What's Lost and Found in the Everfree Forest
A light gray pegasus colt with a black/gray mane was waiting in an open green field not far from Ponyville. He has been waiting there for only a few minutes but he has nearly lost his patience already. So he was pacing around in place wondering where the pony he was waiting for was.
“Oh come on,” Rumble complained to himself. “You said you would be here already. What is taking so long?”
Eventually he noticed a bit of purple and orange in the sky telling him that who he was looking for was finally coming down. Scootaloo landed in front of Rumble, which was when he noticed that she looked really tired. To confirm that, Scootaloo let out a loud yawn that lasted for a few seconds.
“Sorry I’m late,” Scootaloo said, “but Cool Breeze was up crying for most of the night and Rainbow Dash was having trouble getting him to sleep. And when Cool Breeze doesn’t sleep, nopony else in the house sleeps.”
“Is it really that bad?” Rumble asked.
“Yeah,” Scootaloo said. “This is the third night in a row. The way this is going I’d almost rather be with Soarin’ in the Wonderbolt H.Q. then here. The foal is cute, but because of him I can’t get any sleep.”
Scootaloo yawned again and said, “but a deal is a deal. So what do I owe you?”
Scootaloo was talking about a deal they made about nine months ago. When Rainbow Dash was keeping the fact that she was pregnant with Cool Breeze a secret from Soarin’, Rumble helped Scootaloo get them together in order to get them to talk. They planned on having Scootaloo pay Rumble back the following weekend, but due to a few circumstances that involved a pregnant Rainbow Dash they weren’t able to work it out that weekend. And because of the fact that they both have different classes in school, it was difficult for them to find time to do much more than chat. Now that it is the beginning of summer and Rainbow Dash has finally had her foal, they have finally gotten the time for Scootaloo to pay Rumble back.
“Hmm…well I know what my brother would say if he got the same chance. So how about a nice kiss for me?” Rumble asked.
“Yeah whateve…wait WHAT?!” Scootaloo asked. She was obviously no longer tired.
Rumble was laughing. “I’m just kidding Scootaloo. Calm down and stop blushing.”
Scootaloo looked down to see both her cheeks were pink. She looked back up to give Rumble an angry look, which failed epically because of her blushing cheeks. It didn’t really matter either way because Rumble was too busy laughing to notices Scootaloo’s fail of an angry look.
“Seriously, what do you want?” Scootaloo asked.
“Let’s head to the Everfree Forest,” Rumble said. Scootaloo once again thought that Rumble was kidding with her and gave him a look that said that. “No I’m not kidding you. You said Cool Breeze was having trouble sleeping right? Well I heard there is a zebra shaman that is living in the Everfree Forest and she might be able to help us.”
“Zecora?” Scootaloo asked. “I guess she might know of a way to help get Cool Breeze to fall asleep.”
“Well then what are we waiting for?” Rumble said. “Let’s go. If we fly over the forest we shouldn’t have to worry about the monsters.”
Rumble jumped up into the air and started flying in the direction of the Everfree Forest. Scootaloo was right behind him, using her own wings to fly with him. They both would have gone in a straight line, but Rumble decided to try showing off by doing a few midair tricks. Scootaloo, trying not to be outdone, moved in front of Rumble and did a few tricks of her own. They both ended up going in front of the other at some point in time and showed off their tricks all the way to the Everfree Forest.
Even when they were over the Everfree Forest they were still trying to out trick the other pony. Though at that point in time they were doing more and more intense and trickier tricks to try and outclass the tricks made before them. Their competition wasn’t really a good idea over the Everfree Forest, however it too late for them to realize that when Scootaloo accidently bumped hard into Rumble. That bump caused them both to go off course and fall into the Everfree Forest.
They both landed with a plop in the overgrown grass of one of the sections of the Everfree Forest. Trees surrounded them, blocking them from being able to see very far in any direction. And also because of those trees, the lighting there wasn’t very good even though it was the middle of the day.
“OW!” Scootaloo said.
“Yeah, that wasn’t a good idea,” Rumble said.
“Ya think?” Scootaloo asked. “Great. We’re in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Well at least we can fly out of here.”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
Scootaloo took to the air and made it above the trees, but as soon as she did she heard a pain filled grunt from Rumble. She looked down to see Rumble was on the ground holding his wing in pain. As soon as Scootaloo saw him she rushed down back onto the ground to see what is wrong with him.
“Rumble, are you ok?” Scootaloo asked Rumble.
“Yeah, I’m fine Scootaloo,” Rumble said. “Just go on ahead and I’ll be right behind you.”
“You’re wing doesn’t look like it’s fine,” Scootaloo said. “I don’t think you’ll be able to fly with that thing.”
“Then go and get help,” Rumble said. “I’ll be fine on my own for a little bit. Zecora shouldn’t be too far from here. Go get her and bring her back here.”
“This is the Everfree forest,” Scootaloo said as if he needed a reminder. “There are several monsters around here that could attack you. Trust me; I’ve had a run in with a Cockatrice and a pack of Timberwolves in here before. I’m not going to just leave you here.”
“It’s not like you’ll do any better against those things then me,” Rumble said. “If we get attacked those things could kill both of us. At least this way if I get attacked I can try and survive my own until you arrive with help.”
“I’m not going to leave you alone in here,” Scootaloo said.
“Can you not be stubborn for a day?” Rumble asked.
“It’s not stubbornness, it’s loyalty,” Scootaloo said. “Rainbow Dash is always loyal to her friends, so I will be to mine. Now why don’t you stop being so stubborn and let’s try and get out of here.”
“Scootaloo,” Rumble said.
“Rumble,” Scootaloo said.
They both looked at each other for a few minutes that they really shouldn’t have in the situation, each one trying to win a silent battle of wits. Eventually Rumble gave a sigh, signaling that Scootaloo won the battle. So Scootaloo flew up quickly to see what direction they should be going before landing on the ground and showing Rumble the way.
The two walked for a while before Rumble spoke. “So how far are we from Zecora’s?” Rumble asked.
“It’s a little ways away from here,” Scootaloo said. “So it might take us a while before we get there.”
“Great,” Rumble said sarcastically.
“Hay, I don’t like being here anymore then you do,” Scootaloo said. “I’ve been here a few times before, and each one of those times I’ve ran into some kind of monster.”
“Ok I get it,” Rumble said. “No need to growl at me.”
“I’m not growling,” Scootaloo said.
They both stopped suddenly and listened around. Everything was silent for a while so they thought that maybe Rumble heard wrong. But then a “grr” resounded through the area causing Scootaloo and Rumble to be looking around with panicked expressions to see what was making that sound. They couldn’t see anything for a bit longer so they thought whatever it was might have gone away, but before they were able to go away themselves a manticore jumped out at them.
As soon as they saw that Scootaloo and Rumble both screamed and ran away from the manticore as fast as they could. It didn’t matter what direction they were running to or where, so long as they managed to get away from the manticore. They both dodged around trees and over brooks in order to get away. Eventually, they finally managed to lose the manticore, which allowed them a moment to rest.
“Ok…I…think…we…lost…it,” Scootaloo panted out.
“Yeah…but…where…are…we…now?” Rumble asked.
“Just…give…me…a…sec…and…I’ll…find…out,” Scootaloo said. She took a deep breath to stop herself from panting and then looked up into the sky. She took off to check out her surroundings and then landed back onto the ground. “Uhhh…Rumble,” Scootaloo started.
“What’s going on Scootaloo?” Rumble asked.
“I can’t even see the edge of the forest, let alone where Zecora’s hut is,” Scootaloo said. “We’re completely lost right now.”
“Great…” Rumble said.
“So now what do we do?” Scootaloo asked.
“You can do the same thing I told you to do before,” Rumble said. “Go up and fly around until you see the way out. I’ll wait down here.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know how far we are from the entrance,” Scootaloo said. “I couldn’t see it when I was up there, so it might take me a while to find it. I’m not going to leave you down here alone for that long.”
“Scootaloo, this isn’t about loyalty right now,” Rumble said. “This is about finding our way out. If you don’t go up and look for a way out, we’ll just wander lost. I’m sure Rainbow Dash would do the same thing. Now go!”
“Fine,” Scootaloo said. “But if I don’t find a way out in a few minutes I am coming back.”
Scootaloo jumped into the air and started flying in circles above the trees trying to find the end of the forest. Each time she completed a circle she would arc out a bit father and then try going around in another circle. She looked around for as long as she felt safe doing, but still didn’t manage to find anything. But because she was at her time limit, she flew back down to Rumble.
“I couldn’t find a way out,” Scootaloo said, “and I’m not going to go any farther.”
“Scootaloo,” Rumble said, getting annoyed. He was going to say something else, but he decided against it and went on a different track. “So then what do you think we should do?”
“Well I guess we should just wait for your wing to heal,” Scootaloo said. “Then you and I both can fly around to find a way out.”
“How long do you think it’ll take for this thing to heal?” Rumble said as he painfully wiggled his wing.
“I don’t know,” Scootaloo said. “I’m not a wing doctor. But it doesn’t look like it’s broken so it should heal soon. I hope anyways.”
“So you’re suggesting we just sit here and wait for the monsters to come to us?” Rumble asked.
“No,” Scootaloo said. “We need to keep moving. If we stay on the move we should be able to avoid the monsters in here, and we might get closer to the way out ourselves.”
“Or get us lost in here forever,” Rumble said under his breath.
“Come on Rumble,” Scootaloo said as she looked around the area. She picked a random location and said “let’s go this way.”
~
The two were walking through the Everfree Forest for a while now. They luckily haven’t run into any monsters, but they unluckily haven’t been able to find the way out yet. Every once in a while, to Rumble’s request, Scootaloo would fly up into the air to see if there is anything new in the air. But every time she tried looking around she came up with nothing.
Rumble himself would try and fly every once in a while as well. But every time he tried to fly he would always end up yelping out painfully, to which the both of them would stop and listen hoping that no monsters heard them. After they made sure the coast was clear, they continued walking and Rumble would almost always look at his hurt wing. Eventually evening came and Rumble and Scootaloo were thinking about what they were going to do for the night.
“It’s getting late,” Rumble said. “We should probably try and find some sort of shelter for the night.”
“I didn’t see anything from my fly by that looked like we could hide in,” Scootaloo said. “Not that I would want to hide in a cave. There could be an Ursa Major in there.”
“Well then let’s just find some sort of clearing in the forest,” Rumble said. “I learned a bit about camping out from my brother so we should be good.”
“Ok just give me a second,” Scootaloo said as she flew up. She came back down a few seconds later and said, “there is a bit of a wide clearing over here. Follow me.”
Scootaloo showed Rumble to a small circular clearing within the forest. “Ok here we go,” Rumble said. “Now all we need is wood and I’ll start us up a fire.”
“Are you sure a fire is a good idea around here?” Scootaloo asked. “It would light up the entire forest, and the monsters could use it to find us.”
“Yeah but if we don’t it’ll be too dark for either of us to see, so a monster could easily sneak up on use in the dark. I think I’d rather see the monster then have it sneak up on us.”
“Ok you have your point,” Scootaloo said. “Bet I can get more branches then you.”
“You can fly right now Scootaloo. I can’t,” Rumble said. He sighed. “You know, it’s sort of ironic.”
“What’s ironic?” Scootaloo asked.
“When I first joined the Cutie Mark Crusaders, you were barely able to hover for more than a few seconds and I was the accomplished flyer,” Rumble said. “Now it’s the opposite. I can’t fly with my injured wing while you can go through the air without a care in the world.”
“Are you…jealous of me?” Scootaloo asked. “Come on. I didn’t let something like that bother me, so you shouldn’t either.”
“Were you jealous of me when I could fly and you couldn’t?” Rumble asked.
“Maybe a bit,” Scootaloo admitted. “But Rainbow Dash was already going to show me how to fly so I didn’t let it bother me too much. Actually, it’s one of the reasons I wanted to start flying.”
“All right,” Rumble said. “I’ll try and not let it bother me either, but can you try not to poke fun at it?”
“Sure Rumble,” Scootaloo said.
The two went their way to grab some fire wood while trying not to go too far off from camp. As they each grabbed their limit of fire wood, they went back and placed it down into a pile. Rumble was also gathering rocks from around and placing them in a circle within the center of the camp. Once they each got enough of what they were looking for, they put the fire wood in the center and Rumble started the fire.
“Hay Rumble, would you mind coming with me for a sec,” Scootaloo said. “I found a log we can sit on but I’m not strong enough by myself to pull it.”
“Ok let’s go,” Rumble said. Scootaloo and Rumble both went into the forest to grab the log that Scootaloo found. Once they reached the log though, Rumble wasn’t exactly impressed. “Is this the largest you could find?” Rumble asked.
“This is the only one I could find,” Scootaloo said. “So unless you want to be on the ground all night we’re going to have to make do with what we’ve got.”
“Ok fine,” Rumble said. “I guess I shouldn’t have expected too much right now.”
After a bit of arguing on how they should get it back, they decided to rotate it until it was facing the camp and then both get behind and push it until they reached camp. After pushing it into came, they somewhat agreed on how far to put it away from the fire and once again rotated it so when they sat on it they would be facing the fire. They both went on the log, Scootaloo to the left and Rumble to the right, and were uncomfortably close together with only an inch or two separating them.
Night slowly crept in and the forest became much darker. Beyond the fire that was right in front of the two pegasi and the stars and the moon that were in the sky there was no other light in the forest. It also grew much colder as the night went on. Because of that the two pegasigot off the long and instead leaned on it to get more heat. And even though at first the two pegasi were uncomfortable with how close together they were, they eventually became glad to have the other’s body heat next to them.
“It’s starting to get really cold out,” Scootaloo said. “Kind’ve hard to believe that it’s the summer.”
“Yeah,” Rumble said. “When I’m out camping with my big brother it would sometimes get cold, but never this cold.”
“Did you and your brother go out camping a lot?” Scootaloo asked.
“Every summer Thunderlane would take me out camping,” Rumble explained. “Even after he made it into the Wonderbolts he still attempts to take me out camping once a year. It’s become sort of a fun tradition between us. What about you? Have you been out camping much?”
“Rainbow Dash doesn’t do camping too much,” Scootaloo said. Bitterly she said, “And my old parents wouldn’t even think about doing anything with me.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “But it was during a camping trip that Rainbow Dash finally took me under her wing. It was one of the best nights of my life. If it wasn’t for that night I would have never been taught how to fly, and Rainbow Dash probably would have never saved me from my parents.”
“So I guess camping trips are sort of special to you too,” Rumble said.
“Yeah.” Scootaloo eventually shivered from the cold, even though the fire is right in front of her. She was going to ignore it, but she suddenly felt feathers reach across her back and to her side, filling her with a bit extra warmth. She looked over to see Rumble had noticed her shivering and decided to put his wing across her back to help.
“Don’t worry,” Rumble said. “That isn’t my injured wing.”
Scootaloo said her thanks before looking back into the fire. She eventually felt Rumble shivering so Scootaloo returned the favor by spreading her wing across Rumble’s back, taking care not to hit Rumble’s injured wing. Rumble noticed that and said his thanks.
Scootaloo looked up into the sky. “Wonder if we will see any falling stars tonight?” she said.
“If we do I’m wishing we will get out of here,” Rumble said.
“Well yeah, of course,” Scootaloo said. “But then I’m going to wish that I am as awesome as Rainbow Dash one day.”
“I guess that’s close to what I would wish if we weren’t here,” Rumble said. “I’ve always wanted to someday be like my big brother.”
“Well when we get out of here, I’ll help you with your wish if you help me with mine,” Scootaloo said. “After all, Rainbow Dash did help Thunderlane get to where he is today, and Soarin’ helped Rainbow Dash get to where she is today.”
“That sounds fun,” Rumble said.
“Great, then it’s a deal.”
The two pegasi stared silently at the fire for a while longer until Scootaloo yawned. After three nights of very little sleep and all of today’s activities Scootaloo was really tired. She tried hiding her yawn to avoid letting Rumble notice she was tired, but it was already too late.
“Got to sleep Scootaloo,” Rumble said. “I’ll take the first watch to make sure no monsters sneak up on you during your sleep.”
“I’m not tired,” Scootaloo lied. “Maybe you should be the first to fall asleep.”
“Scootaloo, I can tell you’re lying,” Rumble said. “You told me Cool Breeze has been keeping you up for the past three days. I know I would be tired if I was you. Now go to sleep. I’ll wake you up when it’s your turn to watch.”
“Ok fine,” Scootaloo said. “But just make sure to wake me up before you end up falling asleep.” Scootaloo closed her eyes and let the warmth of the fire and the heat emitting from Rumble pull her into slumber.
~
Rumble could hear Scootaloo’s breathing slow down as she drifted deeper and deeper into sleep. It was strangely rhythmic and almost hypnotizing for him to be listening to her breath. It was making him tired, and almost causing him to drift off into sleep…
Rumble shook his head to snap out of it. He carefully—so that he wouldn’t wake Scootaloo—grabbed a few sticks from his side and threw it into the fire to keep it going. That movement somewhat helped him stay awake and he was able to think for a bit.
It’s probably because she is trying to be like Rainbow Dash, but Scootaloo could easily be the Element of Loyalty, Rumble thought. It almost makes me wonder what element I would be. I enjoy a good laugh, but nothing like Pinkie Pie. I can be kind some of the times, but certainly not like Fluttershy is. And I know for sure Magic is out, since I can’t even use Magic. And honesty is definitely out. Not when I lied to Scootaloo.
Rumble looked over at Scootaloo. You must be really tired. My brother always told me stories about how little sleep he would get when I was just a foal. So I can sort of guess what you are going through. Well this may not be the best place for it, but get as much sleep as you can. And I will do all I can to make sure that you stay asleep.
~
The next morning Scootaloo felt something wet on her right wing. It managed to wake her up and she looked around to see what it was. The first thing she noticed right in front of her was the fire was done and when she looked to the right she saw Rumble sleeping with drool coming out of his mouth, which fell on her wing. That caused her to immediately snap her wing back, and that sudden action woke Rumble up.
“Uh…what’s going on?” Rumble asked sleepily.
“You drooled in your sleep,” Scootaloo said.
“Oh, sorry about that,” Rumble said as he wiped the droll from his mouth. “That doesn’t always happen.”
“You don’t get it,” Scootaloo said. “You were asleep. You were supposed to wake me up before you fell asleep. Not that you drooling is helping you either.”
“Sorry about that,” Rumble said, “but I thought you needed your sleep.”
“Yeah I needed that sleep,” Scootaloo said, “but not at the cost of getting attacked by a monster in the middle of the night. I’d rather sleep back home where it’s safe then out in a forest where it isn’t.”
“Do you think anypony is looking for us?” Rumble asked trying to change the subject.
“Yeah I’m sure our families are trying to find us,” Scootaloo said, “but we don’t know if they’ll try the Everfree Forest. Nopony ever comes here without a reason and I don’t think anypony saw us come in.”
“So were still on our own?” Rumble asked.
“Pretty much. Has your wing healed yet?”
Rumble jumped up to try flying, but he once again yelped in pain and fell to the ground with a plop. “No,” Rumble grunted. “Not yet.”
“Ok I guess,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “Let’s get moving again.”
“Are you as hungry as I am?” Rumble asked out of the blue.
“Yeah, but I don’t think we’re going to find much to eat around here, unless you want to try the wild grass,” Scootaloo said. “Let’s keep going and while I’m in the air I’ll look around for anything to eat.”
“Hopefully we can find something,” Rumble said. “I can hear your stomach growling from all the way over here.”
“I thought that was your stomach,” Scootaloo said. They both came to a realization. “Oh please don’t tell me…” Suddenly a Manticore jumped out of the trees. “Of course,” Scootaloo said. “Ten bits says it’s the same manticore we lost yesterday.”
“I think instead of betting about it we try getting away from it again!” Rumble said.
“Yeah. Let’s run.”
The two pegasi once again ran away from the manticore as best as they could. However this time, they ended up next to a large rock wall that made a dead end for them. And before they could turn around and try a different way, the manticore blocked their exit.
“Rumble, I think we’re trapped,” Scootaloo said. The manticore walked closer and they took a step back. “Got any ideas to get us out of here?”
“Both of us, I have no clue,” Rumble admitted. “But as for you, yes. Scootaloo, you need to fly out of here as fast as you can. Don’t worry about me and just go.”
“Are you nuts?” Scootaloo asked. “What about you then?”
“Tell my brother that I’m sorry,” Rumble said, “but it doesn’t look like I’m going to be going on that camping trip this year. And Scootaloo…we haven’t really talked much or that long, but it was nice knowing you. You're a pretty cool filly, and I hope you manage to at least get your dream. Because I don’t think I’m going to get mine.”
“I don’t think so,” Scootaloo said. “You and I are both going to get out of this somehow.”
“How Scootaloo?” Rumble asked. “It isn’t looking too good for us. At least this way you get to still be around. There’s no hope for me, but there is still hope for you.”
“So you want me to leave knowing that I failed one of my friends?” Scootaloo asked. “No. We’re going to get out of this. I don’t know how but we are.”
“Scootaloo!” Rumble said.
Scootaloo was looking around to try and find some way for them to get out of there. But no matter where she looked she couldn’t find any way of getting them both out of there. There seemed to be no hope, just like Rumble said. Only Scootaloo could fly away. Unless…
“Rumble I’m going to fly you out of here,” Scootaloo said.
“You’re going to do what?” Rumble asked.
Scootaloo hoped into the air and hovered above Rumble. “Grab onto my hooves and hold on tight Rumble!” Scootaloo said.
“Can you even lift me?” Rumble asked.
“For a long amount of time, no,” Scootaloo said. “But I should hopefully be able to fly you over this manticore and then we can both start running. Now grab on!”
“Scootaloo, this is crazy,” Rumble said.
“It’s not like you have a better idea,” Scootaloo said. “You said you have no other ideas, I gave you one, now grab on!”
Rumble jumped up and grabbed onto Scootaloo’s hooves. Scootaloo fell down a bit because she wasn’t expecting Rumble’s weight, but she immediately went back and tried to move them forward over the manticore. They made it over the manticore, which caused the manticore to jump up, Scootaloo to pull up, and Rumble to flex up to avoid getting his flank it.
They flew away from the manticore, but not far enough before Scootaloo lost the energy to fly. They both landed on the ground only a few feet away from the manticore. The manticore swiped at them and the two pegasi closed their eyes, braced themselves, and held on to each other for what was the last few seconds of their lives.
Or so they thought.
Over their heads they felt a gust of wind and then the sound of something colliding against a rock wall. They felt another gust of wind causing them to both look over and see Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane beating on that manticore with a fury neither of them has seen from those two before. The anger on both of their faces is probably enough to cause any sentient being to quake in fear.
“Are you two all right?” Soarin’ said from behind. They both turned over to face him.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Scootaloo said.
“My right wing’s hurt but that has nothing to do with the manticore,” Rumble said. “Otherwise I’m just shaken.”
Behind them Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane knocked the manticore enough so they let it down and watched it run away. “That’s what you get for trying to attack Scootaloo!” Rainbow Dash said while Thunderlane said the same thing except for replacing “Scootaloo” with “my brother.”
Then both Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane turned their attention to Scootaloo and Rumble. “What in the hay are you doing inside the Everfree Forest?!” Rainbow Dash asked. “Haven’t your past visits taught you anything about coming here? It’s dangerous out here! You better give me a good reason why you are here and now!”
“Dashie you can cry now,” Soarin’ said. “There is nopony around here except for us that can see you.”
“I don’t need to cry,” Rainbow Dash lied. Her eyes told the truth for her. “Ok fine,” Rainbow Dash said as she let loose. “When I saw you weren’t back yet and heard nopony has seen you yesterday I thought you could have been foalnapped, hurt, or worse. I’ve already got a foal to worry about, I don’t need you helping that.”
“It’s ok now Dashie,” Soarin’ said.
“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” Rainbow Dash said, “but not here. Let’s get you out of here.”
“Thunderlane, you two good to go?” Soarin’ called out.
“Yeah, pretty much,” Thunderlane said. “I’m going to take Rumble out of here now.”
“Ok. We’ll meet up at town square!” Soarin’ said.
~
After the two pegasi were taken out of the Everfree Forest they were brought to Sugarcube Corner in order to fill up their empty stomachs. While the two were eating they were talking about exactly what happened in the Everfree Forest. Their conversation went on well into the afternoon, because the two had much to talk about.
“Heh, well I guess you definitely learned loyalty from me,” Rainbow Dash said to Scootaloo.
“But you should have went to Zecora’s as soon as you crash landed and got her help,” Soarin’ said. “From what Rainbow Dash has told me, Zecora could have easily helped you guys stay away from the monsters.”
“But we were attacked by a manticore just a few minutes after we started walking,” Rumble said. “If Scootaloo didn’t stay by my side, I would have been lost alone inside the forest and probably wouldn’t be here right now.”
“I think I agree with Rainbow Dash,” Thunderlane said.
“That’s two against one Soar,” Rainbow Dash said. “It looks like you’re overruled.”
“So you’re telling me that you wouldn’t have gone to Zecora first if you were in Scootaloo’s position?” Soarin’ asked.
“Well duh I would have,” Rainbow Dash said, “but that’s because I would have been there and back within 10 seconds flat. And afterwards I would have made sure to stay by whoever I’m with’s side.”
“So are we off the hook?” Scootaloo asked.
“You wish,” Rainbow Dash said. “You might have done well enough within the Everfree Forest, but you still were stupid enough to end up there in the first place. You should have known better then to do tricks while flying over the Everfree Forest.”
“Well we were just trying to help you find a way to get Cool Breeze to fall asleep,” Scootaloo said.
“I was already trying to find a way to get him to sleep myself,” Rainbow Dash said. “You don’t have to worry about me Scootaloo. It’s the parent’s job to take care of their foal, not the other way around. And if you really wanted to help, you should have just asked Twilight or something. You should almost never go to the Everfree Forest.
“So as for you punishment—which we already cleared with you parents Rumble—you two will be helping Twilight reorganize the library…tomorrow,” Soarin’ said. “For today, we’re just happy to have you back and safe.”
“So come on you two,” Rainbow Dash said. “I think you’ve had enough to eat for now. And I know Soarin’ has.”
Soarin’ had five pie trays stacked up behind him, which he tried to hide with a wing. “What?” Soarin’ said while blushing. “I eat when I’m nervous.”
“Soarin’ you never need an excuse to eat,” Rainbow Dash said. “Now come on you, before Spitfire decides to put you on that exercise routine again.”
“Fine,” Soarin’ said
“All right Rumble let’s head out,” Thunderlane said. “Mom and Dad are still worried about you so we should probably get you home.”
“All right,” Rumble said. He got up to leave with Thunderlane, but before he left he said to Scootaloo, “See you tomorrow Scootaloo.”
“See ya later Rumble,” Scootaloo said. “Remember, after we’re done helping Twilight, it’s time to start training!”
“Yeah, I know,” Rumble said. “Can’t wait!”
The two families dispersed and while Scootaloo was feeling tired, she left with a smile on her face. She had a new flying friend and a new training buddy. And with his help, she hopped they would both someday be as good as their family.
Author's Note
Oh boy this was a long one. But for those of you that looked in my last fic and wanted some more Rumbaloo, well you got it. Even though it is in this fic you got it. So I hoped you enjoyed over 5500 words of friendshipping and implied future romance.
Oh and I put the teen rating on here just to be sure, but do you guys think this warrants a Teen rating?
