...It Pours
On Wednesday morning, Derpy woke to darkness.
Not having any clue what time it was, she attempted to drag herself from Thunderlane’s bed and over to the window to see if it was morning yet. He liked to sleep, and if he knew he didn’t need to get up early the next morning, he was apt to hang a spare sheet over his curtains, creating a darkening effect and keeping out the pesky sun.
She was buried in a tangle of blankets, completely covered from her head to the tip of her tail. One of Thunderlane’s hind legs was tossed over her hip, his forelegs wound around her, muzzle pressed into her sleep-mussed mane. She took a moment to just enjoy the feel of him pressed up against her as she waited for the fog of sleep to lift. Then she wriggled her way carefully out of his embrace -- If he weren’t such a sound sleeper, she would have essentially been trapped until he woke.
She fought her way out from under the heavy comforter, batting it aside with her front hoofs, until her head came free, her mane poofed up on a static charge, thin strands clinging to the fuzzy underside of the blanket. She pushed it away, almost falling off the bed in the process, due to her hindquarters still being tangled in the sheets.
Once free of the warm confines of the bed, she stretched, long and lean, her backside rising in a pose reminiscent of a freshly woken cat. She unfurled her wings –stiff from the night’s sleep- and gave them a couple strong flaps, working out the kinks and ruffling her feathers, then folded them neatly back at her sides.
And still, then, she felt only slightly more awake. She and Thunderlane had stayed up, talking well into the night.
It had been as if a floodgate had been opened the previous morning and she hadn’t been able to stop talking, stories of her foalhood and growing up years pouring forth of their own accord. She had told him many things about her past, backtracking now and then to add new details or rehash a story as new memories surfaced. Sometimes, he asked questions, but mostly, he just listened, letting her talk at her own pace.
They had stayed in the park tucked away under the tree for some time, just nestled together as she told the end of the story first, talking about the happier times. It was later, after a silent, introspective flight, when they were settled on a cloud on the outskirts of town, that she talked most about her parents, about their hopes for her and how she was nothing more than a bitter disappointment; that her presence had only served to remind them of what they didn’t have.
She told him how her father was demanding, expecting better than her best. How his reputation as a stern boss preceded him no matter where he went and how there was a trace of his looks in hers; how everypony always knew she was his offspring. They shared a coat color and a similar jawline, though her muzzle was a little more delicate. She didn’t have the refined good looks of her mother, who was all soft curves and angles with elegant wings; it was all too easy to tell just who her sire had been – Especially since he was incredibly well-known among the supervisors at the factory.
Her mother was rather well-known in upper class social circles as well and expected her to be some graceful, delicate thing, which everypony knew she was not. Derpy wasn’t dainty, nor was she poised. Despite her breeding and upbringing, she had very little panache, a lot of which was probably her parents’ fault. They had taken her to a doctor, once, when they were concerned, her mother shuttling her off to see what was wrong with her and why her wandering eye hadn’t corrected itself; why she was still falling over her own hooves like a newborn. And when the doctor had proclaimed her to be in perfect health, just a little slow, it was as if her mother had just…given up.
They showered her with things that cost a lot and meant little –she was their only foal, after all- but there was no way that made up for the attention and affection they denied her.
She told him about flight school, about her lonely foalhood. At the best of times, she’d been ignored. At the worst, tormented for her shortcomings. As much as it hurt to be paid no mind, she preferred invisibility and anonymity to the laughter and teasing. She had stopped trying to make friends after realizing most of the other fillies and colts were just using her; she was smart enough to figure that out on her own.
She was smarter than they all thought.
And through all of this -through her tears and stumbling through words and momentary lapses in her ability to speak- Thunderlane stuck close to her side, listening patiently, quietly. He held her when she needed it, offering snuggles and reassurance, keeping her safely within reach.
It had been cathartic, like bleeding poison from a wound. And in a way, she had been bleeding out all of the hurt in her heart –in her soul- that had been festering there for years.
In the end, she had felt better; so light and free, as if the world had suddenly become the beautiful place she had always hoped it to be. As if she was somehow better –stronger- for all the misery she had endured.
But at the present moment, she felt nothing but tired.
She knew she was going to school with Rumble –if she hadn’t slept through it, though she doubted he would have let that happen- but had been too keyed up to sleep the night before. Even after Thunderlane had drifted off, she’d lain awake snuggled in his embrace, her mind still a jumble of thoughts and memories.
Stepping as carefully as possible through the darkened room, she made her way to the window and peeked out. The sun was shining brightly and if she squinted, she could see the distant face of the town clock tower.
And as much as she wanted to crawl back into bed and snuggle down into the warm blankets with her still-sleeping special somepony, it was time to get up and start the day.
-
Only an hour or so later, Derpy could be found fluttering dutifully behind Rumble as he made his way to school.
He had been quiet that morning and picked at his bowl of oatmeal, not eating much at all. Despite Derpy’s sudden, inexplicable burst of confidence, Rumble wasn’t completely convinced that the other schoolponies wouldn’t laugh at her or be mean and, as a result, he felt like a million butterflies were trapped in his tummy, all trying desperately to make their way out.
He was way too nervous to eat.
Derpy’s strange air of self-assurance did little to make him feel better; in fact, her confidence that the morning would be a success made him feel even more uncertain, though he didn’t at all doubt her ability to tell an awesome story. It was more that he just wanted every other pony to like her so badly and he was worried that the day was bound to leave him disappointed in that aspect.
When he landed in the schoolyard and looked over his shoulder at her, she gave no indication of her own nerves creeping up on her, but instead offered a bright smile. He tried to smile back and failed, remaining frozen in place where he had touched down. If they didn’t go in, she wouldn’t get made fun of. Maybe they could just go home…And then tomorrow he could say he was sick. Or she was sick. Or something.
He just didn’t want to hear anypony laugh at her again; he didn’t think he’d be able to bear it and he really didn’t want to cry in front of his classmates.
Derpy paused, looking around at the schoolponies as she touched down in the dewy grass. There were foals of all colors and sizes milling about, some in tight little clusters, discussing who knows what childish thing. A couple unicorns were on the far edge of the playground, one attempting to lift a rock with their magic, though the attempt seemed not to be going well. Three fillies were skipping rope, chanting a borderline naughty song as they turned the rope quickly, the one in the middle bouncing over it at lightning speed. And in the sky, not so far from the ground, a tiny pegasus was showing off, performing a clumsy forward roll.
The sound of laughter and childish voices filtered through the air, lending an air of liveliness to the schoolyard. Derpy smiled to herself, taking another moment to just gaze at the happy, innocent foals.
Then she trotted over to Rumble, who seemed rooted to the spot he’d landed, and nudged him towards the door. “Let’s go; I have a really long, fun story to tell.”
He watched out of the corner of his eye as Derpy ambled past him, folding her wings carefully at her sides, her tail swishing. She walked right up to the door, confident and calm, and for a moment, Rumble found himself wondering just how she was able to face everything scary and mean in the world without being afraid.
Then, shaking his head, he hurried after her, unwilling to let her brave the school alone, despite his trepidation.
“Good morning, Rumble, Derpy.” Cheerilee smiled warmly as she greeted the two grey pegasi, who, thanks to Rumble’s dillydallying at home, entered the building just as the bell rang, signaling the start of the school day. Rumble mumbled something in return, eyes cast downwards towards the floorboards, while Derpy returned both the smile and the greeting, pausing beside the desk to await instruction.
The teacher waited patiently as the rest of her students scurried in and settled at their desks before welcoming them to another day of school. They dutifully replied with a collective “Good morning, Miss Cheerilee!” and she smiled brightly, a merry twinkle in her eye.
“As you can see,” She addressed the class, “It’s Rumble’s turn for Family Appreciation Day and he’s brought along somepony special who will share a story about family with all of you. I hope you will be respectful and courteous-” She shot a warning look in the direction of Tornado Bolt, who was twisted around in her seat, whispering something to Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon. “-and listen well. You never know what you might learn from another pony’s story.” That said, she turned to Rumble, smiling encouragingly, “Go ahead, Rumble.”
The little colt took a shaky step forward, looking at his classmates. Rainy Feather grinned at him, waving to Derpy, and Rumble felt a little better. At least one of the other schoolponies seemed eager to listen. “Um…” he began, his voice coming out a little squeak, “This is…” A sudden warmth at his side caused him to look up, only to find Derpy moving closer, reaching to pat his back, and he smiled, turning his head to face the class again. “This is my…um, Derpy. She’s not part of my family that’s related to me,” His voice grew stronger with each word, “But she’s really special to me and maybe someday, if my brother is ever brave enough to marry her, she’ll be like my sister for real. I asked her to come with me today ‘cause she tells really cool stories and nopony else has ever really heard one of them…And she promised she has a super special story for today.”
“Thanks, Rumble.” She gave him a quick nuzzle before he could escape to his seat, then settled down on her rump, bright golden gaze sweeping across the small faces of the schoolponies. She knew very few of them by name, but had seen them around the village often enough to feel like she knew them, just by virtue of their presence in her life. “Hello, little ponies.” She smiled, brushing her mane out of her eyes, “I’m really happy to be here and I really hope you’ll like my story. It isn’t really a story about my family that I was foaled into, even though they are part of the story. I used to think, a long time ago, that there was only one kind of family and that made me really sad. But then I learned, from somepony really awesome, that there are different kinds of family. This story is about the family I found for myself.”
For the most part, the students were silent and listening, though the three troublemakers in the back were passing a note – Derpy noticed it when her lazy eye wandered off, but rather than tattle, she simply ignored them and plowed on.
“We gotta go back to the beginning of the story, though, ‘cause that’s where the story starts. When I was a filly not much smaller than all of you…”
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MOAAAAAAAAAR
Truly enjoying this story. Keep it up.
Another cliffhanger? Damn it....
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/229/944/426.gif
1612476
Sorry! But I DID warn you
The next part has the stuff everypony has been waiting for, though; I promise!!!
1612484
It better...
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay for snuggle scenes!
and for an insight on derpy's past
me moustache...
the excitement, it builds.
jokerreport.typepad.com/.a/6a00e393366a1a883401761778b1dc970c-500wi
This is great XD
1612764
There is much, MUCH more insight to come, so stay tuned!
And so the big moment has arrived. Well, almost. There's another diabolical cliffhanger (
) holding it off for a little longer, but we're at least close...
Here's hoping it goes smoothly, for Rumble's sake. I dunno, though... Granny Smith set the storytelling bar pretty high. Derpy better bring her A game if she wants to impress this class.
1615658
Derpy's got a little bit of an ace in the hole...It's something she didn't want to talk about before, for reasons that will become obvious later in the story.