Outside the room, Dinky is sitting by herself, feeling a bit moody about what happened. Rumble didn't mean to do anything wrong, she knows he didn't mean to upset her, but it still didn't relieve how unhappy she was.
But then again, maybe it's no really a big deal and she's just overreacting? Even id he didn't watch like he said he would, she knows that he gets easily distracted when it comes to Sweetie Belle, and he did try making up for it afterwards.
She looked inside the room and saw Sweetie Belle trying another trick, though this trick involved her trying to write something using her magic. She figures to just go back in there, no use missing out on a magic lesson just because she was slightly annoyed by what Rumble did.
Speaking of which, as she looked in the room, Rumble was barely paying attention to Sweetie Belle, instead looking a little confused. Dinky figures he probably feels terrible for missing her do that trick, she knows he doesn't like the idea of upsetting her. She figures she could go keep him company, besides she can't stay mad at him.
She trotted into the room and sat next to Rumble, getting his attention.
"Hey you're back," Rumble said, looking a bit happier.
"Yeah," Dinky said with a slight nod, then turned back to Sweetie Belle. "I didn't wanna miss the next lesson."
Rumble looked down a bit sadly, "Hey, I'm really sorry if I upset you before. I know you said you're not mad, but I know you well enough to realize when you're unhappy. I should have realized how big a deal it was for you to be able to teleport that stick a little, knowing how much trouble you had."
"It's nothing really, maybe I was a little upset but I know you didn't mean to make me feel that way," Dinky insisted. "But thanks for apologizing."
Rumble scratched his head in confusion, "Um, ok? Are you sure you're ok though?"
"Yeah, that's it, don't worry about it," Dinky said with a fake smile.
Rumble didn't look too convinced, he knows when Dinky is faking something, the problem is that he has almost no clue what to do. All Rumble could do is place his wing around Dinky in a slight hug, hoping she really is calmer than before, "Well as long as you're alright, but if something is bothering you, please tell me, I don't like seeing you unhappy."
Dinky nodded with a small but more genuine smile, she knows that Rumble cares a lot for her, even if he has less time for her lately. Though she should have expected that, she knew for so long that of course Rumble is gonna give more attention to Sweetie Belle.
But why does it still bother her?
Moments later it was time for Dinky to practice her magic with Starlight. She had to do the same thing that Sweetie Belle was doing and write on some paper with the magic of her horn.
"Wish me luck Rumble," Dinky said, then looked to him with pleading eyes. "And please watch, I need your support as well. You're my best friend after all."
"I won't let you down again," Rumble insisted.
Dinky nodded and approached the pen, lifting it up. She looked back to see if Rumble was watching. He was, though Sweetie Belle was nuzzling against him. Dinky sighed a bit, worrying there was a good chance Rumble might lose focus again, but she should expect that.
She really has no idea why this is bugging her, knowing she herself had told Rumble she was ok with him giving Sweetie Belle more attention. She's the one who did everything she could to get them together.
Was she regretting it?
Dinky shook her head, she can't think like that, where is this even coming from all of a sudden? She was fine with it before wasn't she?
"I'm about to start," Dinky said, in a way trying to remind Rumble to pay attention to her. Fortunately Rumble turned away from Sweetie Belle and focused on Dinky, much to her relief.
Dinky started to write on the paper, really carefully, trying to balance the pen, hoping not to make any mistakes. Her writing was a bit sloppy but she at least was able to get something in the paper.
"Wow, you're doing so great Dinky!" Starlight said.
Dinky turned slightly to see if Rumble was watching, though to her slight annoyance, he had turned away again, he was kissing Sweetie Belle's face a little. Though as if sensing her gaze, he quickly turned to her and gave a quick and somewhat nervous smile.
Dinky returned the smile, though she did feel a bit irritated, but at least he looked again. However she hadn't been concentrating on what she was doing, causing some trouble.
"Um, Dinky, the writing needs to stay on the paper," Starlight said, gesturing to the fact that Dinky was now writing on the floor.
Dinky quickly focused back on what she was doing and noticed her mistake. "Ah! Sorry about that!" Dinky then pulled the pen away. "I wasn't paying attention."
"That's fine, it's no big deal, but do try to focus, it's a key part of using magic," Starlight reminded.
"Yes Miss Glimmer," Dinky said.
Starlight blushed upon hearing that, "Um, just Starlight is fine, you don't need to be so formal."
"Is it me or do most grown ponies not like being called 'Mister' or 'Miss'?" Apple Bloom asked.
"True, Rarity tells me not to call her 'Miss Rarity'," Rumble said.
Tender Taps looked confused, "She doesn't correct me when I say it sometimes."
"Rumble is dating her sister after all," Sweetie Belle said as she gestured to herself.
Tender Taps groaned, then felt Scootaloo place her hoof around him, "You won't have to worry about that with Rainbow Dash, she's not that formal."
Apple Bloom looked a bit jealous, so she moved in closer to Tender Taps, "Neither does mah sister."
"Good to know," Tender Taps said, feeling a little uneasy from their sudden attention, knowing this could get competitive.
Starlight placed two pieces of paper down on the floor, "Alright, now Sweetie Belle, come here a moment, I want to test something with the both of you.
Sweetie Belle and Dinky approached Starlight, both sitting down before the pieces of paper.
"What do you have in mind?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"You two are gonna do this at the same time, I'm gonna ask you to write out something so I can see how you two do side-by-side," Starlight said.
"Cool, now they're gonna race!" Scootaloo said.
"It's not really a race, just a comparison," Starlight said.
"So you're just gonna see how well they do at the same time?" Rumble asked.
"Exactly, and I want to state again that this is not a competition, I don't want either of you to feel inferior to one another," Starlight said.
"This would be a bit more fun to watch if it was a competition," Scootaloo said, earning a slight glare from her friends and Starlight.
"Not all things need to be competitive," Starlight said. "Anyway whenever you girls are ready."
Dinky and Sweetie Belle nodded and looked down at the paper.
"Good luck girls," Rumble cheered.
Sweetie Belle quickly trotted to Rumble gave him a nice kiss, leaving both in bliss. "Thanks, I do feel lucky now."
Dinky looked even more annoyed, so she trotted over to Rumble and gave him a nice hug, "Now I feel lucky too."
Sweetie Belle looked really surprised, and slightly jealous. Though Dinky is Rumble's best friend, even before they started dating so that should be normal. Still it did bug her a little.
Within moments both fillies stood in front of their paper with their pens floating from their magic. They slightly glared at each other, then the paper as they prepared to write.
"Alright, go," Starlight said.
The two fillies proceeded to write on the paper. They wrote random words, mostly whatever objects happen to be around them. Starlight observed them, comparing both their progress to each other as they continued their writing. From the looks of things, Dinky was doing slightly better than Sweetie Belle, not that the fancy Unicorn wasn't doing good in her own right.
The other foals just waited, though Scootaloo looked a bit bored. She wants to be supportive of her friends, but she's too energetic to sit still in one place.
After about five minutes, Starlight instructed the two fillies to stop. "That should do it." She looked over both of their papers, comparing the detail and the speed. "Alright, looks like Dinky has a slightly better speed."
"Alright!" Dinky shouted gleefully.
Sweetie Belle pouted, but cheered up when Starlight spoke again, "But Sweetie Belle, you're very neat with how you write, you especially wrote Rumble's name pretty well I should say."
Sweetie Belle looked relieved, "Thanks, Rumble always makes me feel more confident after all." Sweetie Belle turned to Rumble with an affectionate gaze, "I always feel more confident when I'm around him."
Rumble sheepishly blushed, "Thanks Sweetie Belle."
Dinky rolled her eyes, though couldn't blame Sweetie Belle for what she said, knowing those words were very true. Rumble has been the foal that's always helped her feel confident in herself.
"Mind if I see Sweetie Belle?" Rumble asked.
Sweetie Belle showed Rumble her paper with her magic writing. "How does it look?"
Rumble analyzed the paper, liking what he saw, "Wow, you're so amazing and talented Sweetie Belle! The way you write is beautiful, just like you are"
Sweetie Belle blushed madly, trying to hide her face with her hair. "Oh Rumble, you're just so sweet!"
Apple Bloom and Tender Taps giggled at Rumble's response while Scootaloo gagged.
"Hey Rumble, how did I do?" Dinky asked, showing her paper.
"Pretty good," Rumble said, short and simple, a bit too simple for Dinky's liking.
"Gee thanks," Dinky said, feeling somewhat annoyed.
"Alright I think that's enough for now, I'll have to come up with new lesson for the both of you," Starlight said.
"We appreciate what you're doing for us, thanks for being our teacher in place of Twilight," Sweetie Belle said.
Starlight rubbed her mane a bit, "It's no trouble, I'm glad I get to mentor such smart young fillies."
"Beautiful too," Rumble said.
Sweetie Belle blushed again, though Dinky started to feel confused. Did Rumble also call her beautiful? Or was he just too eager to compliment Sweetie Belle again?
"Rumble you flatter me too much, it's kinda embarrassing," Sweetie Belle said, bashfully turning away.
"Seriously you do flatter her a lot, it's so weird to be around," Apple Bloom said.
Rumble nervously chuckled, "Sorry about that, I can't really help it."
"Hey! You don't have anything to be sorry for!" Sweetie Belle shouted. "You are fully allowed to continue complimenting me for as long as you'd like, I am your princess after all, and you are my handsome knight."
Now it was Rumble who was blushing, "Well I love being your knight, you make me so happy."
Apple Bloom groaned, "Ok, enough with the mushy talk, it was cute at first, now it's just annoying."
Sweetie Belle huffed, "Don't be jealous, I bet if you found another pony to make you feel this way you'd be just as happy as I am."
Apple Bloom glared a bit, "Cool it Sweetie Belle."
"I myself can't really blame Rumble," Tender Taps said. "If I had a filly that I was dating, I would make her feel special as well, and I would love it if she were that sweet to me."
"I hope you find somepony soon Tender Taps, you really are a nice colt," Sweetie Belle said.
"I think so too," Rumble said. "You have a charm to you that I wish I had."
Tender Taps looked confused, "Huh? I do? I always thought you had a certain charm that I didn't have."
"I personally think you're like a young stallion, you're very mature and have a calm mind," Rumble said.
"I'm not that calm, personally I like how energetic you are when you're happy also not afraid to talk about your emotions," Tender Taps said.
"I can be pretty shy though, you've seen that for yourself," Rumble said.
"Everypony has something special about them, you two could probably learn from each other," Starlight said.
Apple Bloom nodded, "That's a great idea, maybe you two can bond a bit."
"It would help if I knew you had a friend to keep you company if I ever wanna do something with just Apple Bloom and Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said.
Dinky glared at Sweetie Belle for that comment, "Hey! Did you forget that Rumble and I were already friends before he even met you!?"
Sweetie Belle blinked a bit, then had a giggle, "Oops, you're right, kinda forgot."
Dinky groaned at that, "Yeah, whatever."
Rumble trotted over to Dinky, getting her in a brief nuzzle. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you're my friend, you're still very special to me."
Dinky felt relief, she pulled Rumble into an affectionate hug, "You're special to me as well, I just hope neither of us forget that."
While the other ponies found that cute, Scootaloo again looked annoyed, "So much sappiness." She looked towards Tender Taps, still remembering what he had said a moment ago. Feeling curious she approached him, "Hey, Tender Taps. Before when you said you would like a filly to be sweet to you, what would you consider sweet?"
Tender Taps looked up in wonder, "Just being nice I guess, I mean I don't need a bunch of compliments, I just need to know she cares about me."
"Oh, ok then," Scootaloo said.
"Why do you ask?" Tender Taps asked, even if he already had somewhat of an idea.
"No reason," Scootaloo replied.
Tender Taps gave a stern yet gentle look, "Scootaloo, if you ever wanna try starting a relationship with me, I'll be willing. I know how you feel about me."
"Thing is, I'm not sure what I feel, I'm still trying to understand some emotions myself," Scootaloo said, quickly glancing toward Rumble.
Tender Taps folded his forelegs, "Alright, but remember, Apple Bloom might ask me as well, I don't wanna turn either of you down, but I do want to give both of you a chance. I'll let you figure it out."
"That's fine, you don't have to keep Apple Bloom waiting because of me," Scootaloo said.
Tender Taps nodded, "That's kind of you, and like I said, I want both of you to have a chance. I don't wanna have to pick, I don't have it in me to make that decision."
"Well you foals can get going, I'll of course be staying here and keeping this place tidy, or tidy as I can keep it," Starlight said.
"Aren't you gonna feel a bit lonely staying in this castle by yerself? You can always come over to mah farm if ya like, I'll ask Big Mac and Granny if it's alright," Apple Bloom said.
"Thanks, but I'll be fine," Starlight said. "Come by again tomorrow and we'll do more fun stuff."
Apple Bloom nodded, "Alright, but if ya chance yer mind, just come on down to Sweet Apple Acres."
"I'll do that, thanks," Starlight said.
One by one the foals started going home after saying 'bye' to Starlight, though on his way out, Tender Taps brought Starlight in for a hug.
"I'll be here as soon as I can, big sis," Tender Taps said.
Starlight returned his hug, "I look forward to that, little brother."
After that, Tender Taps had gone with his friends as they each made their way home, Starlight watching them all leave. She hopes she can be the best teacher she can be to them, and a good pony for them to look up to. Especially considering how much Twilight already values them.
Starlight can potentially create a new harmony of friends.
