“Heads up!”
A warning was shouted out, signaling a snowball making its way through the air. Ears of ponies passing by perked up, drawing their attention to the small group of foals playing in the snow. While some ignored it, others watched for a second just to see where that particular snowball was going. As the snowball connected with the face of a small, gray, pegasus colt, a bunch of them laughed and went on their way.
“Blah,” Rumble huffed as he shook his head to get rid of the snow on it. “Lucky shot, Sweetie Belle! I’ll get you for that!”
Quickly bending down and smirking at the snow in front of him, Rumble scooped some up and rounded it out before locking onto his target. His target was a filly around the same age as him, and raising up onto his hind legs, he tossed it at her.
“You’re too slow!” Sweetie Belle sang in a teasing tone as she ducked down, letting the snowball fly overhead.
Of course, Scootaloo had snuck up on Sweetie Belle and attempted to launch a snowball right at her face. Sadly her cover was blown as the snowball thrown from Rumble smacked against Scootaloo's head, causing her to drop the ball on the ground. Slightly annoyed, Scootaloo's wings flared while Sweetie Belle looked behind her and giggled.
“Oh, you are so going to pay for that shot, Rumble!” Scootaloo yelled as she turned her head to a large pile of snowballs she already made. “Let’s get him, Sweetie!”
“Uh oh,” Rumble muttered in a worried tone as he watched Sweetie Belle pull herself up and rush to the pile of snowballs. Staring in horror as both girls reached for the pile, Rumble curled up and braced for the shower of snow.
Nothing came, other than a very cold gust of wind. It was enough to cause him to shiver and stare upward. Noticing the girls standing still and looking up at the sky, Rumble quickly noted it was getting dark thanks to a bunch of pegasi pushing storm clouds into place.
“Aww, man. I thought Dash said the scheduled storm was tomorrow!” Scootaloo whined as the once clear sky started to fill up quickly.
“Guess they had to change it around,” Rumble spoke out loudly from his spot as he got up, knowing the fun was over. “Oh well, it was getting super cold anyway.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she dropped the snowball, falling to all fours. “Oh well, more snow means more snowball fights then! Hopefully Applebloom can join us next time to make the teams even.”
“Hopefully, but it’s fun ganging up on Rumble,” Sweetie Belle spoke up as she gave the gray colt a cheeky smile.
Rumble said nothing but quickly grabbed a clump of snow and tossed it at her. Sweetie Belle had ducked just in time and watched as Scootaloo was hit by snow, yet again. Both Rumble and Sweetie laughed and Scootaloo frowned at being hit, but she knew she would get him back sooner or later.
“You’re asking for it, Rumble,” Scootaloo warned as she started to roll a snowball up in her hooves but stopped as another cold breeze rushed by. “Ugh, you’re lucky it’s getting cold. I’ll see you guys later, alright?”
“See ya later, Scootaloo!” Both ponies spoke out as Sweetie Belle walked to Rumble’s side.
Both watched Scootaloo turn away and break into a gallop in order to get home quickly. Wanting to do the same, Rumble got ready to make his way home but stopped as Sweetie Belle gave him a poke in the side with her hoof.
“Hey, Rumble?” she asked, hoping he would say yes to the question she was about to ask. “You wanna come over to my place and warm up?”
“Sure, I would love to!” Rumble chimed as a smile came onto his face, very excited she popped the question. “It would be nice to have some alone time with my favorite mare.”
Sweetie Belle giggled and turned for the direction of her home before she looked up, noticing that the snow was already beginning to fall. Knowing her home was on the other side of town, Sweetie opted to take the safer route and head to her sister’s for the time being.
“You’re such a dork when you try to sweet talk me,” Sweetie replied as she nudged her body into his and began to walk.
“You know you love it,” Rumble replied as he quickly trotted up, walking beside her.
Though they were close to one another, neither said a word as they made their way for the Boutique. Both were nervous and desperately wanted the other to break the silence in some way. Instead, when they would attempt to speak, one look at each other`s eyes made them blush and turn away. To any ponies passing by, it seemed like awkward teenage love at its finest, but to them it was small steps into a blooming relationship.
Finally they arrived at the Boutique and, pulling forward, Rumble quickly opened the door for her. Smiling at his politeness, Sweetie Belle said thank you to him and stepped inside to wipe the snow off her hooves.
“I’ll be just a minute!” a refined and lovely voice rang out from a nearby room.
“It’s just me, sis!” Sweetie Belle shouted as Rumble stepped in with her and closed the door. “A snow storm was coming so we came here to warm up.”
“Oh? We? Did you bring your friends with you?” Rarity continued to shout as she trotted into the large open area and quickly noticed the young colt beside her sister. She paused briefly but quickly smiled as she remembered the boy Sweetie was starting to talk about recently. “Ahh, you brought your new friend for me to see,” Rarity added with a big smile on her face as she trotted towards him. “I take it you’re Rumble?”
“Y-yes ma’am,” Rumble replied as he bowed down slightly to show her respect. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss Rarity.”
“Oh my, well mannered as well!” Rarity’s voice carried more excitement behind it as she spoke. “Seems you got yourself quite the catch.”
Rumble blushed and lowered his head out of embarrassment while Sweetie just rolled her eyes and turned her head to Rumble.
“Hey, I’ll be right back. I need to take care of something real quick,” Sweetie told him with a smile before she turned for a nearby hallway.
“Sure thing,” Rumble replied as Sweetie made her way into a nearby bathroom and shut the door, leaving both Rumble and Rarity alone. As the door shut, Rarity turned her eyes back to the little colt and couldn’t hide her joy that her little sister actually had a colt friend.
“So, Rumble. Sweetie has told me many interesting things about you,” Rarity suddenly spoke up, catching the young colt by surprise.
“O-oh?” he stammered in return. “She hasn’t… said anything bad about me, has she?”
“Good heavens no! In fact quite the opposite!” Rarity brought her hoof up to her mouth as she responded but quickly brought it back down and continued to smile. “My dear, Rumble, Sweetie won’t stop talking about how much she loves having you around. She always goes on about how polite and kind you are, like with opening doors, kissing her hoof, those little things that girls love to see in a boyfriend.”
Rumble blushed harder at the mention of boyfriend and just hearing Rarity say it put butterflies in his stomach. What surprised Rumble even more was hearing Rarity speak about how her sister talked about him. It was flattering and Rumble wasn’t sure he deserved the constant praise she was talking about.
“W-well I try my best, miss Rarity,” Rumble stammered out as he rubbed one front leg with the other. “She’s really nice to me and I really want her to be happy.”
“And you do a fine job of that,” Rarity spoke up as she looked to the door window and saw it was storming hard outside. “Ah, but I shouldn’t bother you with trivial thoughts. Would you care to join me in the living room and help light the fireplace?”
“I would love to help you, ma’am,” Rumble replied with a smile as the butterflies lifted and his mind relaxed at knowing Rarity wasn’t going prod too deep with questions.
Both turned for the living room and began to trot towards it.
<~^~>
The sound of fire crackling filled the air and the sound of a snow storm howling wildly outside the windows played in tune with it. As the fire roared wildly, the shadow it emitted danced around seamlessly and majestically. Sitting in front of the fire were Rumble and Sweetie Belle, and though they had been sitting for a large amount of time, neither of them wanted to budge. Both ponies watched the fire in silence while at the same time keeping nice and snug against each other for affection and love. They sat still and barely moved, but after long minutes of doing and saying nothing, one pony finally shifted.
“You nice and warm, Sweetie?” Rumble asked.
“Mhm,” Sweetie Belle responded simply before rubbing her head against his shoulder in a gentle way. “Always nice and warm when I’m with you.”
The young colt blushed and looked to the side momentarily, his ears perking up at the sound of hooves clopping against the floorboards. Both turned their heads and saw an alabaster unicorn walking into the room with two cups of steaming hot chocolate.
“You two still sitting here?” Rarity asked with a curious look in her eyes. “I’m surprised you two are actually staying in one place for so long.”
“We don’t mind it,” Sweetie Belle spoke up as she saw the cups being floated to her. “With it just being me and Rumble, we can actually enjoy each other’s company without worrying about our friends bugging us.”
Rumble nodded in agreement as his eyes turned to Sweetie Belle’s horn, seeing it light up in her soft blue aura. He watched her focus her magic on the cups and for a brief second, both auras combined and turned into a nice sky blue. At the corner of his eyes, Rumble noticed Rarity’s horn die down, allowing Sweetie Belle to float a mug in front of his eyes. Quickly bringing up his hooves to grab it, he took a deep breath to enjoy the scent of the fresh hot chocolate.
“Ahhh, thank you, miss Rarity,” he spoke out in a relaxed sigh, taking a sip out of the mug.
“Thanks sis,” Sweetie Belle added in as she joined her boyfriend in sipping the beverage.
“You’re quite welcome, you two,” Rarity chimed as she focused her eyes on Sweetie Belle. “You got yourself a keeper, Sweetie. A true gentlecolt like him knows how to address a lady.”
Sweetie Belle just rolled her eyes again, but it was enough for Rumble to see it and chuckle. Hearing him chuckle at her motion, she smiled and turned to face him, noticing his expression change into a curious look.
“Something wrong?” she asked as she tilted her head to the side.
“You uh… you got some chocolate on your nose,” Rumble spoke as he leaned in, giving her muzzle a quick lick.
Sweetie Belle giggled as his wet tongue brushed against her and she couldn’t help but love his playful attitude.
“There, now you look cute again,” Rumble added as he found his lick returned with a good gesture.
Wanting to show she loved the attention he gave her, Sweetie Belle leaned into his face and nuzzled his cheek.
“You’re such a charmer, ain’t ya?” Sweetie Belle asked in a teasing tone as she pulled away, taking another sip of her drink.
“I try my best,” Rumble responded in a cocky tone as he raised his head and curled his lips slightly, doing his best to match the expression of a snobby pony.
Sweetie Belle could only smirk in response as he puffed out his chest to look manly and buff for her. Instead of being charmed, Sweetie Belle focused her magic on his cup to steady it before giving him a playful nudge into his sides. He instantly deflated and coughed, never noticing that she had kept his drink safe from being spilled.
“Dork,” she teased as she dropped the spell, taking another sip of her own drink.
“Hey, like I said, I try my best,” he rebutted, keeping his playful ego at bay.
“You two are so perfect for each other, you know that?” Rarity asked as she turned to go back inside the kitchen. “I’m so happy you have a boyfriend who knows how to keep a smile on your face, Sweetie.”
“I’m happy as well,” Sweetie Belle replied as she snuggled against him again.
Rumble didn’t reply with words, but instead he turned his vision to her forehead and gave it a quick kiss. Though she tensed up at his sudden movement, she let loose a small giggle and smiled in return.
As Rumble pulled away, they both smiled at each other quietly, hoping the other would be the first to break the silence. After a rather awkward amount of time, they turned their eyes back to the fire. For a few long seconds, only the sounds of them sipping on their drinks were exchanged before the silence was broken again.
“Hey... Sweetie?” Rumble asked nervously. He’d been building up his confidence all the while, and he felt that it was time.
“Yeah, Rumble?” she replied, turning her eyes to him.
“I love you,” he finished, leaning down as he closed his eyes.
“Love you too, sweetheart,” she replied softly as their lips met in a gentle kiss.
Author's Note
Rumbloo and ButtonBelle shippers are going to hate me.
