//------------------------------// // Little Love // Story: Spiders & Magic: Adventures // by Masterob //------------------------------// Apple Bloom marched forward one morning, on her way to the park for a day of fun. She wasn't alone however, she was joined by her two faithful friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Also joining them was Apple Bloom's visiting cousin from Manehattan, Babs Seed. She had come by the day prior and was gonna spend a week at Sweet Apple Acres with her favorite cousin. Babs also came by because she really wants to see her favorite superhero and her friend, Peter Parker, also known as Spider-Mane. "Come on y'all, there's some fun stuff to do in the park!" Apple Bloom said. "Like what?" Scootaloo asked. "Maybe Peter's there!" Sweetie eagerly hoped. "Yeah I hope he is, always fun tah be around," Babs added. "And easy on the eyes too," Sweetie said with a blush. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, "Please tell me you still don't have a crush on him, seriously Sweetie Belle yah need to get over yer crush on Peter. That's brought you a lot of trouble." "Nothing wrong with a crush, I'm not gonna act on it...at least not again," Sweetie said. Babs raised her eyebrow, "You did what?" "Long story, I made some mistakes, I won't repeat them," Sweetie said. "Yeah you better not," Apple Bloom said, with some obvious bitterness. Sweetie looked taken back, "Wow, are you that mad about me acting on my crush?" "It ain't that, it's what happened afterwards, when you went to find that flamboyant bastard Vega," Apple Bloom stated, much to the surprise of her friends and cousin. "You know I never expected him to hurt you right?" Sweetie said. "It ain't that he hurt me, it's that you were foolish enough to not only join him, you were too blind to realize he was a horrible pony, I mean how many ponies did he need to hurt before yah realized he was evil?" Apple Bloom said. "I don't know, I was hoping he could reform, like how Peter got Trixie on our side," Sweetie said. Apple Bloom stopped in her tracks, "Yer comparing a ninja that works for diabolical villains to a stage magician turned petty thief!? Of course Trixie can turn she wasn't even that bad in the first place! She was just misguided!" "Well, maybe Vega was misguided," Sweetie suggested. Apple Bloom just glared half lidded, "Seriously?" "Hey it could happen," Sweetie said. Apple Bloom shook her head, "Don't matter, he ain't gonna be an issue no more, Peter took care of that stuck up son of a bitch, thank goodness." Babs looked a little weirded out hearing her cousin use that type of tough talk. "What exactly did he do to ya cuz?" "Ah don't wanna talk about it, let's just say that I'm glad there were no lemons around, plus he's a freaken pervert too," Apple Bloom said. The other fillies had nothing to say at that moment, Apple Bloom sighed. "Don't matter, what's done is done, Peter took care of things, and ah recovered just fine. Ah ain't gonna be like Lightning Dust and fear him, if anything ah wish he were here so ah can buck him in a place no stallion wants to be bucked." That made the other foals cringe, given Apple Bloom's applebucking experience, Vega would have definitely regretted messing with her. After some trotting, the Crusaders caught sight of the Parker-Sparkle family. Peter and Twilight were sitting together under a tree, nuzzled together. Rumble was flying in the air, practicing a few tricks, Mayday watched from below, she was amazed by Rumble's flight ability. "I hope I can do that one day! You're very talented Rumble!" Mayday said. Rumble smiled down at her, "Thanks, I practice a lot. One day I can probably teach you some tricks as well." "Cool! I'll be your student, like mommy and Princess Celestia!" Rumble felt a bit flattered at being compared to Princess Celestia, in fact the idea that he could be the one to teach the daughter of Spider-Mane and Princess Twilight some flight techniques seems like quite a prestigious event. Back with The Crusaders, Apple Bloom had a big smile on her face. "Ah see Peter! He's right there!" Apple Bloom said. "Oh, Twilight's there too!" Sweetie said. "Also their daughter Mayday!" Scootaloo pointed out. Babs noticed Rumble and pointed, "Hey, who's that kid?" Apple Bloom looked at the direction of where Babs was pointing, "Oh that's Rumble. Peter adopted him a little while back." Babs continued to stare at Rumble, some interest peaking on her face. "So, he our age?" Apple Bloom nodded, "Yeah he's in our age group." Something about that put a smile on Babs' face. "That's nice, what you fillies say we go say hello, I'd like to introduce myself to this colt." Apple Bloom seemed slightly suspicious at that, what's Babs up to? Nonetheless, the Crusaders all went to see the Parker-Sparkle family. "Peter! Twilight! Mayday! Rumble!" Apple Bloom greeted. The family members noticed the crusaders and waved. "Sup kids, what brings you around here?" Peter asked. "Just having fun, look who's here Peter!" Apple Bloom said and gestured to Babs. "Hi Pete, nice to see ya again," Babs greeted. "Same here, I take it you're here visiting the Apple Family? Peter asked. "Yeah, I'm here for a week, ain't that awesome?" Babs said. Rumble and Mayday approached the Crusaders, Rumble being the first to greet. "Hi girls," he noticed Babs, "Um, I've never seen you before." "I'm Apple Bloom's cousin Babs. Mind introducing yourself to me?" Babs asked. Rumble rubbed his head, "My name's Rumble. It's nice to meet you Babs." Babs could tell Rumble was a shy type, polite too. She's gonna like this colt. Scootaloo went to Mayday, "Sup kid? What are you up to? "Just watching Rumble fly, he's amazing!" Mayday said. Scootaloo looked to Rumble with a slight blush, "Yeah he is." Babs' ear perked when she heard that. "Great flyer huh? You an athlete kid? You keep in good shape?" Rumble had a look of uncertainty, "Uh, yeah I guess." Babs grinned at that, "That's good to know, guess that means you're also pretty energetic huh?" Rumble wasn't sure of what to make of this, meanwhile Apple Bloom is looking increasingly jealous. Sweetie looked to the field, "Why don't we all go and play," She turned to Peter. "Can Mayday come? We'll watch her." Peter nodded, "Sure thing." He then turned to his daughter with a stern look. "Now make sure you behave young filly." Twilight spoke up, "Remember to listen to Rumble." She turned to Rumble, "Keep an eye on her." Rumble nodded, "Will do, let's go May." Rumble, Mayday and the Crusaders got a move on. Though as they walked, Sweetie found herself staring at Rumble, particularly one part of his body. "Oh...he does keep in shape." She had a seductive grin as she followed closely with the others. Peter chuckled a bit, "Wow, quite the chick magnet Rumble is." Twilight giggled a bit, "He's a handsome colt, that doesn't surprise me." She grinned at Peter, "Reminds me of another pony I know." Peter raised his eyebrow, "Really? Who?" Twilight stared deadpanned at Peter. "Seriously, I'm lost," Peter said. Rumble walked with the Crusaders and Mayday. During this Babs continued to grin seductively at Rumble, Apple Bloom looked a bit jealous of what Babs was doing and stayed close to Rumble. Scootaloo walked with Mayday while getting a flew glances of Rumble, smiling a bit. Sweetie kept staring at Rumble, mostly the more 'in shape' parts of him while Mayday looked a bit confused over what was happening. Rumble felt like something was weird but he wasn't sure what to make of it. But the fillies were being really friendly with him. "So Rumble, what's it like living with Peter?" Babs asked. "Fun, he's really nice. So is Twilight, they're both really nice to me," He stopped to think a moment. "Actually they all are, Mayday looks up to me, Trixie likes me very much, Logan's pretty nice, even Peter's Aunt May is really nice whenever I see her." "Sounds like they like having you around, how did you end up living with them?" Babs asked. Rumble's face changed to a more serious and displeased one, "Because my brother decided he wanted to be a rebel and go against Equestria, leaving me on my own. My foal sitters couldn't take me in because they were too unprepared, so Peter and Twilight took me in." "Oh, sorry to hear that, must'ah been rough," Babs said. "That wasn't the only rough part. Sweetie Belle got captured briefly by those bad guys and I got blamed for it," Rumble said, snapping Sweetie out of her daze and feeling guilty. "I'm really sorry I put you through that Rumble. I never should have made you cover for me and keep my secret," Sweetie said. Rumble nodded, "It's fine Sweetie, I'm not mad anymore. I'm actually happy you're safe, but I knew that could happen, you really had me worried." Sweetie trotted over to Rumble and nuzzled him, "You're such a sweetheart, just like Peter is. I should have listened, but I love that you care." Apple Bloom grew even more jealous, even Babs didn't look too happy. Mayday herself looked a little jealous and trotted closer to Rumble, "Can you show me some more flying stuff later?" Rumble nodded, "Sure thing, I'd be happy to." "I'd like to see more myself, you're pretty talented Rumble, I actually envy you," Scootaloo said. Rumble felt a bit flustered, "Thanks Scootaloo, means a lot coming from you. You are Rainbow Dash's sister, or rather like a sister to her." "Speaking of which, how are you two? You both made up right?" Scootaloo asked. Rumble nodded, "Yeah, she's gonna show me some techniques soon, I'm really excited." "Sounds fun, can't wait to see what they teach you," Scootaloo said. "Ah believe in you Rumble, ah know you can do it!" Apple Bloom said, giving Rumble some cute eyes. Once again Mayday felt a sense of jealousy, just what are these fillies up to? Rumble blushed, "Thanks, you're always so nice Apple Bloom. Probably get that from your sister." Apple Bloom looked surprised, "Mah sister? You think she's nice even though she ain't been real friendly to yah?" Rumble nodded. "I know she was a little harsh with me, but it was only because she loves you and wants you to be safe." Apple Bloom offered a heartfelt smile, "I'm gonna be sure to tell Applejack about that, get her to realize yer a nice colt." "At least she's vocal about it," Sweetie Belle said. "I can tell when Rarity is hiding her dislike. She insists she doesn't hate Rumble for what happened but I feel like she still despises him deep down." That comment caused Rumble's ears to droop. The other fillies glared at Sweetie Belle for that comment, causing her to rephrase it, "I mean she doesn't totally hate you. She does feel sorry for you. That's why she wasn't interested in dating Thunderlane after he basically ditched you." That made Rumble feel a bit worse, and made the other fillies even more unhappy. Apple Bloom looked ready to punch Sweetie Belle hard. Even Mayday wanted to cause some pain, believing that filly had a lot of nerve upsetting Rumble. "Ugh, I mean...Look it doesn't matter. I like you Rumble, you're a kind and sweet colt, just like Peter. Not to mention you have the cutest cheeks that I just wanna squish," Sweetie said. Rumble felt his face, "Wow really? Thanks." Apple Bloom glared, "Yer talking about his face...right?" Sweetie felt a nervous bit of sweat emerge, "Uh yeah...his face." There was a long awkward pause after hearing that, Mayday was about to ask what Sweetie Belle meant before Scootaloo pointed. "Hey look, Johnny and Rainbow Dash are flying up in the skies!" The foals looked up at the two Pegasi flying in perfect sync, mixing their trail of rainbow and fire. "That Johnny Storm guy looks pretty cool, he's a friend of Peter's right?" Babs asked. "Yeah, they're actually best friends, like our sisters and their friends," Sweetie said. "Johnny and Rainbow Dash are also coltfriend and marefriend, they've been together a few weeks now," Scootaloo said. "Think they'll get married like Peter and Twilight?" Sweetie asked. "Hey I'm sure they'd like that, maybe one day they can," Scootaloo said. Apple Bloom turned to Rumble, "Ever think of getting a marefriend?" Rumble's eyes widened at that, that was pretty straightforward of Apple Bloom to ask. As suspicious as her friends were, they were also that much curious as to what Rumble's answer would be. Mayday however glared at Apple Bloom, wondering what the farm filly was up to. Apple Bloom better not think about taking Rumble away. "Um, I haven't thought about that really, not sure if I'm ready," Rumble said. The fillies looked a bit disappointed, though Mayday was relieved. She doesn't want any other filly having Rumble's attention, that's something she wants for herself. "These things take time, don't worry about it Rumble," Scootaloo said. The fillies looked up and saw that Rainbow Dash and Johnny had left, though not before making some heart shapes of fire and rainbows in the skies. "That's really romantic," Sweetie said with a small blush. Rumble nodded, then thought of something. "Have you girls gone any crusades lately? I know these days you're mostly helping other ponies with their cutie marks." "None too much. Ah wanted to help Laura but she isn't too interested, doesn't help that she snapped at me, Applejack and Remy the other day, maybe Applejack should choose her words more carefully," Apple Bloom said. "Maybe we can help Mayday, imagine us being the foals who helped the daughter of the most powerful couple in the world get her cutie mark," Scootaloo said. Mayday looked to her flank, "I hope my Cutie Mark is something amazing." "I'm sure it will be, maybe it will be something similar to one of yer parents. Maybe you can be a princess like yer mom or a hero like yer dad," Apple Bloom said. "I think it's gonna be something educational like, Mayday's very smart for her age. She's even smarter than I am," Rumble said. Mayday blushed a little, "I'm not that smart, you're just being nice Rumble." "No way, you're smarter, makes sense since you're the daughter of the two smartest ponies in all of Equestria," Rumble said. "Yeah, maybe you'll be smarter than your parents, you'll be the smartest pony ever!" Sweetie said. "Wow kid, you got a lot to live up to," Babs said. Mayday looked concerned, "A lot? How much?" Before Babs could answer Rumble interjected, "Come on, don't compare her to her parents too much, you might worry her. Being the daughter of two important ponies shouldn't be more stressful than it is." "He's right, ah know what it's like to have to live up to mah family's name, the worry can get to yah," Apple Bloom said. "Mayday shouldn't have to live up to anything, she should just be herself," Rumble said. The ruffled her mane, "She's already special, she doesn't have anything else to worry about honestly." Mayday blushed a little as she stared affectionately at Rumble, "What would I do without you?" "You'll be fine, don't worry about your Cutie Mark, it's not like it's gonna be anything too unusual, I'm sure it will be unique, like you are," Rumble said. Mayday looked up at Rumble with big eyes, "I'm your favorite little filly right?" Rumble nodded, "Yeah, of course you are. My number one." He kissed the top of her head, earning a blush and a satisfied smile. Rumble is all hers, she won't let any other filly take him away. However the other fillies found that adorable, they like how sweet Rumble is, he'd definitely make a good coltfriend. Mayday nuzzled against Rumble's neck some more, "Still, I hope my cutie mark is good. I want my mark to be special but nothing too big." Rumble hugged her a little, then looked to the others. "How about some of Peter's other friends? Does that card guy have his cutie mark?" "You mean Remy?" Apple Bloom though, "I don't think he's tried to. Ah asked him about it, he said he'll worry about it later." "Bobby said something similar, he's actually more worried about being my sister's coltfriend than having a cutie mark. Doesn't help that the older me keeps making jokes about it," Sweetie said. That brought something to Babs' mind, "How exactly is there an 'older you'? I think I saw her in Manehattan when Peter and his friends was fighting that ninja weirdo." "She came from an alternate future ruled by Queen Chrysalis, she's just staying a bit because she misses all of us," Sweetie said. "Is it weird having her around?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie shook her head, "Not really, she's like a second older sister, besides she's not too much like me." "Yeah, she's more like you if you were a pervert with a big marshmallow plot," Scootaloo said. Sweetie glared, "She isn't a pervert, AND WE'RE NOT MARSHMALLOWS!" Sweetie took a breath to relax. "She just has a unique sense of humor. Keep in mind that she was taught by Felicia Hardy, who's very seductive like and-" Rumble cleared his throat loudly and gestured toward Mayday with an agitated expression. "Little filly, impressionable, short tempered mother, overprotective father?" The girls took note and apologized, leaving Mayday confused, but she wasn't gonna bother. "Anyway don't worry about the future me, she's great to have around." Sweetie assured. The foals nodded a bit, then Rumble spoke up. "Personally I never worried about Cutie Marks, I knew what I wanted to be, I want to be a great flyer," Rumble said. "Oh right, show off your tricks Rumble," Babs encouraged. Rumble nodded and took to the skies to show off some moves. It was amateurish at best but pretty well for his age. It was mostly flips, twists and turns. Of course the fillies were impressed, each for different reasons. Apple Bloom admired his skills and all, but how well he looked doing them. Scootaloo wished she could do those tricks, she respects Rumble more for pulling them off. Babs is liking what she sees, very athletic colt. Sweetie is admiring his technique, blushing each time he does a move. Mayday admired him the most, the closest thing she has to a big brother being able to do such moves. One day she could do that herself. While doing the moves Rumble looked down to Scootaloo, "Come join me!" Scootaloo looked unsure, "Not much of a flyer Rumble, you could say I'm a late bloomer." Rumble flew down and grabbed her hooves, "You can do it, let's go." He took the filly to the skies and they worked their magic. Rumble mostly kept Scootaloo in the air due to her limited flying by holding her hooves but she was able to pull it off. He didn't do any moves she couldn't handle but he still managed to carry the duo. "Wow, Scootaloo's really grown into her wings," Sweetie commented. "Yeah, ah guess," Apple Bloom said. Mayday looked unhappy though, "That should be me with Rumble." She tried flying but she wasn't getting much off the ground. "Aw come on," She looked to the nearby tree and had an idea. She went to it and started climbing up. There were enough branches for her to reach the top, or rather near the top. "Wow, climbing this tree was easier than I thought." She went to the edge of the branch and jumped off and flapped her wings. "Hey, I'm doing it! I'm flying!" Mayday said with excitement. Rumble noticed this, "Mayday what are you doing!?" Mayday started hovering towards him, "I'm flying, just like-AH!" Mayday's wings tired out and she plummeted to the ground. Rumble was able to fly in and catch her before she hit the ground. "Phew, that was close," He placed her down but had an angry look on his face. "What were you thinking Mayday!? You could have been hurt!" "Tree wasn't that high, it wouldn't have been so bad," Mayday said. "It could have, if you landed wrong you could have broken a leg or something. Imagine what Peter and Twilight would say! They'd be so mad!" Mayday looked pretty glum and looked up at Rumble with her sad eyes, "I just wanted to spend some time with you...I love you Rumble." "I love you too, but that doesn't mean I want you to get hurt. Now we're going back to mom and dad, you need a little time-out," Rumble said. Mayday groaned, "But Rumble-" "No buts, remember I'm doing this because I love you, come on," Rumble picked up Mayday and flew her back to Peter and Twilight, leaving the other fillies behind a moment. "Wow, what a take charge kid," Babs said. "He's a good role model, unlike Thunderlane," Apple Bloom said. "Not to mention a great flyer. Face it, he's got the looks, the skills and the personality. He's a mini-Peter in that regard, except he doesn't make weird jokes," Scootaloo said. "He's dreamy like Peter too," Sweetie said with a loving gaze. The other fillies nodded in agreement, though started eyeing each other a bit suspiciously. Back with Peter and Twilight, Rumble had just explained what happened. "Mayday Gwendolyn Parker Sparkle, what were you thinking!?" Twilight angrily asked. "You know you're not supposed to be flying like that, you're lucky you didn't get hurt!" Peter said sternly. Mayday sniffled and rubbed her eyes, "I just wanted to spend time with Rumble..." Twilight rubbed a tear out of Mayday's eye. "And that's fine dear, but some things you can't do. Now it's best if you stay here for now and-" "No! I don't want those girls having Rumble to themselves!" Mayday angrily said. Peter looked curious, "Huh? Why not?" Mayday looked to Rumble with a slight blush on her face, this would be embarrassing to say but she had to. "I'm afraid he'll like them better than me, and give them more attention." Rumble pitied Mayday and rubbed her head, "Come on, you know I would never do that to you. I love you, you'll always come first for me." Mayday sniffled a bit, "Really?" "Yeah, maybe I'll get a marefriend soon but I won't stop loving you, after all you were in my life first," Rumble said. Twilight could barely contain herself, this is too cute. Peter felt a sense of pride, his daughter had a great big brother figure. Mayday hugged Rumble, "I love you Rumble, never leave me." Rumble returned the hug, "I won't." He sat her down and kissed her muzzle, "Now do as mom and dad say, when I come back, I'll spend extra time with you, how does that sound?" Mayday nodded, "I like that, but watch out for those fillies, especially Sweetie Belle. She wants to touch cheeks that aren't on your face, whatever that means." Rumble, Peter and Twilight had huge blushes on their faces. That just got awkward. "Noted, behave now," Rumble said and left to find the Crusaders. Mayday waved and sat with her parents with a slight glare. "They better not take him from me." Peter pulled his daughter in for a hug, "They won't, when me and your mom got together, that didn't mean we didn't care for anypony else. Look at me and your Auntie Trixie, we're still best friends." "You mentioned my name?" they heard. Trixie was standing there with a sly smile on her face. "Trixie? What brings you here? I thought you were visiting Lightning Dust?" Twilight said. "I was, but she had to go in and get her wing treated. She's doing better at least, she even says hello to you Peter," Trixie said. "Tell her I said 'hi' and that later we can chat a bit, I want to see myself how she's doing," Peter said. "I will, anyway I came by because Logan said you were here and I wanted to check up on you," Trixie said. "Things are going fine. Mayday got hurt trying to fly but that was settled," Peter said. Trixie looked down to the small filly, "Trying to fly?" Twilight ruffled her mane, "She got a little jealous because Rumble was playing with the Crusaders, they seem to have a crush on him and Mayday got concerned he would ditch her for them." Trixie looked a bit surprised, then again she knows he's a handsome little colt so maybe it shouldn't be that surprising. "So, that colt you adopted is himself a mare magnet?" "Yeah, good for him, I just hope he makes a good choice," Peter said. Trixie sat next to Peter, "Make sure you give him advice on that, I'm sure he'l need it." Peter nodded, "Will do, but I think he'll be fine." Trixie grabbed Peter in a half hug, placing her hoof around his shoulder, "Yeah, he's in good hooves." Twilight gave Peter a more intimate hug, "The best." Twilight and Trixie kissed each of Peter's cheeks, earning a blush from the hero. "I love you girls, all three of you." Peter said. Trixie smiled then thought of something, "So, how much longer before he has to...you know..." Peter's smile faded, "I talked to Cloudchaser yesterday, she said about 2 or 3 months." Mayday looked confused, "What's going on?" Twilight rubbed her head, "Nothing sweetie, just some big pony talking." Trixie looked concerned for Mayday. If Rumble does have to leave, how will she handle it? Peter and Twilight themselves know that Mayday will take it pretty hard. "Mayday, sweetheart, just remember, should they day come that Rumble can't be around, that doesn't mean he's stopped loving you. But it means that sometimes things don't always go like we wanted," Trixie said. Mayday grew concerned. Is Rumble gonna have to leave? The way her family talks at times, it sounds like one day Rumble will have to move away. She hates that, to lose him as her big brother. She wants Rumble around, but if she can't have him as a big brother, she'll find another way to be with him. While their relationship is currently sibling like, who's to say that it will always be that way? If they're only siblings temporarily, then once that passes, she has one more way to be with him. 'If Rumble and I can't be brother and sister, I'll go with one better. We can be husband and wife, like mommy and daddy. Maybe one day, when I'm older.' Mayday blushed a bit and sighed. She wants to be with Rumble one way or another, and she'll do just that.