Chapter 7: These Feelings Within

Over in another part of Sweet Apple Acres, Scootaloo was anxiously pacing back and forth under the shade of one of the apple trees, muttering indistinctly to herself. She should have met up with Rainbow Dash here that morning, but after a whole hour of waiting, the rainbow-maned Pegasus mare still hadn't turned up. As time went by, the orange filly became increasingly restless.

“What's keeping her so long?” she wondered out loud. “Not like Rainbow Dash to be this late.”

She directed a hesitant glance at her scooter for the umpteenth time, wondering if she should go and perform a few stunts to pass the time. But her mind was so heavily burdened with thoughts about Rumble that, strangely, she didn't quite feel up to it; she didn't feel tired by any means, having rested quite nicely after all her training, but the idea of stunt-riding just didn't seem to appeal to Scootaloo in the slightest.

As the young Pegasus filly continued to try and pace the time away, Big Macintosh came trotting past with a heavy cartload of apples. “Mornin', li'l Scootaloo,” he greeted in his usual laid-back tone.

Scootaloo merely nodded in reply – but that was when it hit her; if indeed Rainbow Dash had been detained for any reason, she might well have informed her friends. If so, Big Macintosh was certain to know what was holding her up.

“Hey, Big Mac!” she called. “Any idea where Rainbow Dash is?”

Big Macintosh stopped his cart. “What's that?”

“Rainbow Dash said she and I were to meet up here at Sweet Apple Acres,” replied Scootaloo, “but I haven't seen her all morning. Do you know what's keeping her?”

“Eeyup – sprained wing, Ah'm afraid,” said Big Macintosh gravely. “Applejack says she's okay, but she won't be able ta make it home fo' the weekend. Ah'm sorry, li'l 'un.”

Scootaloo was most dismayed. “Oh, well......thanks anyway,” she responded morosely. “I'll see you round,” and she plodded sadly back to her scooter, deeply disappointed. Understandably, Big Macintosh was rather concerned by her downtrodden demeanour, but kept his thoughts to himself as he continued on his way.

Just as she was mounting her scooter, however, a thought popped into Scootaloo's head; “Maybe Rumble might wanna hang out again,” she thought aloud. “I'll go ask him.”

Flapping her wings vigorously, she set her scooter into motion and headed for the other side of town.


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But Scootaloo was in for a big disappointment when at last she arrived at Rumble's house. She got off her scooter, made her way to the front door, and was just about to knock when it slowly swung open to reveal Blue Finch and a silvery grey Pegasus mare with a two-tone cyan mane and tail. The mare looked important but nevertheless kind, and her Cutie Mark consisted of a pencil and a pair of compasses against a paint-soaked brush, giving away her profession as an interior designer. Scootaloo immediately realised that this had to be Rumble's mother, Memphis Belle.

“Can we help you?” inquired the mare in a soft, polite voice.

“Um...yeah, I just wanted to ask Rumble if he wanted to hang out,” replied Scootaloo. “You know if he's in?”

“Ah, I see. You must be his new friend then – Scuderia, was it?”

“Actually, no; it's Scootaloo.”

“Oh, I'm so sorry,” apologised Memphis Belle, “I'm not that good with names. No, I'm afraid he's not here right now.”

“He's visiting his grandmother for the weekend,” explained Blue Finch gravely. “He'd not long left by the time you turned up. Sorry.”

Scootaloo simply nodded in reply before trudging back to her scooter, leaving Blue Finch and Memphis Belle to go about their business. It had been bad enough that Rainbow Dash wouldn't be able to spend time with her, but now that it was very much the same story with Rumble, she suddenly felt incredibly lonely and depressed, even though there were so many other ponies out and about that morning; it was almost as she'd been abandoned in the middle of a desert island.

Indeed, the orange Pegasus filly was so hard hit by the news of Rumble's absence that she didn't even think about using her wings this time. Instead, she just kicked herself along as most other fillies and colts did, and trundled wearily and sluggishly through town, frowning sadly at her handlebars as she felt a burning sensation in her chest. Normally a good stunt routine would have cheered her up, but right now she just wanted to cry. If only Rainbow Dash had still been able to come home despite her injury, she lamented – or at least if Rumble hadn't had to go at such short notice...

The burning in her chest intensified as the name ran through her head, and she raised a hoof to her heart, trying to massage the pain away, but it still wouldn't peter out. Only then did she begin to realise that maybe it wasn't Rainbow Dash whose absence was causing her so much pain and sorrow – but why? What did Rumble have that the greatest flyer in Equestria didn't? Why had she become so lethargic over him taking just a short vacation? And even more confusingly, the same question that had been plaguing her for several days – why couldn't she get him out of her head? Morosely, she decided to head over to the library; hopefully there would be something in there that would take her mind off everything that seemed to be bothering her right now.


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Because she was in such a low mood, it took Scootaloo nearly five times as long to reach the Golden Oak Library as she normally did, and it was nearly midday by the time she arrived. Only Spike appeared to be in the library at that moment, but he merely shot the orange filly a cold stare before resuming with the letter he was in the middle of writing. Scootaloo ignored him and made her way over to the Fiction section.

“Hullo, Scootaloo. I didn't expect to see you here.”

Scootaloo looked over her shoulder to see Twilight walking towards her. “Oh, hey, Twilight. Got the latest copy of Daring Do yet?” she asked, trying to sound cheerful.

“Funny you should mention that,” chuckled Twilight. “I only just took delivery of it this morning.” She levitated a brown book down from the shelf and hovered it in front of Scootaloo so that she could have a look. On its cover was a picture of a khaki Pegasus mare overflying a somewhat barren mountain range, bordered above and below by the title of “DARING DO AND THE UNICORN TALISMAN”.

“Aw, thanks, Twilight,” said Scootaloo. “I can't wait to see what Daring gets up to this time.”

Twilight chuckled again as the young Pegasus trotted over to the reading pit to get started on the new book; but she couldn't help noticing a slight tone of discontent in the filly's voice. It was as if she was trying to hide something, though she couldn't quite fathom what it might be. Quietly assuring herself that Scootaloo would tell her what the matter was when she was ready, the young alicorn went about her business as if nothing was amiss.

Predictably, considering how unhappy she sounded despite her best attempts to appear genial, Scootaloo seemed to lose interest just a few pages into the book. She sat on one of the sofas lining the pit, gazing vacantly at the words on each page with her eyes half-closed and a bored expression plastered onto her face, while Twilight reorganised a section of library immediately behind her.

“Doesn't seem half as fun without Rainbow Dash here,” muttered the little orange filly, fighting off a yawn.

Twilight nodded solemnly. “Yes, it's a pity she couldn't get back for the weekend,” she agreed sympathetically. “Still, it's nothing serious if the medic at the Academy is anypony to go by; she should be back to full health by Tuesday.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” sighed Scootaloo resignedly. She then glanced out of the window, her expression turning sombre. “I sure hope she's okay right now.”

“Well that's a first,” grumbled Spike sarcastically. “I suppose you're gonna chew me out for teaching you a lesson in compassion too, huh?!”

Scootaloo cringed. Spike just had to bring that up now, didn't he? “I never meant for you to throw yourself over the edge of the cliff like that!” she protested. “I was just so flustered!”

Spike snorted crossly in reply. “You really expect me to believe that? Honestly, the way you spoke to me two months back, you might as well have strangled me on the spot – and now you're telling me that you never meant for anything of the sort! Well guess what; I could do without some irritating chicken-brain trying to make excuses for being so harsh to me!”

“Spike!” chided Twilight severely. “That wasn't very nice now, was it?!”

“Hark at the misshapen ostrich!” retorted Spike. “I happened to be stuck between a rock and a hard place, and she never gave a flying feather about my feelings!”

“That's no reason to go calling her names. Now you mind what you say in front of her, or that gem I promised you for lunch is going up for sale!”

Spike goggled in horror. “You wouldn't!”

“I would then,” said Twilight firmly, “so you behave yourself, Spike, or no gems.”

Reluctantly, Spike turned and headed for the other side of the library to begin sweeping. Scootaloo looked down at the floor, a small tear welling up in her eye as Apple Bloom's insult from the previous week echoed in her head.

“What was I thinking?” she faltered. “The one time Spike needed that little bit of reassurance from me and my friends, and I just had to break him! I guess he's right; I am nothing but an irritating chicken-brain.”

“Now that'll do, Scootaloo,” soothed Twilight, resting a gentle hoof on her shoulder. “I can understand why Spike is so angry with you, but that doesn't give him the right to put you down like this. He'll forgive you when he's ready, but even if he doesn't, you mustn't go so hard on yourself, or you'll make yourself ill.”

Scootaloo nodded sadly. “I hope he does forgive me soon enough. I mean, I did say to him and Rarity I was sorry; why can't he just let it go and move on?”

Twilight patted her shoulder reassuringly. “Well it's good to see you understand the consequences of your actions. I wouldn't worry about Spike though; he'll forgive you when he's ready, and I'm sure it'll be the same with Rarity,” she answered. “But that's obviously not what's bothering you right now. I can tell.”

“You're right, Twilight, it isn't.”

There was a long pause.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Scootaloo considered this. “Well...only if you Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony.”

Twilight nodded kindly, tracing a cross on her chest with her hoof and placing it over her eye. That was all the response Scootaloo needed.

“Last week, I bumped into...literally bumped into this colt while I was riding my scooter through town. I ended up bruising his wing, but he didn't seem to mind; in fact, he even offered to give me flying lessons whenever Rainbow Dash wasn't here. We've even started hanging out together, me and him, and I...he seems to be becoming almost as special to me as Dash – maybe more!”

The lavender alicorn stared in amazement as Scootaloo became lost in her description of what had been going on with the as yet unnamed colt.

“But lately I've been getting all sorts of problems; I can never seem to stop thinking about him, I get some weird ache in my chest whenever I do, and I feel so lonely if he's not around,” finished Scootaloo. “You don't happen to know what's wrong with me, do you, Twilight?”

At that point, Twilight could only grin broadly in amusement. “There's nothing wrong with you, Scootaloo,” she smiled. “Everypony goes through this sort of emotion at some point in their lives, whether they realise it or not.”

“Realise what?”

“To put it simply, Scootaloo, it may sound rather unlikely, but you're actually falling in love,” replied Twilight gently.

Scootaloo looked startled. “I'm what?” she stammered. “But how can I be? That's just ridiculous, especially at my age!”

“Maybe, but 'young love' has been known to happen sometimes. It may sound crazy, but it is true,” said Twilight sagely. “You did say that you were constantly thinking about this colt you met last week, didn't you?”

“Well, yeah, but I don't...” but Scootaloo was too confused to finish her sentence. Her head was swimming in an ocean of emotions, and wherever there seemed to be a shore, there was Rumble standing at the water's edge, smiling fondly upon her. She quickly snapped herself out of it and glanced back to Twilight questioningly.

“Well let's just have a think about this; firstly, what's the first thing you think of when you wake up then?” asked Twilight.

Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin, thinking it through. “Well...I keep thinking he's in the same bed as me, and I roll over to say good morning only to find that the other side of my bed is empty.”

“And what do you think about while you're riding your scooter?”

Once again, Scootaloo paused. “I imagine him clinging to my back, cheering loudly as I give him the ride of his life,” she answered at last. “It just brought so much joy to my ears the first time I heard it that it's stayed with me ever since.”

“What about when you and Rainbow Dash met up last weekend? Do you still think about him then?”

“Hmm......actually, yes I did,” observed Scootaloo. “I kept wishing he would turn up and join us for flight training, and even when Rainbow Dash got here, all I seemed to talk about was Rumble this and Rumble that.”

“Oh, so it's Thunderlane's little brother, is it?” remarked Twilight.

“Um...yeah,” affirmed Scootaloo, blushing deeply.

“Do you always blush when you think about him then?”

“Dunno – never actually noticed that before,” admitted Scootaloo. “I know my cheeks kept getting hot for some reason, but I didn't think it was blushing.”

“Well, that's what a blush normally feels like. One more thing, do you ever dream about him at night?”

Scootaloo sighed dreamily. “Yeah – a lot. Some are good, some are bad, some are kind of in between, but they always include him.” Her eyes widened again as she realised just how right Twilight was. Rumble may not have been the charismatic daredevil that Rainbow Dash was, but over the course of the last week, he had become as valuable a tutor, confidante and friend as her idol. But now that she had had the chance to fully analyse her feelings, she realised that he was far more than that. “I've got it real bad, haven't I?” she murmured sheepishly.

“Without a doubt,” affirmed Twilight, “but it's nothing to be ashamed of. I for one think it really sweet that you two are getting on so well together, and Rainbow Dash had been saying the same thing when you two visited last week.”

“She knows about my crush on Rumble?”

“All the signs were there,” chuckled Twilight. “She could see it from a mile away – as could your fellow Crusaders, I suspect,” she added. “Tootsie Flute was in here earlier asking for a book on matchmaking, but she wouldn't say why other than a few hushed whispers about Rumble.”

Scootaloo's amazement gave way to a look of suspicion. “Wait just a minute – you're telling me the Cutie Mark Crusaders are trying to hook me and Rumble?” she asked in a wary tone.

“That's about the size of it. She never mentioned your name, but now you've mentioned your budding relationship with Rumble...”

“So that's it, huh – they're trying to meddle in our 'relationship'?! That's just stupid!” scowled Scootaloo crossly. “They might as well have tried getting me in a pink tutu and making me dance in front of Princess Celestia! Well, you know what, I'm not falling for any of their mushy matchmaking gags; those Cutie Mark Crusaders can just give up and go home!”

But unbeknownst to both of them, Tootsie Flute of all ponies was sitting just outside the library. She had happened to overhear the whole conversation while she was leafing through the book she had borrowed, and when she realised that their matchmaking plans hadn't gone unnoticed by either Scootaloo or Twilight, she couldn't help worrying.

“Well, so much for asking Twilight about this whole matchmaking thing,” she thought aloud. “Now what are we going to do?”

“What's up, Tootsie?” Dinky happened to be passing by at the same moment, and upon glimpsing the anxious look on Tootsie Flute's face she immediately realised that something wasn't right.

Tootsie Flute gave her best friend a grave look. “I'm afraid our plan may have gone a bit pear-shaped,” she admitted. “I heard Scootaloo talking to Twilight just a moment or two ago, and I think she might be onto us. I heard them talking about us, Rumble and our plans.”

Dinky stared in disbelief. “How in Equestria did she find out?”

“I think Twilight must have guessed it when I asked for that book on matchmaking,” replied Tootsie Flute. “I mean, on the plus side, Scootaloo now knows and accepts that she has a crush on Rumble, but still, how are we going to bring those two together if she knows what we're up to?”

“I don't know, but we'd better tell Apple Bloom at least...”