//------------------------------// // Derpy- Drizzle Quill // Story: The FlutterDash Group Collab // by Dalek Saxon //------------------------------// Written by Drizzle Quill *** “So, Derpy! What have you learned today?” The grey pegasus mare wobbled slightly on one leg as she moved her head back and forth, watching her coach flit in front of her, back and forth, back and forth, calling her the nickname she had learned to bear over time. “To be a good weather pony, you have to be smart and trust your intuition.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, alighting gently on the ground. “Gut, Derpy. I said ‘gut,’ not intu-whatever-the-heck.” “Oh.” Derpy nodded in understanding, her wall-eyes, as always, facing two different directions; one golden eye was pointed toward the sky, while the other looked shakily at the sky blue pegasus mare. “Trust your…gut…and…” She stopped, muzzle scrunched up, clearly thinking. “And…have muffins?” Rainbow bit her lip to stop herself from screeching in frustration. “No. It’s supposed to be LOYALTY TO YOUR TEAM AND TO PONYVILLE. ARGH.” Derpy blinked in surprise at the sudden outburst and looked down at her rumbling stomach. “Sorry, Rainbow Dash,” she mumbled quietly. “No! This is not acceptable! You’ve gotten off task, failed your duties, and left team for…how many weeks now? And with Winter Wrap Up on the way…” Dash had let her voice rise into a loud scream. “What are we going to do with yo—” “Rainbow Dash?” came a quiet voice from behind the nearest tree. Rainbow froze, wings erect, causing Derpy to blink in confusion, before slowly turning around to see Fluttershy nosing her way out into the open, looking concerned. “Uh…hey, ‘Shy! How are you?” The buttercup-yellow pegasus mare looked down at the ground. “Well, I was hoping that…” She mumbled something incoherent under her breath, looked up at the curious golden wall-eyes of Derpy, and squeaked, backing up into a tree. “Never mind, it looks like you’re busy now.” “Nah, I’m good. What’s up?” Fluttershy blushed crimson. “Well, I was wondering if we could…” In a barely audible voice she squeaked, “…hang out some time?” Rainbow blinked, wondering why this was such a hard question to ask. Then she remembered: it was Fluttershy. Every question was hard for her. “Sure! If you’d like, we can hang right now. I’m teaching Derpy how to be a better weather pony. Wanna chill?” Fluttershy looked a little skeptical, but she nodded and trotted her way to the blue mare’s side, looking down at her hooves and scuffling them in the dirt. “Alright, Derpy,” Rainbow yelled, snapping the grey pegasus, who had been entranced by a brilliant, multi-colored butterfly perched atop her nose, out of her trance. “Are you ready?” Derpy nodded, quickly pushing some of her long blonde mane out of her eyes. “Yes, Rainbow Dash!” “Let’s pretend Fluttershy here isn’t working hard.” Rainbow shoved her companion with one elbow, causing Fluttershy to shriek and leap five feet in the air, landing atop the Element of Loyalty’s back, where she huddled, shivering, arms wrapped around her friend’s neck. One of Rainbow’s eyelids flickered. “Fluttershy.” The buttercup colored pegasus squeezed tighter, feeling soft blue fur against her own, as well as a surprisingly silky-smooth spectrum of a mane. Fluttershy had always assumed that Dash had never bothered to comb through it. Now she knew the truth, and, though she would never admit it aloud, she liked it. Squeaking in fear, she snuggled closer. Now Rainbow was starting to feel a little bit uncomfortable. She rustled her wings, prompting Fluttershy off – and she fell, with a thud, to the ground. Derpy took all of this in silently, not saying a word. “Now, like I was saying, Fluttershy will be a lazy weather pony. What will you tell her to do?” The practice lasted for a few hours more, with Derpy trying her hardest to get all the answers right. Every time she made a mistake, she expected Rainbow to yell at her, but no, with Fluttershy right there, looking cowardly and quiet, not one noise louder than a regular tone escaped Rainbow Dash’s mouth. And Derpy knew what was going on. But she had to make sure she was right. As the practice ended, Fluttershy departed from the other two pegasi with a quick nuzzle to Rainbow’s cheek, and, blushing furiously, zipped off in the other direction. Rainbow, clearly dense and confused by this action, shrugged and turned to Derpy, who stuttered, “R-Rainbow Dash? Can I ask you something?” “Huh?” Dash was watching the last of the pink tail turn the corner; blinking, she turned back to her client. “Yeah, whatever you want, Derpy.” The grey pegasus smiled. “Are you and Fluttershy dating?” Rainbow whipped around, staring at her with eyes like fire as a crimson blush crept its way up her cheeks. “What?” she sputtered, clearly caught off-guard. Derpy felt her smile melt like ice cream on a hot day. Nope, that wasn’t the right thing to ask at all.