It didn’t take long for Thunderlane to notice the change that had come over Derpy. She had been cheerful and bouncy when they left the house, but by the time they arrived at Gingerbread’s tiny little bakeshop, she was walking slowly, her mismatched eyes both focused on different patches of ground.
Whatever was suddenly bothering her, though…he didn’t think she was ready to talk about it yet. There was a contemplative frown tugging the corners of her mouth downwards and he had seen that expression often enough to know that she was thinking about something – And thinking hard.
Instead of questioning her, he simply held open the door to the bakeshop, waiting for her to pass. She trotted into the room, surprisingly mindful of the step up required to pass the threshold, and waited for him to follow.
“Good morning!” A voice rang out from somewhere behind the display counter where Gingerbread’s muffins and quickbreads were on display for anypony looking for slightly more nutritious baked goods than what Sugarcube Corner had to offer. Whatever Gingerbread was doing, only her blue and pink tail was visible, rising above the counter and wiggling as she moved about. “Be with you in a sec!”
Thunderlane took the time to peruse the day’s offerings, watching out of the corner of his eye as Derpy trotted over to make what often turned out to be her most difficult decision of the day: Which muffin was she in the mood for?
But even in that task -which usually gave her no small amounts of glee; she loved muffins- she seemed subdued, her gaze wandering from flavor to flavor almost absently, as if she was seeing but not seeing the baked goods on display.
Thunderlane started towards her, but was interrupted by a sudden loud POP! followed by a silvery-blue glow of magic as a unicorn winked into existence between them. “Gingerbread!” The unicorn’s voice was snappy, her pale blue eyes lit with annoyance, her posture aggressive, “What the hay are you trying to pull! I told you I wanted a dozen of those frosted gingerbread cookies and you only gave me twelve! You of all ponies should know a dozen is thirteen and you better not be trying to rip me off!”
Gingerbread’s head popped up from behind the counter and she rolled her eyes, blowing her bangs out of her face and flipping her ponytail back over her shoulder. “And I’ve told you,” she retorted, “that only paying customers get a full baker’s dozen. When you start paying down your tab, maybe you’ll get extra goodies.”
The unicorn glared at her from beneath an unruly and unfortunately colored teal and maroon mane, and stamped one hoof impatiently against the wooden floorboards of the shop. “You know I’ll pay you,” she snorted, “Later. I always do. Now gimme my other cookie.”
Derpy’s head had risen as the two mares argued; she was curious to see how this would play out. Gingerbread, she knew, was an easygoing, cheerful pony, one who was known for being generous with her snacks. And this unicorn seemed to be a demanding, rude individual who would easily and without a thought take advantage of the baker’s kindness.
“Go home.” Gingerbread leveled the unicorn with an unwavering glare, “And stop being so greedy. I do have other customers, you know.” She gestured at the two pegasi, never once looking away from the bossy mare’s face. “Paying customers.”
The unicorn glanced over at them, suddenly realizing that she and Gingerbread weren’t alone in the little store. “…I’ll be back later!” She scowled, stamping her hoof again as she disappeared from the room in a puff of blue.
Gingerbread shook her head, then turned to the couple, now the only patrons of the small bakery. “How can I help you?” She asked pleasantly, as if there hadn’t just been a disgruntled unicorn up in her face.
Derpy’s mouth opened and closed and she blinked at the baker, trying to force some words out. If somepony had been so rude to her, she would have just folded under the pressure and given in. It was easier than taking chances and being hurt or laughed at, which is what usually happened when she stood up for herself.
“Do you get a lot of customers like that?” Thunderlane cocked his head, brow quirked. He and Derpy had only been to the bakery a hooful of times and there had never been any sign of other dissatisfied patrons.
At the question, Gingerbread laughed, her cobalt eyes twinkling. “Oh, no,” She replied, her tone laced with amusement, “Gusty’s just a special case. She thinks she gets favors because she’s special to me, but she’s lucky I put up with her like I do. I give her an inch and she takes a mile when I should be giving her exactly what she’s paying me, nothing. I know she said she’ll pay later; she always says that. And sometimes she does, sometimes she doesn’t . She knows that I’ll still give her stuff and we both know that we’ll still argue about it, but…” She shrugged, fussing with a display of miniature pumpkin breads, “I guess it’s okay, because I love her.”
A cheerful grin settled across the earth pony’s face as she slid the display case door shut and looked up at the two pegasi again. “Now then…What can I get for you?”
Thunderlane glanced at Derpy, who was once again staring quietly at the muffins, a far away, pensive look still etched across her features. “Derpy?” He nudged her gently, “Do you know what you want?”
She glanced at him out of the corner of one eye, the other still looking through the muffins. “…Banana nut.” She replied quietly.
The stallion looked at her for a moment, brows drawn together in concern, then turned back to the patiently waiting Gingerbread. “A banana nut muffin and a couple slices of cinnamon swirl bread, please.”
“Coming right up!” Gingerbread chirped, bustling about behind the counter to fetch the order. The bread was sliced carefully, both slices precisely the same size, then wrapped in wax paper. She set the bread on the counter and slid open the case, pulling out the banana nut muffin with the biggest top – Though they were only occasional visitors to the shop, she knew Derpy liked muffins with overflowing tops and Gingerbread always aimed to please. Their order ready, she began packing everything into a paper bag, adding individually wrapped pats of butter, plastic knives and some napkins.
Thunderlane paid her, took the bag in his mouth and ushered Derpy out the door, waving a wing in response to Gingerbread’s exuberant “come back anytime!”
They walked silently through town, Thunderlane keeping an eye out for a quiet, out of the way spot for them to eat their breakfast. Derpy trotted at his side, every now and then glancing at the sky, scanning the expanse of blue for something, gaze every now and then focusing on the far off form of a weather pony performing their task for the day. Once, she even looked back in the direction of the bakery, a thoughtful frown once again pulling at the corners of her mouth.
“What’s bothering you, Derpy?” He waited until they were seated under a linden tree in the park before asking the question that had been nagging him for a while. She had settled comfortably at his side, leaning against him a little as she unwrapped her muffin.
At the question, she looked up, eyes lit with uncertainty. “I…” Her brows knit, both of her eyes focusing on his face, “I’m just…really confused.” Her voice sounded small, as if it was coming from far away, and she was picking unconsciously at the muffin, breaking its stump into little pieces.
“…About what?” He continued buttering his bread, though he was watching her all the while. She certainly seemed bewildered and he hadn’t seen her like that in a long time, not since the beginning when she had just arrived and didn’t know a single pony in Ponyville.
She was quiet for a moment, her gaze lowering. “Everything…” She whispered, “When you were talking to that unicorn earlier…”
“Yeah?” He blinked; had something happened then? He hadn’t noticed anything unusual, but then…He’d been so caught up in his discussion with Mochaccino that he hadn’t really been aware of anything much aside from lightning and its practical applications as a power source. But come to think of it, it was after he and Mocha parted ways that Thunderlane had noticed Derpy suddenly seeming subdued and thoughtful.
“Blossomforth showed up and she was talking to me. She said she heard about my crash the other day –I think everypony heard about my crash- and that it was awful that Flitter and Cloudchaser laughed at me.” She paused, taking a bite of the muffin, still frowning as she chewed, “And then she was saying stuff about how it’s hard to be friends with them…And I don’t understand why she’d want to be friends with them, if they’re just gonna be rude and mean.”
Thunderlane opened his mouth, about to say something about how the twins weren’t all bad, but the look in Derpy’s eyes silenced him and he shut his mouth again with an almost audible click. Now was the time to listen, not attempt to defend his friends.
“And then Gingerbread…Her friend wasn’t much better! She was rude and mean and Gingerbread shouldn’t be giving her things, if that’s the way she’s gonna be.” By that time, she’d stopped eating and rose to her feet, pacing a few steps before turning to look back at Thunderlane, “I don’t…” Her shoulders slumped, her head lowering, “I thought…I always thought friends were supposed to be nice to each other. I don’t got a lot of them, but the ones I do have don’t treat me like that.”
She sighed, flopping back down in the grass and looking up at the sun. Off in the distance, there was a little blip of rainbow propelling a cloud through the sky. Slightly to the left of that were several other multicolor specs working at dispelling a monstrous cloudbank. “And then…I dunno. I started thinking that maybe not all friendship is like the best ones I got. Maybe not everypony is lucky as me.” She rested her chin on her folded front hooves, one eye still fixed on the distant weather ponies, “Maybe they don’t know how to be better friends ‘cause they never had better friends.”
Thunderlane smiled softly, abandoning his breakfast in favor of stretching out beside her, pillowing his own head on his foreleg. He stretched his wings, taking a moment to revel in the glorious feel of the morning sun warming them, then leaned in close to her. “I think you’re right.” He replied softly, burying his muzzle in her mane, “Because I wasn’t such an awesome friend before I met you.”
She smiled softly at that, turning to give him a gentle nuzzle, pressing their muzzles together. “Thanks…” She rested her head against his neck, tucked under his chin, “But Thunderlane…I didn’t learn how to be a good friend on my own.” The way she was snuggled against him, she could feel his heartbeat, strong and steady, and the warmth of his breath tickled her ear and she flicked it, the movement completely involuntary. There, in his familiar embrace, she felt safe; warm and loved. When she was with Thunderlane…she felt as if she could walk on clouds even without the aid of her pegasus magic.
They lapsed into silence for a moment and she closed her eyes, tipping her face to the warmth of the sun. He looked down at her, watching as she relaxed against him, as the sunshine glinted off the natural shine of her hair and caused it to glow golden, as opposed to its normal pale yellow. He pressed a kiss against her hair and her smile widened, a small, contented noise escaping her.
And there in the sunshine, in the warmth radiating from her special somepony, Derpy felt the last of the weight lift from her heart. It had been so long…Or had she ever truly felt so light and free? She couldn’t recall a time in the past that her heart had been so open and warm as it was right then.
Except for…
“I had a friend,” she said softly, blinking her eyes open and looking up at him, her gaze locked with his, “in Cloudsdale. She was somepony really special and even though I don’t like to talk about back then, I…” She faltered for a moment, turning her head away and closing her eyes again, trying to will away the painful memories that always came with thoughts of Cloudsdale.
Thunderlane gave her a reassuring nuzzle, his heart going out to her. It didn’t matter that he had no clue what things had really been like for her back then; he knew enough to understand that it had been awful for her and that was why he didn’t question her about it. “You don’t have to do this.” He said quietly, though he was dying to know what was going on in her mind.
“No, I…” She leaned into his touch again, finding comfort in his closeness and steeling herself against the awful feeling of the bad memories that was bound to surface at any moment. “It’s okay. ‘Cause I’m going to talk about her at Rumble’s school and I want you to know about her first.”
“Are you sure?” He didn’t mean to sound doubtful, or to question her intentions. But in all the time he’d known her, she’d mentioned Cloudsdale only a scant few times and anytime any other pony brought the pegasus city into a conversation, she got incredibly quiet or excused herself from the conversation all together.
She nodded, taking a deep breath, and he tucked one of his wings around her, as if intending to shield her from her own memories.
“I’m sure. I usually hate talking about this stuff, ‘cause it hurts. But you know?” Their eyes met again and she kissed him softly, then rested her head against him once more. “I’m ready now. It’s time.”