18. Building Friendship
Chapter 18 - Building Friendship
The morning sunshine crept across the floor of the bedroom, spreading warmth through Twilight’s lavender coat as it passed over. The unicorn woke slowly to the light filtering in through the window, and a smile played across her face as she vividly relived her studies from the previous night.
Her mood could have been described as obsessively intense, as Rarity could have attested to. She had been slightly distracted and annoyed by the ivory unicorn's occasional antics while they searched for answers, and she had regrettably lost her patience once or twice during the night.
Her last distraction came as Rarity began raising and lowering her head from the table while eyeing the scroll containing the spell. It had been a curious sight, and if it weren’t for the intense look the unicorn had adopted, Twilight would have ignored her and gone back to her own texts. Something about her movements didn’t seem like her general distractions, though, and she became captivated when Rarity’s eyes widened, darting over the scroll in concentration.
The moment when Rarity conjured her light and lowered her head back to the table was when Twilight realized what exactly her friend was doing, and her breath hitched in her lungs as she watched. Rarity began to tremble as she read, her own breath coming short and ragged, and Twilight couldn’t tear her eyes off Rarity’s quivering figure, intrigued yet worried at what she may have found. Obviously she had found something extraordinary, and Twilight could only hope the error was slight – her mind recalled the warning about any damage being proportional to the severity of the mistake.
Dawning comprehension flashed across Rarity’s face. Her trembling slowed, and her breathing returned to a regular rate. She noticed Twilight’s questioning gaze out of the corner of her eye, instantly understanding the unspoken inquiry of her friend. She turned slowly toward Twilight, who waited apprehensively for the outcome that might be the conclusion of their studying. Rarity had given a small nod, with an overly simple statement.
“I found it.”
The joy spreading through Twilight’s face as Rarity explained the solution to her misstep was unmistakable. She had almost tackled Rarity in an enthusiastic and thankful hug, choking out uncounted thanks, emotion wracking her frame. She would be able to help Derpy after all, and it was entirely thanks to the ivory unicorn in her arms.
She gave Rarity a small kiss on the cheek as a final gesture before breaking them apart, her face alight with happiness and giving a small squeal of elation that sounded like a schoolfilly discovering she had just earned her cutie mark. Rarity could only stand mute, unsure of how to respond to such a heartfelt reaction, but words were unnecessary at that moment.
She had given hope to her friend, and the feeling of being able to provide her with something so meaningful filled her heart enough that it felt as though it may burst. She smiled back, the sentimentality of the moment snaking a tear down her cheek, though it had gone unnoticed by Twilight, who had proceeded to hopping happily in circles, almost Pinkie-esque.
Twilight finally slowed from the adrenaline rush, and gave her friend a beaming smile.
“Rarity, thank you so much! I don’t think I could ever have done it without you! I don’t know why I hadn’t thought to look for remaining parchment impressions before, but I’m certain I wouldn’t have found it on my own. How can I ever thank you enough?”
Rarity waved a dainty hoof dismissively at the idea of needing any sort of thanks, smiling and shaking her head back at Twilight.
“No additional thanks are needed, Darling. Watching you finally come back to your normal happy self is thanks enough. I’m simply glad I was able to help you with your problem.”
Twilight shook her head at the thought of leaving Rarity unrewarded. Being generous was noble, but sometimes effort given freely as a volunteer deserved more than modest thanks regardless. She thought quickly about what Rarity enjoyed most, and the answer virtually jumped at her – the unicorn had even mentioned it earlier in the evening.
“I can’t do nothing, Rarity, you know that. How about we schedule a visit to the spa this week, the complete works, my treat – would that be acceptable?”
Rarity’s face had brightened at the prospect, though she did have one small problem with the idea.
“That would be absolutely divine, Darling, but I do already have an appointment set up with Fluttershy the day after next. Going to the spa is wonderful, but receiving such a wonderful treatment such as you’re offering would likely be spoiled by going twice within a week, and I simply couldn’t break my engagement with Fluttershy.”
Her demeanor fell slightly at the prospect of declining such an invitation, but her explanation was truthful. She didn’t want to disappoint Fluttershy, and she wouldn’t dare degrade the bliss of a full treatment at the hooves of Lotus and Aloe. Twilight thought for a moment, unsure if she wanted to make the offer she was considering.
Ultimately, she decided to proceed regardless. Rarity could always still decline if the idea was uncomfortable. She bit her lip tentatively, then asked, “Would it be alright if I joined you and Fluttershy and treated you both, then?” She was hesitant to invite herself along and intrude on their special time together, but she really wanted to do something special for Rarity.
Apparently Twilight did not need to worry; Rarity’s face brightened at the thought, and she even added a twist Twilight did not expect.
“That would be absolutely marvelous, Twilight! We would undoubtedly have an excellent time together.” Her eye glinted as she gave her own suggestion, born slightly of curiosity, but mostly created by a feeling of friendship and welcoming. “Would you like to invite Derpy along, too? I’m sure she would love the treatment as well, and it would give us all the opportunity to talk and get to know each other better.”
The idea caused Twilight’s jaw to drop slightly. She had not expected Rarity to accept her self-invitation, let alone extend it to her new marefriend as well. She flushed slightly at the substantial counter-offer, and found herself nodding vigorously.
“I would love to,” her thoughts came a bit less frantically now, wondering how the pegasus would react. “I’ll need to ask Derpy, though. I’m not sure how she would like the idea of spa. I’m not sure she’s ever been there, and it might be intimidating for her to get to know you both better in an unfamiliar setting. Let’s plan on it, though, and if she’s not comfortable with it, I’ll let you know as soon as I can.”
Rarity nodded assent, smiling back at Twilight’s thoughtfulness for Derpy as well as her friends. “It is a date, then.” She giggled at the thought that it really would be a date for Twilight if Derpy decided to join. “I am sure she would have a splendid time with us.”
She gave Twilight a slight wink. “Not to mention, if your spell works better this time, think of how stunning you would both look for each other after the girls give you the works. I shall plan on it, and let Fluttershy know about our extra company.” She grinned at Twilight.
“We’ll see you in a couple days then, and I do hope Derpy would like to join us. Good night, Twilight, and do get some rest. You’ve earned it.”
With that, Rarity gave Twilight a joyful, beaming smile of her own before letting herself out of the library and heading home. The smile spread from Rarity to Twilight, and that look lingered for hours, well after Rarity had taken her leave and returned to Carousel Boutique.
Twilight returned to the present, the last moments of the previous night flitting through her mind, and the smile returned to her. She made her way downstairs, humming happily, and looking forward to seeing Derpy that afternoon. She only hoped that Derpy had as successful of a time with Rainbow Dash that she had with Rarity.
She knew Rainbow, and underneath her sometimes harsh exterior was a caring, understanding pony. It only took some time for that pony to welcome a new friend. She expected them to eventually get along, and for some reason at that moment her heart lightened even more than she thought possible.
At the same time, across Ponyville, Derpy felt the same light feeling flood through her as she sat at breakfast, smiling and talking with her newest friend. She seemed to be making more friends within the last week than she had her entire life, and she had never been happier.
****************
Rainbow Dash sat opposite Derpy at the table in Derpy’s dining room, her mouth full of a huge bite of eggs, and her eyes bulging almost as much as her cheeks were. She seemed to have been frozen in time, not moving in the slightest, not even chewing. The muscles in her jaw were the only part of her body that seemed to have some semblance of movement, and all they were allowing her to do was slowly drop her mouth open.
Then, time snapped back into its usual flow, and Rainbow Dash reacted to the shift almost immediately. She forcefully closed her mouth to prevent eggs from dropping from her slack jaw, swallowing them immediately to free her mouth. She angrily slammed a hoof down on the table, and rage flowed through her veins like ice.
“Bastard!”
The sharp insult ripped through the room along with the crack of her hoof on the table. Rainbow continued seething, while Derpy mildly sat unperturbed, sipping coffee and letting Rainbow work through her outburst.
Dash flared her wings angrily and spluttered more obscenities throughout the room, her fuming rage subsiding slowly, but still Derpy sat calmly opposite her, eating her breakfast, only casting an occasional raised eyebrow or smirk at Rainbow’s agitation.
Finally, Rainbow Dash calmed sufficiently to sit back at the table, though her head was still shaking at the injustice Derpy had just told her – about how Crafty Crate had demoted her and then intentionally trailed her, looking for a way to fire her. The idea that a pony could be that downright sadistic that they would stop at nothing simply to make the other pony’s life miserable infuriated her.
The reason they were discussing this horrid abuse was that Rainbow, knowing nothing about Derpy, had earlier asked to know more about her past, and Derpy had obliged. Rainbow now almost regretted asking; the mare’s life had been quite painful to hear, but it did help her see Derpy for who she was, not who others thought she was, and for that she was grateful.
Derpy thought the best way to start from the beginning was to merely explain how school in Cloudsdale had felt for her, to let Dash know how she had felt being cast aside as she had been.
She didn’t dwell on it, though; she didn’t want to continually remind Rainbow Dash of her involvement in Derpy's foalhood misery. Rainbow sat with a gloomy expression throughout the description of Derpy's foalhood, and Derpy sped through it as quickly as possible. That part didn’t need to be pressed on much, as Rainbow had been present through most of it.
The rest of the story continued, with Derpy elaborating on the events leading up to her meeting with Twilight: her demotion, the literal collision with Twilight, the firing from Cloudsdale that had sparked such a response from Rainbow Dash, and meeting the staff at the Ponyville Post Office. She decided to end her tale there; Rainbow surely wasn’t interested in hearing about the night of heated passion she shared with Twilight. And, well, if Rainbow was interested to hear, Derpy wasn’t interested in telling.
“So, whaddya do for fun then?” Dash’s next question caught Derpy off-guard.
“Fun? I… uh, don’t really do much for fun…” Derpy fidgeted with her hoof on the floor.
“Aww, come on, ya gotta do something to relax!” Rainbow chided. “Take leisurely flights around town? Go to shows, hang out with friends, play sports, cook, read? Oh, if you like reading, you totally have to check out the Daring Do series. Twi’s got ‘em all!”
Derpy continued to fidget in uncomfortable silence, while Rainbow just stared at her.
“Okay, you can’t honestly tell me you don’t do anything for fun, can you?”
Derpy morosely shook her head. “I pretty much just worked and went home, cleaned up, ate, and went to sleep. Maybe the closest I had to fun was sitting in a comfy cloud and enjoying the peace and quiet, letting all my worries go for a little while. I never was very… good… at having fun.”
“Well, why the hay not? Ya gotta do something to unwind every once in a while! What about all that stuff I came up with? You don’t like any of ‘em?” Rainbow Dash looked at her, somewhat incredulously.
Derpy shook her head again. “I just never was good at any of those, my eyes kinda messed them all up in some way or another. I don’t fly well at all due to my depth perception being all off. I can’t see shows very well, I don’t… well, didn’t have any friends to hang out with, sports take even more coordination than flying, my cooking is miserable since I can’t see straight, and I don’t read unless I absolutely have to – it’s too strenuous on my eyes.”
Her eyes brightened slightly at that, though. “I am trying to have Spike teach me how to cook better, though. And I’d love to read, I kinda like peace and quiet, so a good book would make it even better. That’s for after Twilight fixes me up to the point where I can actually read comfortably, though.” She smiled at the thought.
Rainbow Dash smirked a bit at that. “Hah, you and Twi are two of a kind then! She never takes her nose out of her books, and peace and quiet has her written all over it, too. Looks like we might have a second egghead in our group!” Rainbow let out a little giggle, and after a moment Derpy joined in, too.
“I wouldn’t mind being Twi’s little egghead…” Derpy said somewhat bashfully, evoking a peal of laughter from Rainbow Dash. Derpy grinned sheepishly, but still thought that it sounded kind of nice to spend some peace and quiet with Twilight, wrapped up in both a good book and a better mare.
“Well, at the very least, let me offer you something for when your eyesight gets a bit better.” Dash gave Derpy a warm smile. “Since you’re not the best flier, I could give you some pointers on flying better. We’d better save it until you can see a lot better, though, we wouldn’t want you learning wrong and end up making it worse.”
Derpy gave a sincere smile at that. “I’d love that, Rainbow Dash! I’ve always wanted to get better at flying – you’d really give me lessons?”
“Pfft, sure, why not?” The cyan mare scoffed. “Besides, it’d be nice to have somepony around to fly around with, Flutters isn’t really into flying.”
“That sounds like a great idea to me, then.” Derpy grinned. “Thanks, Rainbow Dash.”
“No prob,” Rainbow assured her. “I can’t wait.”
The pair fell into silence once more after that, not sure what else to talk about for the morning. It seemed Derpy had covered most of the basics of introducing herself to Rainbow Dash, so the stillness permeated the room for several minutes, leaving an awkward feeling in the air as the two finished eating their breakfast.
The brief period of awkwardness passed, however, as a thought occurred to Rainbow Dash.
“Hey, how did you get your cutie mark, Derpy?” Rainbow had no idea what the mark was really supposed to signify, and when the thought occurred to her, she thought it would be a really interesting thing to find out. All she had known about Derpy’s cutie mark had come from general mockery.
Derpy resumed her stories about her life, focusing on when she received her cutie mark as a filly and the added jeers that had earned her. Rainbow recoiled slightly, but Derpy had anticipated the reaction and had a plan to put it to ease.
“I never knew what my cutie mark stood for, really, other than what ponies called me because of it.” Rainbow slumped a little lower in her chair. “That was before I talked to Twilight about it, though. She thought about what meaning it might have, and I have to say I was pretty amazed at the insight she took into it. Whether she was right on or not, I don’t know, but it definitely made me feel better about it.”
Rainbow gave her a querying look. She had never known any other explanation for the bubbles adorning the mare’s flank, and now she was curious about what Twilight thought they could mean. If anypony would be able to crack an indecipherable puzzle, it would undoubtedly be Twilight.
Derpy saw the confusion and continued. “Long story short, at least from how I understood it, she thinks it’s a symbol of uniqueness, represented by bubbles because they have a simplistic beauty, especially when caught in the light just right, when you can see shimmering colors and all they could mean. But they’re also vulnerable, which fit me as a filly – being picked on like I was. It all came together with my eyes being weird. Looking through a bubble makes stuff look all wobbly and weird like I see things.”
Derpy wiped a tear from her eye, recalling how she felt that night.
“She told me I was special because even though my eyes were messed up, I still had beauty, worth, and potential, and that when others truly accept me regardless of how I look, my inner beauty can be seen the best.”
Rainbow wasn’t sure that she quite got it, but she was sure that Twilight had said it much more technically and accurately. A simplified version made much better sense to her, even if it was obscure. It also gave her a warming feeling to know that there might be something more to the mark than lending weight to the idea Derpy was an airhead. She glanced back at the seven bubbles adorning Derpy's flank before turning back to face her.
Then, once again, Rainbow Dash froze. She hadn’t noticed it except by mere chance, and it was very possible her eyes were playing tricks on her. She chanced another look, earning a raised eyebrow and a strange look from Derpy. Her eyes were not playing tricks.
“Derpy… This is gonna sound really, really weird,” she began. “What color is your cutie mark?”
“You mean, what color are the bubbles? They’re kind of a dull bluish-gray. Not very flattering, I know.”
Rainbow Dash gasped slightly and then bit her lip, puzzlement working its way across her face.
“Um, were they all the same, Derpy? Any, you know, differences between them?”
“Just the sizes are a little different, but the colors are all the same.” She looked at Rainbow Dash, feeling a bit awkward at the sudden interest in her flank. She hesitantly asked the question that she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to. “Why in Equestria do you ask?”
Dash stared, transfixed, before shaking her head out of the momentary stupor. She simply pointed at Derpy’s flank. “Two of your bubbles look… different. Kinda… shimmery, and there are some streaks of different colors on them.”
Derpy gawked at Rainbow Dash for a moment, trying to decide if the pegasus was serious or playing a really, really good practical joke. She decided that Rainbow’s stare was much creepier than joking, and turned slowly to look at her flank, stretching a wing up and out of the way to see them more clearly – generally her wingtip had a tendency to obscure the mark when folded to her side.
Though they were still blurry to her, it was undeniable. Two bubbles had changed from their bluish-gray hue to a shinier version, adorned by varying rainbow tones distorted across the surface, though each bubble seemed to favor a portion of the spectrum. If anypony wasn’t looking straight at it and looking for differences it would not have been obvious. There was no way to tell how long they had even been like that.
She turned back to Rainbow Dash, wide-eyed. The two locked a perplexed gaze that wordlessly communicated what they were both thinking. Whatever it was, neither of them had any clue. They finished their meal in silence, cleaned up, and went out the front door. They exchanged a few short “see ya laters” and flew off, Rainbow Dash heading home, and Derpy heading to the library.
The two odd bubbles gripped at their minds, though they tried not to think about it. Derpy decided to ask Twilight about it, but only after things had calmed down. For now, she was content to ignore the oddity. Twilight was back at the library, and Derpy’s countenance lifted considerably at the thought of her marefriend.
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Commence read.
Seven bubbles? Hm. The Mane 6 + Spike?
Nice it continues! Can't wait to see where this goes!
Ooookay. I really hope nothing bad is going to happen to Derpy!
And this was another great chapter! I really enjoyed reading the part with Rainbow Dash and Derpy
Keep it up!
So... as Derpy connects with ponies, her cutie mark will change?
Hmmm....Arkensaw Pinkerton did something a lot like this in his story "Three Magics."
My guess is that as her social life expands, her cutie mark will take on its rightful form.
still the best derpy and twilight story my man! keep up the good work!
so as Derpy gains friends, her mark changes? Cool, when she has all 7, does she turn into an Alicorn who was trapped in the body of a Pegasus until she made 7 true friends? nah, that would be a bad. Either way, awesome chapter
HOORAY! More happies!!!
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw2918-ME_GUSTA.jpg
1856830 More likely the Mane 6 + one representing herself.
1857599 Yep, and I'd even bet that one is cyan(ish) and the other is violet, representing the connection b/n Twilight, RD and herself.
Well, Derpy really is unique. Who else in Equestria has a variable c-mark?
Sounds good I wonder what the next chapter shall hold?
"Twilight! LOOK AT MY PLOT!!!!"
(coughcough) Sorry..... the first thing that popped into my head.
Have a
!
1861264 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/scan
scan
[skan] Show IPA verb, scanned, scan·ning, noun.
verb (used with object)
1.
to glance at or over or read hastily: to scan a page.
1861335 Hmm... and the Oxford English dictionary agrees with you, sort of... Sorry, I learned the difference back when I was, like, ten, and it was from Encyclopedia Brown, (a REALLY old Encyclopedia Brown, mind you), so I'm a bit embarrassed. Apparently, scanning is, now, ONLY looking for key words, and skimming is what you do in a magazine or newspaper, where you're not sure WHAT you're looking for, only that you're looking for something. Either E.B. didn't explain it well, or the meaning of the words has changed slightly. ANYWAYS... Yeah, thanks for clearing that up for me. Learn something new every day.
1863311 I'm glad I've been able to keep you intrigued so far - I must admit I was quite frightened at the prospect of having my work critiqued, especially each chapter individually. Sooner or later I'm sure you'll come across something you don't like, but you can't please everypony. So far, though, I'm very glad you're enjoying it!
It hurts to hear that, truthfully, but by the same token, it provides me with insight from the readers that helps me improve more. (I can pinpoint a specific comment earlier in the story that seemed a bit harsh, and honestly I was a bit hurt that my work wasn't doing what I intended. Then, I took a step back, and said "You know what? They're kinda right, in a way." My original concept probably would have ended at chapter 9 or 10 had this person not made that comment - it drove me to re-evaluate my story, and find what was missing.)
I will say I owe 2 types of people on these boards an immense deal - those who become emotionally invested and enjoy it, and tell me why - it provides inspiration and a drive to do more and better. The second type is much less expected - those who critique. I have had several people tell me in comments that this or that wasn't good, or could have been done better.
Not to say that hearing 'this is a hunk of garbage' is terribly welcome, but hey, sometimes both the positive and the negative push you to strive more.
(Of course, I'd prefer glowing comments, no negatives, and five million likes. We live in the real world, though, so I take what I get.)
That last chapter has truly pressed some emotional buttons. Rainbow Dash has made some huge strides and they are taken very well. I immensly enjoy the fact that in the last chapter Derpy feels so much anger towards Rainbow Dash, but decides to push it aside to avoid becoming mean just like Rainbow Dash had been to her. It is wonderful to see Twilight going through so many emotions as well. The characterization is done very well in this story. I'm glad Rarity had found that detail and ultimately ended the craziness that would have insued if she hadn't. The cutie mark portion in this story is very curious and I'm really looking forward to seeing where that goes. Honestly I can see a lot of stuff throughout this story that gets my emotions in a tangle and gets my imagination playing movie reels in my head. So many ideas have come into my mind and from this story you have given me many, many, many ideas that can be incorporated into my own story. Very helpful you are. Better write the rest of these ideas down before I forget them.
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to reading more of this story once it comes out. Thanks for the great entertainment, inspiration, and uninentional help.
Signed,
Kylar L. Soza
Peppy brought me here. I'll have to read this in a bit. : )
Hm. Ok, I read through the entire story over the last couple hours, here's my thoughts.
1. The story structure is fairly blunt and to the point. You have a tendency for having somepony say something, then something happen then everypony moves on. While this isn't inherently a bad thing (it's something I've seen published novelists struggle with) it is something that rather drowns out any extra drama. Normally, it would go, somepony says something, somepony reacts to that, something happens which complicates the whole situation, somepony comes up with a solution or talks the instigator down, everypony moves on, with any extra twists or turns that you can come up with that make the story enjoyable. It allows for far better drama and a much longer and better flowing narrative. The dialogue itself is rather blunt and to the point as well, leaving things feeling rather unrefined and rough around the edges.
2. You have ponies resolve their inner issues far too quickly. Derpy was much to accepting of her new condition, even if they did figure out it was temporary, before that she was calm far faster than would be normal. Dash also got over a lifetime of prejudice (baseless, sure, but prejudice nonetheless) in the course of one night. It really should take longer than all this. Personally, it probably would have been better if you made the last week of the story take place over a month, having Rainbow learn to at least get along with Derpy for Twilights sake and have that progress into a resolution. It would also allow for Derpy to come to terms with everything that could go wrong so that she was mentally prepared for it, as one night is nowhere near enough time to be able to completely accept being blind. It also would have been far easier to accept the growing relationship between Derpy and Twilight, which brings me to point 3.
3. The relationship developed so quickly it was left feeling unnatural. It developed into 'I love you's and sex in the course of a few days. While I know that some relationships do start like that, very few of them ever last very long or have much to base a foundation on, and it left the whole thing with a general feeling of being rushed and forced.
All those points really tie in together, now that I think about it. But I shouldn't be so negative, I'll say what I liked about this too.
1. Despite the rushed feeling and simplistic style, I like the overall story. It's a genuinely nice feel-good piece about a pairing that's not very common in the fandom, and I enjoyed reading it.
2. Although I said that the relationship developed into sex far to quickly and that you have an overly blunt way of telling your story, your sex scene was fairly different from the rest of the story. It felt real, had good pacing and was well described. Honestly, if you'd written this purely as a clopfic, I get the feeling that this story would feel a lot better written than it does, as you obviously have some talent when writing about sex.
3. Your characterisations of the various characters are pretty spot on with how I see them and how I wish other authors wrote them. Applejack is accepting and quick to anger, but also quick to feel sheepish. Rarity is snobby, self-obsessed and overall a bit of a bitch, but will pull through after she's had a few hours to whine about everything. Pinkie and Fluttershy have been overall left out of the story so far, but seem fairly consistent. Twilight has a tendency to bug out more than I'd like, but she most definitely is identifiable as Twilight. Rainbow is quick to anger, slow to admit wrongdoing and constantly at the point of overreacting. Overall, pretty solid.
So yes, while I have some very valid (from my perspective, I don't know about yours) criticisms, this story is most definitely worth a read and a thumbs up.
A cutie mark that can change.
Interesting. Intriguing.
1887160 Indeed she had. I KNEW I'd contradict some detail I wrote sooner or later.
Well, maybe Spike had a key or something. 
Sure... I'll pretend I meant to write that in. 
Hmm, intriguing. What's going on with that flank?
Combatant from the blue team, leave the arena now and rest. You've EARNED it!
I wouldn't mind being Twilights little egghead
Awwwww
Rainbow Dash staring at Derpy's flank...
... wasn't expecting that. 
Fourteen Chapters down, eleven to go. "Building Friendship" makes it quite clear to me that its going to be more of Dash and Derpy getting along, which is just dandy =)
And of course as soon as I minimize my notepad to read, I see Twilight. Ripping the rug of my balance out from 'neath my feet already eh? Well good morning to you too =p
I'm so quoting this with zero context =p
I love Rarity's reaction to being thanked: Naturally, the Element of Generosity won't even consider taking anything in return for simply being a friend, despite how short Twilight was, and yet when offered a spa day she can't help but accept xD How Rarity, how well written.
Called it! I said the same thing..what...one or two chapters ago.
Hmm...a fun twist with Derpy's cutie mark changing. A result of the magic or a result of her eyesight becoming better or a result of....OH SNAP! Seven bubbles, seven ponies (Mane Six plus herself), when "other ponies accept her her true beauty can shine through", Twilight and Dash accept her so TWO bubbles are now shiny...
Either I"m reading too deep into this, or you're a cunning fox. BRAVO!
I just love how this story shows how much the Mane 6 care for each other - RD finally befriending Derpy because of Twilight and (mostly) her bonds with Fluttershy, Rarity putting up with Twilight (despite her mandatory whining) without expecting any reward but simply to make her happy, both RD and AJ concerned by Twilight's safety, everypony but RD (and with some difficulty for AJ) immediately accepting (and celebrating) the couple...They really are true, true friends.
That story is amazing so far, Derpy is wonderful...And I can't wait to see where the changing Cutie Mark thingy is leading us.
Hi-oh, Red Hare! TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!
Double rainbow! What does it mean?
1857297
And then they find out that she is the 7th element of bubbliness/positivity. Then through wacky hijinks they discover Elements eight, nine, and ten!
And then it hit me.
Seven.
That sounds like somepony plus the Elements, perhaps...