Chapter 6: Unexpected
As the old saying goes, "time flies when you're having fun"; for Rumble, this was no exception. One moment, he was at the surprise party at Sugar Cube Corner, enjoying everypony's company and getting to know the residents of the small town. Then, in what felt like the blink of an eye, the sun had set, the next day came, and he was back in school. Not to say that he had a problem with school, especially since he had been well acquainted with many of the foals in his class, but there was only one that he didn't get to know: Sweetie Belle.
The day seemed to flow very normally, not too fast nor too slow. However, the young colt did find it hard to pay attention to what was being taught, much like he had the day prior. His attention kept going back to the white unicorn filly, even though he tried his best not to do so. What made it more difficult for Rumble was that he was going to be spending the afternoon with her and her friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. The thought of being with her, whether with her friends or not, made his heart speed up and his cheeks feel slightly warm. Furthermore, he didn't fully understand why he felt this way about Sweetie Belle and no other pony in his class. Try as he might, he couldn't think of one reason why he felt the way he did or what the feeling was to begin with.
Eventually, the school bell rang and all the fillies and colts in Ms. Cheerilee's class began to exit the building, the teacher telling them to have a good day. After collecting his things, Rumble trotted out into the sunny afternoon, a small breeze hitting him the moment he trotted out the door. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw that the three fillies were standing there, waiting for him. Immediately, his gaze kept trying to shift back to Sweetie Belle. However, he fought it and kept his focus on all three of them, a smile on his face.
"So, Rumble," said Scootaloo, her tiny wings fluttering as she spoke, "Are you ready to join the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders?'"
"Yes...I guess..." he said softly, still trying to keep his smile on.
"Okay, let's get going," said Sweetie Belle, as the three of them turned and began trotting down the road. Letting out a small sigh to himself, Rumble began following them, keeping his distance behind them.
Okay, Rumble, he thought to himself. Keep it together. You're just hanging out with your friends, right? There's nothing wrong with that. Still, I wish I knew what to say to Sweetie Belle. Maybe I can think of something on our way to their clubhouse, wherever it is.
"Are you guys sure this is a good idea?" asked Scootaloo, a hint of a worried look on her face, "I mean about having Rumble joining us and all?"
"Of course it's a good idea. This is going to be so great!" Sweetie Belle said, skipping as she spoke, "A new member of the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'! Now we have four times the chance of getting out Cutie Marks."
"I don't know. Something just doesn't seem right about this. What do you think, Apple Bloom?"
There was a moment of silence after the question was asked. Curiously, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked in the direction of Apple Bloom to see why she hadn't answered. When they did, they saw that the yellow filly was looking at the ground, her eyes shifting back and forth as if she was looking for something.
Raising an eyebrow, Scootaloo asked, "Hey, Apple Bloom, are you alright?"
"Huh?" asked Apple Bloom, snapping out of whatever trance she was in. "Oh...uh...yeah, that was a great idea! Let's get there right away!"
Immediately, Apple Bloom began trotting faster than her friends, getting a head of them by a couple of feet. Scootaloo looked at Sweetie Belle with a confused look while the white unicorn could only shrug one of her shouldering in response.
The rest of the journey to the clubhouse was made in silence, Apple Bloom leading the way. As they walked, Rumble noticed that they were heading past Sweet Apple Acres, the apple farm he heard so much about. When they passed the main gate to the farm, he looked in awe at all the apple trees that were strewn about the grounds, letting out a small gasp as he did; he had never seen so many apples in his entire life.
Soon, the four of them went past the main barn and into a more secluded section of the farm. As they did, Rumble kept a close eye on his surroundings, making sure he knew exactly where they were and how to get back if he needed to. However, his observations were short lived when his eyes fell upon what he could only assume was their clubhouse.
The brown house rested on a tree and had several windows on all sides, a balcony surrounding it and a ramp that lead up to the main entrance.
"Rumble," said Scootaloo, "Welcome to the clubhouse of the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'!"
"Wow," said Rumble, "Did you three make this?"
"Well, sort of," said Sweetie Belle, "It was Applejack's old clubhouse when she was our age, so we didn't actually make it from scratch."
"But Apple Bloom made all the new renovations, like the roof and the walls and...well...everything else, for that matter."
"Wow," the colt said again, "You have a real knack for building things, Apple Bloom."
The earth pony didn't respond with words. All she did was smile a sheepish grin and run a hoof through her red hair-bow, her cheeks turning an interesting shade of red. An awkward silence fell upon the four of them as they all searched for something to say.
Soon, the orange Pegasus said, "So...how about we give you the tour of our clubhouse, Rumble?"
"That's a great idea," said Sweetie Belle, her voice cracking as she spoke. When it did, Rumble could feel his heart beginning to speed up. He didn't know why, but he liked the way it cracked like that; to him, it sounded very cute.
"What do you say, Apple Bloom?" asked Scootaloo, "Want to do the honors of giving our newest member the official tour?"
"Huh?" asked Apple Bloom, looking like she was snapped out of her trance again. "Oh...uh...sure...ah guess."
Soon, all of them were heading up the ramp into the clubhouse, Apple Bloom, once again, leading the way and Rumble falling behind the others. When they were inside, Rumble looked around at the beautifully decorated interior that was their clubhouse. It was small, but big enough to house all of them with ease. Drapes and white window sills lined the windows as drawings and pictures lined up the walls. He saw that there was a ladder that led up to another upper section of the clubhouse but he couldn't see what was up there.
Taking his eyes off of his environment, Rumble focused his attention on the fillies before him, more specifically on Apple Bloom. They all stood there for a while, each one waiting for something to happen. Eyes shifted back and forth and forced coughs were heard from Scootaloo. Then, probably out of impatience, the orange filly nudged Apple Bloom on the side, clearing her throat forcefully as she did.
"Oh...uh...right," said the farm filly, her eyes looking at the ground and shifting back and forth again. Then, she looked up at the colt and gave him another sheepish grin.
"So..." she said, as she raised her arm in the air, "This is our...uh...our clubhouse. Here we do our...um...our clubhouse...stuff..."
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exchanged a confused glance at one another while Rumble sat on his haunches, trying his best to focus on the yellow farm filly. He watched as she looked back and forth around the clubhouse, trying to find something that she didn't seem to find. However, she flashed a toothy smile as she trotted over to the closest thing to her: the window.
"This is our window!" she said with a hoof raised in the air, pointing at it, "This is where we look outside at...at whatever's out there...or somethin'..."
She felt sweat drops beginning to form on the back of her neck as she trotted over to a small table with a vase on it.
"Over here, we have a table!" she said, "Here, we do our...um...table-like...stuff..."
Her heart began pounding harder in her chest as she trotted over to the back wall, where there was something drawn on it. From the looks of it, it was drawn with white chalk and had three O's and three X's, both of which horizontal and were separated with a white line that was drawn between them.
"And over here, we have...um...we have..." Apple Bloom began. However, as she looked at the drawing on the wall, she blinked twice at it before tapping her hoof against her chin. Then, with another sheepish grin, she turned back to Rumble and said, "To be honest...ah don't really know what this is...but it's here...in case...um...in case you wanna...um...look at it, or...or somethin'."
The yellow filly rubbed the back of her neck with her hoof and said, "So...whatdaya think?"
Silence followed as Rumble looked from Apple Bloom to the clubhouse and back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were exchanging confused glances at one another.
After a few moments, Rumble said, "Oh...uh...it's...very nice...very nice."
Apple Bloom released a sigh of relief as Scootaloo cleared her throat and said, "So, basically, what we do is try and think of everything and anything we can to earn our Cutie Marks. Then, we try them out! Whatever it is, it's got to be something we're good at!"
"Anything?" Rumble asked.
"Yeah," chimed in Sweetie Belle, "Of course, we try to keep our safety in mind, so you don't need to worry about that."
"Okay..." said Rumble, trying not to stare at the white unicorn for long, "Sounds like fun."
"So..." said Scootaloo, "Any ideas on how we can earn out Cutie Marks?"
Again, silence fell on all of them as they sat on their haunches and waited for an answer. Rumble began searching around the room, feeling sweat beginning to form on the back of his neck. Since he didn't expect to be asked this question right away, he didn't have an answer ready for them; not to mention his thoughts were mostly concentrated on Sweetie Belle (despite the fact that he tried to avoid this).
The Pegasus colt shifted his eyes to the ground, trying to find some kind of an answer. Then, his eyes focused on some of the scratches in the wooden floor. It was most likely a coincidence that the marks in the ground were shaped that way, but at closer observation, some of the marks in the wood almost formed the shape of a diamond. Having seen this, an idea immediately popped into his head, causing him to look up at the fillies before him.
With the best mile he could possible muster, he said to them, "How about...kite flying?"
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged smiles at one another. Then, the former said, "That's good, but we already tried doing that a while ago."
"Oh," said Rumble, as he looked down the ground again.
"It's not your fault," said the white filly, "I guess we should have told you what we did already before we..."
"Now what a minute, girls," interrupted Apple Bloom as she trotted between the two of them, "Ah think we should give it another go!"
"Huh?" said Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle in unison. As the two of them raised an eyebrow at their friend, Rumble looked up at her, a surprised look on his face.
Her cheeks turning a small shade of red, the farm filly said, "Well, ah think we should try kite-flying again."
"But we already did, remember?" asked Sweetie Belle, "The kites kept falling to the ground and getting caught in trees and stuff!"
"Ah know, ah know, but Applejack's always tellin' me that 'practice makes perfect'. Besides, it can't hurt to try again. Come on, ya'll. Let's give it another go!"
"Well..." said Scootaloo, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof, "I guess it's worth another shot...I guess..."
"Well, what are we waitin' for?" Apple Bloom said as she began making her way to the main entrance of the clubhouse. On her way, she passed by Rumble, who offered a polite smile at her. She smiled back, her cheeks still an interesting shade of red. However, she kept her eyes on him for a moment too long as her hoof caught onto a raised floor board, causing her to lose her balance and trip.
Apple Bloom tumbled out of the doorway of the clubhouse, looking like a bouncing ball as she fell down the ramp and hit the soft grass at the very bottom.
"Apple Bloom," Scootaloo called out, "Are you alright?"
Her eyes spinning in her head, she managed to call out, "Ah'm okay!" As she tried to regain her focus, she couldn't help but think to herself, Great job, you klutz. You made yerself look like a fool!
Scootaloo gave a look of concern as she darted out of the clubhouse to check their fellow crusader. This left Rumble and Sweetie Belle alone inside for a few moments. Their time alone was cut short when Rumble saw the white filly beginning to leave.
This is your chance, he thought to himself. Say something to her!
"Um..." he managed to choke out. Thankfully, this caught the attention of Sweetie Belle, who stopped walking and turned to face him.
"Hmm?" she asked, offering a smile to him.
The two of them stared at each other for the first time that day. Rumble could feel his heart beginning to race inside his chest, almost pounding against his ribcage. As he gazed into her beautiful eyes, he tried desperately to think of something, anything, to say to her. All he managed to do was open his mouth in preparation to say something. Unfortunately, no words were able to come out; however, he felt them caught in his throat, making it harder for him to breath, more or less speak.
As Sweetie Belle looked into Rumble's eyes, she felt something beginning to come over her. She didn't know why, but she had a sense of familiarity with the feeling; it was as if she had felt this way before, a long time ago. Immediately, her thoughts went back to the day before, when she looked into his eyes at the party. She recalled feeling the same way now that she felt back then. However, a part of her still felt that she had felt this way long before Rumble came along, but she couldn't put her hoof on when.
"Sweetie Belle! Rumble!" called Scootaloo from outside the clubhouse, "Are you two coming or what?"
Instantly, Sweetie Belle took her eyes off of Rumble and looked outside to see Scootaloo and Apple Bloom waiting for them.
Looking back at the colt, she smiled again and said, "Let's get going, Rumble."
All Rumble could do was close his ajar mouth and nod, trying his best to make his feigned smile look natural. Then, the white filly trotted out of the clubhouse, leaving him alone for a few moments. In the split second she was gone, he managed to exhale deeply; he hadn't recalled when he started holding his breath, but at one point, he did.
A second or two later, he got up and began trotting out of the clubhouse. When he reached the bottom of the ramp, he saw the three fillies were waiting for him.
"So, where're we gonna get our kites?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I think I still have the kites from last time at my house," said Scootaloo.
"Great," said Sweetie Belle, "Let's get going, then."
Nodding her head, Scootaloo turned down the dirt path and began leading the others to her house to get their kites. Apple Bloom followed next with Sweetie Belle following her and Rumble trailing behind. As the grey colt trotted behind the others, he couldn't help but let out a deep sigh to himself, his eyes looking from Sweetie Belle to the ground.
Well, that didn't go as expected, the thought to himself. What's happening to me? Why can't I talk when I'm around her? Why is this happening all of a sudden?
He let out another sigh. Maybe I'll have better luck next time. If only there was a way that I could spend some time with her without the others. Maybe then I'd be able to think of what to say.
After a short distance, Sweetie Belle increased the speed of her trot to catch up to Apple Bloom. "Are you alright?" she asked her.
"Huh?" she asked, appearing to be snapped out of some kind of trance.
"I asked if you were alright."
"Oh, ah'm fine, thanks."
"Are you sure?"
At the last question, Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, ah'm sure. Why're you askin'?"
"Well, it's not like you to be so...well...clumsy like that," explained the unicorn, "I was just a little worried about you, that's all."
Apple Bloom put on a smile and said, "Don't you worry yerself. Ah'm a-okay! Nothin' wrong here, no sir-ee!"
With that, Apple Bloom turned and began trotting a little faster. As she did, Sweetie Belle looked at her and cocked her head to one side.
Something is definitely up with Apple Bloom, she thought to herself. It's not like her to act like this. I wonder what she's up to. Also, is it just me, or have her cheeks been turning red a lot today?
With nothing more than a shrug, she continued trotting down the dirt path as the four of them made their way towards town, all of them hoping their second attempt at "kite-flying cutie marks" will pay off.
Thunderlane was trotting through Ponyville, trying his best to memorize some of the more helpful places around town. It'd only been a few days since he moved here, but he was pretty confident he had most of the town memorized. He kept in mind places like Town Hall, Sugar Cube Corner, an odd store that sold quills and sofas, and other places like that.
As he continued trotting down the road past a library in a tree, he spotted a familiar face leaving the building. When the pony in question spotted him, she tucked a book into her saddlebag and approached him with a smile.
"Rainbow Dash!" he called out to the cyan Pegasus in front of him.
"Hey, Thunderlane," she responded, extending her hoof to give him a hoof-bump, "What's happening? I heard you and your brother moved into town."
He returned the gesture and smiled. "Yeah, and I have to admit, this town is pretty nice. I didn't expect to receive such a warm welcome yesterday."
As Thunderlane continued trotting down the road, Rainbow Dash unfurled her wings and began flying along side of him.
"So, you planning on staying here for long?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," he said, looking at the ground, "It all depends on what's happening back at home. Hopefully, we'll get to stay here for a bit longer because I really like it here."
"Well, glad to hear you're enjoying yourself. By the way, are you ready for tomorrow?"
The moment the question left her mouth, Thunderlane stopped trotting. "Tomorrow? What's happening tomorrow?"
Hovering in front of him, Rainbow raised an eyebrow and asked, "Don't you remember? We have weather duties tomorrow. There's a scheduled morning rain shower that we need to have, not to mention that it needs to be cleared up by the afternoon."
"Oh...that rain shower was scheduled for tomorrow?" Thunderlane asked, a worried look on his face.
Rainbow narrowed her eyes at him. "You didn't forget, did you?"
"No, no, no, of course not," he said, a toothy grin replacing his look of worry. "I totally remembered. What made you think I forgot?"
Rainbow Dash crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow again, clearly not convinced that he remembered. Knowing she was looking right through his lies, the stallion sighed and lowered his head in shame.
"Alright, alright, you caught me. I forgot, okay?"
She rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Typical Thunderlane." Then, she focused her attention back to him and said, "Good thing I was here to remind you, huh? Otherwise, you'd have to explain why you didn't show up!"
"Yeah," he said nervously, "Good thing."
"Well, I need to get going. I'll see you tomorrow, Thunderlane." With that, she flew off into the air, leaving a streak of rainbow in her pass. When he was certain she was out of sight, Thunderlane let out an audible sigh.
Well, this is just great, he thought to himself. I didn't expect that storm to be scheduled for tomorrow. Now I'll need to find someone to watch after Rumble while I'm gone. But, who am I going to ask? I don't know too many ponies here that I can trust. There's got to be somepony who I can...
Thunderlane's thoughts were cut off when he spotted a familiar unicorn trotting down the road. He didn't have to think for long to recognize the beautiful Rarity, trotting along with a saddlebag on her back and a lovely smile on her face. Instantly, his heart began to beat and a contented sigh escaped his lips; in all his life, he had never seen such a beautiful pony.
Immediately, he shook his head and straightened his posture as an idea popped into his head. Although he was worried about what the outcome would be, he knew that he had to ask, and who better than the lovely vision trotting in front of him. Besides, if she said no, he'd have to ask another pony so he figured he'd have to start somewhere.
Slowly, he trotted up to Rarity, cleared his throat, and called out, "Excuse me."
Rarity stopped her trotting and turned to look at him, a surprised look on her face.
"Oh," she said, "Hello, Thunderlane. How are you?"
"Fine, thanks," he said, scratching the back of his neck with a hoof. "Listen, I know we haven't known each other for long, but something has come up and...well...I was...um..."
Rarity turned her whole body to face him as a look of concern came across her face.
"What's wrong, darling?" she asked.
Letting out another sigh, he continued. "Well, I have to go and perform weather duties tomorrow and...let's just say that it took me by surprise and…well...I was just wondering...if it's not too much trouble, that is...if you could...um..."
She sat on her haunches, cocking her head to one side in confusion. When he saw this, Thunderlane let out one last sigh and blurted out, "Would it be alright if you can watch Rumble tomorrow, just until the late afternoon? I completely forgot about my weather duties and I don't know who else to ask."
She was taken aback by his request; the look in her eyes was a clear indication of that. However, the look was short lived as she began tapping her hoof on her chin, looking down at the ground as she did.
"Well," she said, "This is rather unexpected."
"I know it's very 'last minute', but you look like a mare that I can trust," he said, a smile coming across his face. When it did, Rarity couldn't help but smile, her cheeks turning a small shade of red.
"Oh, of course I will, darling," she said, "He can come home with Sweetie Belle right after school tomorrow."
Thunderlane let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much. You're a life saver!"
The two of them smiled at one another, both of their cheeks becoming redder than they ever thought possible. With one last thank you, Thunderlane turned away and began making his way back to the inn, a wave of relief washing over him.
Thank Celestia she said yes. She's such a generous mare, he thought to himself. There has to be a way for me to thank her for this.
He allowed his thoughts to dwell on this as he trotted away. As he did, Rarity couldn't help but let a small giggle escape her lips.
He's so cute, she thought to herself. With that, she continued to make her way back to the Boutique, her cheeks still a small shade of red.
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Love square of doom.
So... Rumble likes Sweetie Belle, Sweetie Belle likes Scootaloo, Scootaloo likes Sweetie belle and Applebloom likes Rumble.
Well, it looks like Rumble will get that alone time with Sweetie Belle he wants. I can't wait for the next chapter.
I'm really glad this is back. This is the best ship fic I read since The Gem Trilogy. Keep up the good work
Can these four stop being so ignorant?
Wow, love tetrahedral anyone?
3043896>>3045120
I was thinking more of a rhombus, but those work, too!
3044310
The only difference between The Gems Trilogy and my work is that his is better! Still, glad you are enjoying the story.
3044858
What can I say? They are oblivious to the obvious! LOL!
3047368 Stop selling yourself short. These are both amazing fics.
3044310
:insert Rumble face here:
and Sweetie Belle is developing feelings for Rumble that is the biggest problem here, that is the premise of the fic, but this can only end in one way.
I like this story so far, although I'm catching bits of grammatical errors and wrong words being used here and there.
Between this story and New Discoveries, I think I found a new drinking game. Every time you read the word 'Furthermore', take a shot. If it's in CMC dialog, take two.
^v^
I tease, of course. We all have our own writing quirks.
My bits are on Sweetie Belle being the reincarnation of the Moon Princess, and Rumble that of the Prince of Earth, and they're fated to relive their tragic romance.
4874592
LOL! You wanna real drinking game? Go back to 'Discoveries' and take a shot everytime you come across "orange pegasus" or "white filly"; you will die!
Anyways, that is an interesting connection you made [I love Sailor Moon]. Kudos to you for thinking of it!!
Seriously though this is a great fic
5866297
#irony
LOL! Thanks.
Love... parallelogram, maybe?