cheeks go red. “Oh, this silly thing, it’s just a little something I made at the Boutique, is all.”
Thunderlane raised an eyebrow. “‘The Boutique’, you mean the Carousel Boutique?”
“Yes,” she said, tilting her head in confusion.
“You’re name wouldn’t be Rarity, would it?”
Rarity’s eyes widened with surprise. “You’ve heard of me?”
“Of course, you’re the famous dressmaker I’ve heard so much about,” he said, “A friend of yours named Rainbow Dash has brought you up on occasion, especially when we’re on weather duty together.”
“Oh, has she?” she said nervously, fumbling with a curl in her mane.
“You bet,” he said, offering her a polite smile, “It’s an honor to meet you, Rarity. Would you like me to get you and your friend some punch?”
Not able to find a response, Rarity nodded her head at him before turning away to hide her red cheeks. When he was out of eyeshot, Applejack nudged Rarity on the shoulder in a playful manner.
“Ah think he likes you,” she said, low enough for only them to here.
“Well...” she said, trying her best to suppress a small giggle, “He is kind of cute...”
The second Rumble’s eyes fell upon the three of them entering the bakery, his cheeks began to heat up and his heart began to race uncontrollably. As if his eyes were on auto lock-on, they instantly looked at Sweetie Belle, causing his cheeks to go from a light shade of red to a dark crimson. He tried to look away, focusing his attention at the other foals that were talking to him, but no matter how hard he tried, his eyes kept shifting back to the white filly and her friends.
When the three fillies spotted him, they exchanged a quick glance and head nod at one another before they approached him. As they did, Rumble could feel his legs tense up, almost as if they had gone completely numb.
“Hi, Rumble,” said the three of them in unison.
“H-Hi...” he said. In his head, he tried to remember the names of the other two ponies next to Sweetie Belle, so he wouldn’t make a fool of himself by remembering one and not the others. All he could recollect was that one had something to do with apples while the other sounded like the word scooter. Try as he might, he just couldn’t remember.
“We’d like to talk to you,” said Apple Bloom, offering a polite smile.
“We have a surprise gift for you,” chimed in Scootaloo.
“O-Okay,” said Rumble, trying to focus his attention on all three of them instead of just the one.
“Come on, we’ll tell you outside. That way, you can hear us,” said Sweetie Belle, as the three of them turned and began heading towards the door again.
As they gestured for him to follow, he could feel the bottom of his hooves beginning to tingle. Anxiety began racing through his body as he struggled to get his body to move. Soon, when the three of them were out of the sweets shop, he felt his legs able to move again. Taking a deep breath, he followed the three of them out of the bakery, all the while, wondering what it was they wanted to give him as a gift. As he made his way to the door, he could have sworn he heard some of the other foals beginning to giggle.
When he walked outside, he saw the three of them standing there waiting for him with a smile plastered on all their faces. This made his anxiety intensify as he stopped his trotting in front of them.
“Okay, Rumble, are you ready for your gift?” asked Scootaloo, her tiny wings unfurling as she spoke.
“Sure,” he said, looking around for whatever it was they were going to give him.
“Well, we saw that you don’t have a Cutie Mark, just like the three of us,” explained Apple Bloom, “And we were wonderin’ if you’d like to join us.”
“‘Join us’?” he asked nervously, “Join in what?”
“In our crusade, our mission, to find our special talents and earn our Cutie Marks,” said Sweetie Belle, “Our gift to you is asking you if you’d like to join...”
Then, the three of them said in unison, “…THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!”
“‘The Cutie Mark Crusaders?’” he asked, “What is that?”
“It’s our team,” said Scootaloo, “Where we try and find our special talents and earn our Cutie Marks.”
“We’re the only members right now,” explained Apple Bloom, “But we’re always lookin’ to expand!”
“How...” he began, trying to find the right words to say, “How do you try and find your special talents?”
“By meeting at our clubhouse and coming up with different things to do that will help us find what we’re good at,” answered Sweetie Belle, “Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and I have been trying, but we’ve been quite unsuccessful. We figured if you joined us, then maybe the four of us will earn our Cutie Marks together.”
The moment the answer was stated, a few thoughts began running through Rumble’s mind. For starters, he was glad that Sweetie Belle had said the names of the other two; now if he could only remember them from now on, he’d be good. Secondly, if he agreed to join their group, not only will he be able to have friends that appreciated him for being a ‘blank flank’, but he’d also be able to spend time with Sweetie Belle. If he was lucky, he’d be able to muster up enough courage to talk to her and get to know her better.
Straightening his posture, Rumble smiled and said, “Sure, I’d like that a lot.”
“Great!” they said in unison, causing the colt to be taken aback by their sudden expression of joy.
He shifted his eyes back and forth, not sure what to do now. “So, what happens now?”
“Well, we’re having a crusader’s meeting tomorrow after school,” said Apple Bloom, “Just wait for us and we’ll lead you to the clubhouse.”
“Okay,” said Rumble, “Thank you.”
“No problem,” said Scootaloo as she extended her hoof to him, “It’s the least we can.”
Rumble took her hoof and shook it. Then, Apple Bloom offered the same gesture, followed closely by Sweetie Belle. However, when he shook the white unicorn’s hoof, their eyes met for the first time since he first arrived. When they did, the two of them found each other staring at one another, both of which didn’t seem to blink.
Rumble’s heart, which was beating rapidly mere seconds ago, seemed to slow down to normal as he gazed into her eyes. As much as Sweetie Belle wanted to turn away, she couldn’t help but stare into his eyes, as if something was holding her there.
“So...” said Apple Bloom, snapping the two of them from their trance, “We should go back to the party, huh?”
“Yeah,” said Sweetie Belle, as she released Rumble’s hoof. Then, she smiled at him and began making her way to the door. Almost immediately, Rumble turned his head away from the others in a desperate attempt to hide his deep red cheeks.
As the four of them made their way back to the party, Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but think to herself that, what had just happened to her felt awfully familiar, like she had felt that way once before, a long time ago...
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Rumble, don't be a Yoko, seriously.
/me facehoofs "Still looks like it's gonna play out as "it was a phase, she just didn't know any boys yet" and blah dee blah. at least it's rumble and not an OC, but yeah..
2401001>>2402075
So, in other words...
Oh, please don't go where i think this is going, it's such a good shipping couple, don't let it go to waste!
2455141
only time will tell, mate.
2401001 What you mean start a relationship with someone and then get unfairly vilified when the previously existing group has interpersonal differences afterward?
It's going to be pretty awkward when Rumble finds out about Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Also, my guess is that Rarity and Thunderlane will fall in love, and Rarity will try to get Sweetie Belle and Rumble together. I don't know if 'on hiatus' means that it's been cancelled, but I hope that you update. This is the best shipfic I read since the Gem Trilogy. Keep it up.
2816285
No, it isn't cancelled. I just need to take a break from it to ensure it is the best that it can be. Glad you are enjoying it and I hope to take it off of hiatus soon.
Cupcakes, die for... SHIT!!
5158232
Oh dear...