Chapters Ponyville. Golden Oak Library. Spike, the unicorn's assistant, was holding a book while she read it, a pot of dirt in front of her.
"Ok, I think I got it!" the librarian said.
"Um... What are you doing again?" the baby dragon asked, closing the book.
"I'm working on that age spell! If it works, the seed inside this pot will sprout!"
"Is it because of that Alicorn Amulet incident again?"
"Wh-Why would you think of that? I already got over that!" she said nervously while looking everywhere but in Spike's eyes.
The dragon crossed his arms, a scolding look in his eyes. "You're a terrible liar, Twilight!"
She sighed and lowered her head. "Sorry..."
"Look, Twilight! It's not that I don't trust your abilities, but that's that kind of magic that only an Alicorn can do! That's why it's called 'The Alicorn Amulet'!"
"But I am the Element of Magic, Spike! That kind of magic should be a walk in the park for me!"
"Well, whatever float your boat!"
Twilight smiled and lowered her head again. Her horn started glowing.
* * *
A few minutes earlier, the classes were over and the foals started leaving school.
"Don't forget to bring your homework!" said the teacher, miss Cheerilee, as they left.
Rumble, Shady Daze and Dinky Hooves trotted side by side.
"I don't know how to start!" Rumble said. "I don't know anything about Equestrian history!"
"Mom has a few history books at home!" Dinky said.
"Really?" Shady said, surprised. "I'd never believe your mother is an egghead!"
Dinky bounced happily. "Mom loves to read!" she stopped bouncing and looked down sadly. "But everypony thinks she's dumb because of her eyes!"
"Oh! Sorry about that!"
"It's ok!"
"Since your mom has history books, can we make our homework together?" Rumble suggested. "We could even make a group presentation!"
"I'd love that, but mom deslikes when I bring ponies over when she's not home!"
"Ponyfeathers..."
"But you two could go to the Golden Oak Library! There are many books in there!"
"Hey, you're right!" he flapped his wings and trotted a little faster. "Let's go, Daze!"
"Nah, you go first!" Shady said while stretching. "I'll take a nap first and do the homework later!"
"Well, ok then! See you tomorrow!"
"Bye!" Dinky said, smiling and waving her hoof.
"See ya, Rumble! See ya, Dinky!"
"Don't oversleep and forget to do your homework! Again!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
They bid farewell and parted ways.
* * *
Twilight smiled and lowered her head again. Her horn started glowing.
Rumble opened the library's door and entered quietly, but he didn't measure his force when closing it, accidentally slamming the door.
The sudden loud noise startled Twilight, that jumped and yelped, accidentally casting the spell.
The magical beam hitted the wooden wall and was reflected, hitting the young colt that only noticed the purple ray when it was too late.
* * *
Rumble opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, but soon adjusted. He wasn't lying on the hard wooden floor of the library, but on a white and fluffy cloud.
"Where... Am I?"
He looked around and noticed he was in the middle of a city on the clouds.
"This place is strangely familiar!"
Rumble heard a gasp coming from behind him, but when he turned around, there was nopony there. But then he noticed a frost blue tail coming from behind a cloud lamp post.
The young colt approached and saw the owner of the tail: a light violet filly with a frost blue spiky mane lying on the ground and covering her eyes with her hooves.
"Um... Hello?"
The filly jumped and yelped. She turned around and saw the light grey colt. She tried hiding her purple eyes behind her mane, but to no avail.
"Can you tell me where I am, please?"
But she remained silent. The filly only looked down and started digging the cloud with her hoof.
Rumble cleaned his throat, startling her.
"Sorry, but I don't think you heard me, so I'll ask again! Where... Where am I?"
The filly took a step back and whispered something.
"Sorry, what?"
She shrinked and whispered again. Rumble recognized the word "cloud", but nothing else.
"Could you speak just a little louder?"
The filly curled up and hid her face between her front hooves. Rumble scratched his head.
"This is going nowhere..."
"Hey!!" called a voice from not too far away from there. He looked around and saw another filly. She looked like the one curled up in front of him, but with straight mane with a pink bow on it and flying toward him. Fying fast.
"Nopony bullies my sister!!"
Rumble tried dodging, but he wasn't fast enough and the second filly tackled him to the cloud. He tried getting up, but she pinned him to the cloud.
"F-Flitter!" the first filly finally said something.
Even though the filly was smaller than Rumble, she was somehow stronger. He couldn't get up.
"Why was you bullying her?!"
"I-I-I wasn't b-bullying her!"
"You lie!!"
"It's true! Ask her! I'm innocent!"
"Was he bullying you, CC?"
The first filly shook her head. Flitter's gaze softened and she helped Rumble up.
"Sorry! Everypony bullies CC because she is really shy and it's my duty to protect her, so when I saw you standing in front of her and she with her face buried on her hooves, I assumed... Sorry!"
"No worries, it's ok!"
"Who are you? I've never seen you around here!"
"I'm Rumble! I'm from Ponyville!"
"Ponyville? Never heard of it!"
"It's a little town from the land!"
"Figures! Anyway, welcome to Cloudsdale! I'm Flitter and this is my big sis, Cloudchaser!"
"He... Hello..." Cloudchaser whispered.
"Wait! Flitter and Cloudchaser?"
"Yes! You heard of us?"
"Yes! I mean, no! I mean, not exactly! I know a Flitter and a Cloudchaser, but they're grown up mares that work on Ponyville's weather team! They're sisters too, and... I just noticed that you look a lot like them!"
"Really? Crickey..."
"Flutter!! CC!!" called a male voice. They looked around and found the source of it: a dark grey colt with frost blue mane and golden eyes.
"Thunderlane!" Flitter said with a smile before trotting toward him, Cloudchaser following her.
"Thunderlane?!" Rumble thought, astonished.
"Great news!" he said. "Mom came back home with my brother!"
"So it's a colt?" Cloudchaser asked. Thunderlane nodded happily. "Delightful! Can we go visit them?"
"Of course! Just don't make too much noise! Rumble deslikes too much noise!"
"Rumble?" both fillies said at the same time.
"Yes, that's his name!"
They looked back, but saw nopony.
"Something wrong?"
"No, it's just..." Cloudchaser started.
"We were talking with a colt a moment ago, and his name was Rumble!" Flitter finished.
"Weird!" he said. "Anyway, let's go! I want you to meet my brother!"
Rumble watched from behind the cloud lamp post as the three foals trotted away.
"Let's solve this puzzle!" he thought. "I saw a purple glow, and then I woke up in Cloudsdale! I met two fillies with the same name and appearance of my friends Flitter and Cloudchaser, and a moment later a colt with the same name as my brother and that looks a lot like him appears and talk about his probably newborn brother called Rumble There's only one reasonable explanation!"
"The librarian sent me back in time!"
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Part 2: "Strict progression of cause to effect" my flank
(WARNING: this chapter contains mild violence.)
"Awww, he's so cute!" Cloudchaser said, rubbing the foal's tummy, making him giggle. "Isn't he just adorable, Flitter?"
"Yes, yes, very cute, but... Don't you think this is kinda strange?" she asked. "I mean, look at him! Blue mane, grey coat, purple eyes... He is identical to the colt we met earlier! And to make things even crazier, they have the same name!"
"Well, coincidences happen!"
"Celestia, CC! How many ponies do you know that have the same name?"
"Well... According to him, there's a Flitter and a Cloudchaser in Ponyville!"
"Ponyville?" Thunderlane's voice tone was both surprised and nervous. "Oh, I... I was going to tell you..."
"Tell us what, Thunderlane?" asked Flitter.
"Well, you see..." he looked at his mother, that only nodded. "Mom said the doctor told her that Rumble is really weak and living in a big noisy city won't be good for his health! The doctor suggested my parents moving to a smaller town on the land, where is quiter and the air is fresher, what will be good for Rumble's health! And, well... Dad bought a house in a village called Ponyville and we're moving this weekend!"
Suddenly, silence filled the room, save for the sound of Rumble squirming on Cloudchaser's hooves, trying to go back to his mother's bed.
"When were you planning on telling us?" Flitter asked, fighting back small tears.
"Flit--"
Before he could explain himself, she dashed out of the room and toward the front door, leaving the house. Cloudchaser gave Rumble back to his mother and went after her sister. Thunderlane looked at his mother, not knowing what to do or how to react.
"Go after them!" said the older mare with a smile, but a concerned look and her ears flat against her head.
Thunderlane nodded and left the house.
* * *
Rumble was lying on his back on the shadow of a cloud statue, his hooves under his head and staring at the blue sky.
"I always wanted to come here!" he thought. "Well, wish granted..."
The light grey colt closed his eyes, trying to take a nap, but the sounds of sobbing wouldn't let him relax. Rumble then opened his eyes.
"Sounds of sobbing?"
He got up and soon located the source of the sound: a filly sitting on the sunny side of the same statue, her hooves on her eyes while she cried. Rumble then recognized her.
"Flitter..."
She heard somepony saying her name and looked around, but saw nopony close to her. Rumble was about to reveal himself when they saw another filly approaching. Rumble went back to his "hiding spot".
"Flitter!"
"CC, what are you doing here?"
"I-- You're crying?"
"N-No! I'm not crying! I-It's just that... I-I-I... I yawned! Yes! This sun is making me sleepy and I yawned!"
"Then let's go to the shadow!"
Rumble's heart skipped a beat. As the siblings went to shady side, the colt went to the sunny side.
"Is there something you want to tell me, Flitter?"
After a few seconds, the sounds of sobbing returned. Cloudchaser hugged her sister. Flitter buried her face on Cloudchaser's shoulder.
"Why didn't he told us sooner?" she asked between sobs.
"I don't know, Flitter!" Cloudchaser started stroking her little sister's back. "I don't know!"
"I... I wanted to tell him about my feelings! But how can I gather the courage to do so in such short amount of time?"
"Flitter liked my brother?!" Rumble thought, surprised.
"Please, let me pass, Score!" he heard a voice not too far away from there saying.
Rumble looked around and saw the younger Thunderlane with a taller colt. He was a fat pegasus with a grey coat (darker than Rumble's, but lighter than Thunderlane's), a dark grey mane covering his eyes and his Cutie Mark was three footballs. He was blocking Thunderlane's path.
"Where are you going, ThunderLAME ?" asked the colt.
"I'm looking for my friends! Let me pass!"
"Sorry, but only pegasuses that can fly are allowed here!"
"It's pegasi !"
Score stomped on the cloud and approached his face.
"Are you correcting me?"
"N-N-No, sir!"
"Thought so! Now get out of here and only come back when you can fly!"
"Bu-But I can fly!"
"Oh, really? Then show me!"
Thunderlane flapped his wings as fast as he could. He managed to lift himself a few inches aboe the cloud, but soon lost control and faceplanted. Score laughed.
"I knew it! Thunderlame will never fly!"
Thunderlane tucked his tail between his legs like a scolded puppy and flattened his ears against his head before trotting away.
"But if Flitter liked my brother, why aren't they together in my time?" Rumble tought, then widened his eyes. "Maybe it's because they never solved this affair! And it's Score's fault!" a smile apeared on his face. "Somepony need to save their future together!" he flew toward Score. "And that pony will be me!"
Thunderlane sighed. "Maybe they're not there..." he thought.
"Hey, get off me!!" shouted Score. Thunderlane turned around and saw a light grey colt with blue mane pinning the bully to the ground.
"Go, Thunderlane!!" the colt shouted. "They're near that statue!!"
"Wh-Why are you--"
"Just go!!"
Thunderlane nodded and galloped toward the cloud statue. Score headbutted Rumble's muzzle, making him flinch. Rumble flew away, holding his bleeding muzzle, Score chasing him.
Rumble smiled. He knew he was about to get the beating of his life, but at least his brother and Flitter were probably going to end up together and be happy.
"Worth it!" he thought.
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Part 3: Crashes and crushes through-- No, wait!
Thunderlane and Flitter hugged each other and Clouchaser giggled.
"So, this make us coltfriend and fillyfriend?" Thunderlane asked.
"I think so." Flitter said.
The young couple happily rubbed muzzles.
"I'll leave you two alone now." Cloudchaser said, smiling. She trotted away from the statue and saw something terrible: the bully Score chasing the colt from earlier.
"Come back here, brat!" shouted Score. "My hooves want to meet your muzzle!"
The filly looked back. Her sister and her friend were nuzzling each other's neck, too busy to pay attention on their surroundings.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, what do I do?"
Rumble was happy, but he was also scared. Who wouldn't be?
"I'll beat you until my hooves start bleed-- Oof!"
The colt turned around to see what happened. Turns out that Cloudchaser had connected her head with Score's stomach, making him stop. He fell on the cloud, gasping for air.
"Do-Don't you dare to lay a hoof on him." she said.
"Out of my way, filly."
"N-No."
"Out of my way, if you don't want me to beat the hay out of you as well."
"Then do it. Do it! I doubt you have the courage to do so."
Score raised his hoof and Cloudchaser closed her eyes. He was about to hit her when Rumble headbutted his chest, making him fall.
"Give up, Score." he said, flaring his nostrils. "You're outnumbered."
The bully looked at both foals, then took a step back before flying away. "You're lucky Dumbbell and Hoops are at that stupid summer flight camp."
"Are you ok?" Rumble asked.
"Yes. What about you?"
"Fine. Thanks for saving my rump."
"It was not--" she gasped. "You're bleeding!"
"Oh, that's nothing."
"That's not nothing. Follow me, we gotta clean it before you contract an infection or something worse."
"O-Okay..."
* * *
Cloudchaser's home. She was holding a handkerchief with a small blood stain on it and Rumble had cotton in his nostrils.
"Feeling better?"
"Much better. Thank you, Cloudchaser."
"It was nothing. But I still can't believe I attack somepony."
"You didn't 'attacked' Score. You protected me. If it wasn't for you, I'd be in a hospital bed with worse things than a bleeding nose." he hugged the filly, making her blush. "Thank you."
She then smiled and hugged him back. "You're welcome."
After a few moments of silent hug, Cloudchaser said:
"Hey, Rumble."
"Yes?"
She broke the hug and looked in his eyes.
"There's something I'd like to ask you."
"Go on."
"You look a lot like Thunderlane's little brother. You even have the same name. Why?"
"You wouldn't believe me."
"I'm very open-minded."
Rumble sighed. "I'm from the future!"
"Wh-What?"
"See? I knew you--"
"Is something happening on the future and you came back to warn us?"
"No. Well, a lot of things have been happening lately, but nothing we couldn't handle. Actually, I was sent back by accident."
"Oh. Another question."
"Yes?"
"Are we close friends?"
"Well, sometimes you and Flitter foalsit me, and we have a lot of fun."
"Do... Do you like me?"
Both foals blushed and looked down.
"Yes... Yes I do..."
Cloudchaser nervously kissed his cheek. Rumble's heart skipped a beat and he blushed even more.
"Si-Since in your time I'm older than you, le-let's enjoy while you're here a-and we're around the same age."
They nuzzled each other's neck for a while.
"Do you think I'm being hasty?" she asked.
"Well, since in my time I know you for years, I don't think you're being hasty."
"Well, then... Wi-Will you be m-my co-coltfriend?"
Rumble smiled and nodded fiercely, but soon his smile was replaced by a sad face.
"But when I come back to my own time we won't be able to be together..."
Cloudchaser smiled and nuzzled him.
"If that makes you feel better, I promise I'll wait for you to grow up."
"Y-You will?"
Cloudchaser smiled and nodded. Rumble nuzzled her.
"Thank you."
* * *
The four foals were on the same park from before. Rumble and Cloudchaser explained everything about him.
"Wow, my little brother is a time traveller. He's not even a year old and I'm already surprised!"
"But there's a problem." Flitter said. "Since you were sent back in time by accident, how are you going back to the future?"
"I... I don't know..." Rumble said, looking down.
Suddenly, a loud explosion startled them. They all looked up and saw a seven-colored glow spreading across the blue sky.
"Wh-What's that?" Cloudchaser asked.
Rumble smiled. "A Sonic Rainboom!"
* * *
The loud noise startled the filly Twilight Sparkle, that lost control over her magic. Purple beams of magic flew aimlessly around the classroom. The dragon egg hatched as she was supposed to do, but that was not everything: the four teachers were lifted off the ground, Twilight's parents were turned into plants and the baby dragon grew enough to break the ceiling. One of the beams escaped through an open window, like it was being dragged by something.
* * *
Cloudchaser looked at Rumble's flank and gasped.
"Rumble, your flank!"
The other foals looked at his flank and gasped as well.
"What's--"
Rumble looked at his own flank. Where usually there was nothing, now had a winged golden shield with a small golden hourglass in the middle of it.
"My Cutie Mark. I got my Cutie Mark!" he then started bouncing happily and flapping his wings. "Yes! I got my Cutie Mark."
"What does it mean?" asked Thunderlane.
"Maybe my special talent is helping ponies solving affairs."
While they were talking, Rumble's coat started glowing. A faint purple glow.
"Ru-Rumble, why is your coat glowing?" asked Cloudchaser.
He looked at himself and noticed that he really was glowing. "I... I have no idea."
None of them noticed the purple beam approaching until it hit Rumble's back.
* * *
The magical beam hitted the wooden wall and was reflected, hitting the young colt that only noticed the purple ray when it was too late. There was a big flash and smoke filled the first floor of the library.
"Spike." Twilight called between coughs. "Are you ok?"
"Yes."
Once the smoke cleared, Spike looked around and noticed a silhouette on the area where the beam hitted and there was still a cloud of smoke.
"Twi-Twilight. I think you hit somepony."
"Oh my gosh!"
They heard a groan, what made Twilight relax. "He's alive." she thought. "That's good." Once all of the smoke dissipated, they saw a stallion lying on the ground. He had a light grey coat, a blue mane and a golden winged shield as Cutie Mark.
"A-Are you ok, sir?" she asked.
He groaned again and got up, opening his purple eyes. "Yes, I--" he said with his deep voice, then suddenly closed his mouth with both hooves. "M-My voice." he looked at his hooves, and then at his flank, relaxing when he saw his Cutie Mark was still there. He looked at his wings and flapped them. "Wow, they're so big."
"Are you sure you're ok?"
"I think he hit his head on the floor a little too hard!" whispered Spike.
"Don't be sily, Spike!" she turned her attention back to the stallion. "Sorry about that. You startled me while I was working on a spell. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I've never seen you around here."
"I'm Rumble."
"RUMBLE?" the librarian and her assistant shouted at the same time.
"Yes." he checked himself out again. "Looks like I'm a grown up stallion now. Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. Now I must go. I have another affair to solve, now that I'm big."
Before another word was spoken, Rumble opened the library's door and took off.
"But Rumble is Thunderlane's brother, right?" Spike asked. "Isn't he a foal?"
"Yes. Yes, he is a foal."
"Do-Does that mean your spell actually worked?"
"I-I guess it did. This is not good."
* * *
Cloudchaser bucked another cloud and wiped with her hoof the sweat on her forehead.
"This job is tough..." she thought.
She flew toward another cloud, but somepony bucked it before her.
"Hey! Not that I'm not glad for the help, but everypony on the team was assigned to clean a different area and I doubt you finished yours in such short amount of--" her eyes caught a detail on that light grey stallion that made her eyes go wide: the golden winged shield on his flank. "...time."
"Look, Cloudchaser. I'm a grown up stallion now."
"R-Rumble... What...? How...?"
"Long story."
Cloudchaser hugged Rumble, who hugged her back.
"When that magical beam hitted you and you disappeared we grew so worried." she said, shedding tears. "We thought you died that day."
"Well, I didn't."
"Since then I spent as much time as I could with the other you, hoping that day would never come."
"But did you... Did you keep your promised?"
Cloudchaser smiled and wiped her tears.
"I was attracted to a lot of stallions."
Rumble looked down, his ears flat against his head.
"But..." she said. "Everytime I looked at you, I remembered the promise. Even though we thought you were dead, I still had hope. Deep inside me, I knew you were alive."
He hugged her. "I'm glad you kept it."
She hugged him back.
"But what about Flitter and my brother? Are they...?"
"Probably skipping work to go on a date."
"Well, at least they're still together. I really changed the future. Hope there are no repercussions."
"I was jealous, actually. Seeing my little sister cuddling and kissing her coltfriend every day while the one destined to be my lover was just a foal that barely had any idea of what they were doing."
"But here I am now. Grown up and completely aware."
Cloudchaser giggled and kissed his forehead. They then looked deep inside each other's eyes and leaned closer.
"Hey, slackers!" shouted a mare not too far from there.
They looked toward the source of the voice and saw a cyan mare with rainbow-colored mane and tail glaring at them with crossed forelegs.
"Ca-Captain Rainbow Dash." Cloudchaser stuttered before pushing Rumble away from her.
"Remember rule no.6?" she said. "Lovey-dovey stuff only AFTER your duties are fulfilled."
Cloudchaser saluted her. "Y-Yes, ma'am!"
Rainbow Dash nodded and flew away.
"Later?" Rumble asked.
She smiled. "Later."
