• Published 7th May 2013
  • 3,169 Views, 110 Comments

Chasing Apples, Bells and Oranges - Solarip



Rumble has spent nearly his whole young life being with his friends and family. He has nothing to complain, until a trio of fillies entered his life.

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I Wasn't Ready!

Chasing Apples, Bells and Oranges

By: Solarip

Chapter 5: I Wasn't Ready!

Rumble was on the sofa, with Sweetie Belle beside her, not that he wanted her to be with him though. Sweetie always went beside him ever since Rarity left. Not only that, there was last night's episode. Rumble tried to forget that, but something inside him said otherwise. Whether he has feelings for her or not, he kept it to himself. He was unsure what his heart was telling him. However, his mind was focused on two things: finishing the project before the weekend ends, and keeping Sweetie away from any kitchen. Why am I concerned about her, anyway? Just because I'm staying with her doesn't mean I have to take care of her.

"I can trust Rumbly-wumbly to watch over Sweetie while I'm gone." Rarity's voice echoed in his head.

Oh, right.

Moments of staring at the sky had passed, and then he turned to Sweetie, who looked like she was in bliss. He noticed a warm feeling on his hoof. He looked at it and saw an alabaster hoof gingerly holding his own. He looked up, and felt his muzzle on contact by hers.

"Boop!" she squeaked.

"What?" he flatly asked as he madly blushed.

"Oh nothing," she said in a sing-song tone.

"And why use your muzzle?" he touched her muzzle. She scrunched her face afterwards.

"I just want to try out a different one this time," she said as she hid behind her mane.

"Oh Sweetie, when can you stop being cute?" he mused, assuming that he kept it in his thoughts.

"I-I um... I can stop if you want," she tapped her hooves. What did I say? Oh, I did it again, didn't I? Well, I can't take it back now. Just roll with it, Rumble.

"No no no no no! Don't stop! I like you this way," he said, blushing even more. I can't believe what I'm saying right now.

"R-Really? You l-like me?" she asked, tripping in her words.

"I-I uh... Should we be meeting Apple Bloom and Scootaloo today?" he turned away to stare at through the window.

"Oh right! I almost forgot!" she cried.

Sweetie Belle jumped out of the sofa and trotted her way upstairs. The pegasus watched as she disappeared out of sight. Silence encompassed the living room, causing a calming atmosphere. Rumble drew circles with his hoof to pass the time. His ears would perk at the faintest sound and his mane would sway at the weakest blow of wind. I could get used to moments like this.

After being deep in thought, he heard hoofsteps from the floor above him. He ignored them and continued to draw circles. Seconds later, he heard a door open and saw Sweetie Belle trotting down the stairs and towards the door. She had a couple of saddlebags rested on her sides. It seems that she only brought a few things.

"Well, what're you waiting for?" she asked as she held the doorknob.

"Just you," he replied as he flew out of the sofa and landed beside her.

* * * *

The morning sun shone down Ponyville bright as usual. Rumble shaded his eyes with a hoof as he walked with Sweetie across the placid streets. He could hear the branches swaying in time and the joyful chirps of birds around him. He would hear these every morning that he got used to it. However, he never grew tired of it. Just listening to them brought a smile to his face. He would gladly close his eyes and let his mind fly, but he needs to know where he was going.

"You seem really happy today," Sweetie mused.

"It's a lovely day! Who wouldn't be?" the pegasus replied.

The foals continued to walk side-by-side through the cobblestone road. None of them talked, let alone broke the silence between them. They looked away from each other; Rumble continued to marvel at the beauty of nature. As for Sweetie, her reasons were unknown. They would pass by familiar ponies and friends of theirs. Most of the time, they would just ignore them. However, they weren't in a rush so they had the time to greet them. Sweetie would gladly say 'hello' to everyone, but it seemed that she had something in her mind. Rumble glanced at her, trying to read her emotions. Seconds later, she noticed his curious stare. The filly blushed furiously and turned away afterwards. Is she like this all the time?

After a full minute of pondering, he ignored it and continued to gaze at everything. He saw the Golden Oaks Library, which seemed empty. He searched for the princess inside, but what he found was her assistant sweeping the grounds. He waved at Spike, and the dragon waved back. Afterwards, his attention drifted to other places, like the enormous gingerbread house known as Sugarcube Corner. He saw the pink party pony by the entrance, who seemed to be carrying Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake on her back.

Minutes later, they found themselves at the front of the Sweet Apple Acres. Rumble looked at Sweetie who had a bright beam on her face. The wind blew towards them. Rumble took the chance and smelled the breeze. Apples, obviously. He looked up and saw a sign with an apple-shaped hole. He looked around in search for anyone of the Apple family. He spotted a yellow figure in the distance. That must be Apple Bloom.

The farm filly waved at the visitors. Sweetie Belle waved back, and then trotted her way towards her. Rumble followed suit while he continued to look at the apple trees surrounding them. The grass brushed against his hooves, which made him realize something. Why am I walking when I can fly?

Moments later, his question faded in the vast field of thoughts in his mind. He shrugged and turned his attention at the white filly in front. As he stared at the pink and purple tail swaying before him like a pendulum, his mind brought up another question.

"Sweetie Belle?" he called the unicorn, who turned her head to face Rumble.

"Hm?"

"Why does your tail sway much more than others do?" he asked, pointing at her tail.

Her pupils dilated, and then her cheeks turned pink. She slowed down until she was on his left side.

"Well, I don't know. I didn't even notice," she explained.

"Howdy!" a filly's voice came. That must be Apple Bloom.

The pair turned to the yellow pony. Sweetie waved at her best friend, in which she did as well. Rumble also waved at her, but Apple Bloom blushed lightly and turned away afterwards. Geez, is every filly like this?!

"Um, h-howdy, Rumble," Apple Bloom stuttered as she drew tiny ovals on the dirt.

A moment of silence ensued, only the sound of dancing branches were heard. From the direction of the huge red barn, a set of hoofsteps galloped towards the foals. Rumble looked around, to see an orange pony with a yellow mane and a cowboy hat on top of it. And she must be Applejack.

The farm pony neared her way fast. As soon as she was a few meters away from them, she hopped and stomped her hooves to the ground, resulting to a quick stop. She whipped her mane and crossed her forelegs, a modest smile on her face.

"Hi Applejack!" Sweetie yelled as she waved her hoof for the third time.

"Hi there, Sweetie Belle. And who's this lil fella here?" Applejack asked.

"I-I'm Rumble," he shyly said.

"Well howdy, Rumble. You must be that colt my sis here's been talkin' about." She gave a light nudge to Apple Bloom, who has cheeks redder than any of the apples in the orchard.

"You must be Apple Bloom's coltfriend!" she uttered. As if on unison, all the foals gave a surprised look at the orange mare. However, she still has a smile on her face, not realizing what she just said. Seconds later, her smile faded.

"Somethin' the matter?" Applejack asked.

"Apple Bloom's not my fillyfriend!" Rumble cried with his face flushed pure red.

"And he's not mah coltfriend yet!"

Her voice echoed throughout the farm. Seconds later, the wind stopped blowing, resulting to an eerie yet familiar silence. The ponies continued to stare at the yellow filly. Rumble realized what she just said, and it bothers him.

"Yet?" Rumble raised a brow.

Her eyes dilated and her bow flopped down as she realized what she said before. Seconds later, her face turned even redder. She's kinda cute when she's embarrassed. Sweetie Belle placed a hoof on her mouth, trying to either hide her blush or her laughter. Applejack, on the other hand, stared blankly at the trio of foals.

"Uh I no... maybe... not yet, but oh look! Ah think Bessie's gonna do a flip!" Apple Bloom yelled, pointing to a spot near the barn. The rest turned to see where she pointed, only to see nothing. Realizing that they couldn't see anything special, they turned back to her, but they couldn't see the earth filly in her place. They found her far away from them.

"Ah wasn't ready!" Apple Bloom cried out as she galloped away from the group.

"Ready for what?" Sweetie asked.

"I dunno," Applejack answered.

"Wait, who's Bessie?" Rumble asked.

"She's the family cow. She likes Apple Bloom really much, especially when she gives her a bath," Applejack explained.

"Should we go after her?" Rumble asked the alabaster unicorn beside him.

"I guess. She's even headed to the clubhouse, so there's no need to go look for her," she answered.

Rumble turned to Applejack and said, "Well, we should be going now."

"Well okay then, sugarcube. Don't run too far off the orchard."

"Don't worry, we won't," he said as they parted ways.

Sweetie and Rumble continued to walk on the trail, which seemed to be walked on every day. He could spot hoofprints on the dirt, both tiny as his and large like that of a stallion. I bet every day in the farm is tiring.

"Hey, Rumble?" the unicorn filly asked.

He turned his head, and saw a huge grin on her face.

"What do you think of Apple Bloom?"

"I think she's really silly," he said.

"Well, she's not always like that."

"I find it hard to believe," he finished flatly.

As they continued to make their way into the clubhouse, he followed Sweetie Belle since has no idea what their clubhouse looked like. He listened to the chirping of birds, the clucking of chickens and the clopping of three sets of hooves. Wait, three? Moments later, he felt something heavy on his back. It was as heavy as a filly, but lighter. He felt the figure lean on his head, and then he saw nothing but black even though he could still feel the dirt and hear the birds.

"Guess who?" a voice said in a sing song tone.

"Featherweight?"

"No."

"Archer?"

"Who?"

"Wait, Dinky?"

"You're not even close!"

Rumble could hear Sweetie Belle giggle loudly. He started to find for clues. He realized the voice was high-pitched, like that to a normal filly. Okay at least I know it's a she. What he knew next was the softness of the hooves covering his eyes.

"You have really soft hooves, and cold too," he uttered.

Rumble carried on with his search. He sniffed the air, and caught the smell of oranges. Wait, there are no oranges in Sweet Apple Acres. Orange, orange...

"Scootaloo?"

"Ding ding ding ding ding!" she yelled, mimicking the sound of a bell being struck repeatedly.

Seconds later, he could see again. He found himself in front of the clubhouse. He stopped and saw Apple Bloom still blushing with Sweetie on her side. Scootaloo, on the other hand, was still on his back. He wanted to get her off of him, but there's a side of him that doesn't. Let's just keep her there.

"Now that everypony's here, we should get star—"

"Hold it, Rumble! We need to give you a tour of the clubhouse before this project thing," Sweetie cut him off.

"But..."

He looked at the fillies, who seemed to have their widened eyes locked on his. I can't let them down. I don't want the one from last night happen again. Besides, the earlier we do it, the earlier we finish!

"Fine," he said in conclusion with a defeated sigh.