For the Love of Derpy Book 1: Smitten

by DrakoGlyph

Gathering Storm

Finally it was here… Friday. It was sure to be a great day. That was the rule, right? Every Friday is a good day. I don’t think I ever remember a bad Friday, even back in school. At least, it wasn’t completely bad.

The worst Friday I ever remember was back when Thunderstorm got his cutie mark. It was actually the day afterward, because he had gotten it the night before. He said it was because he cleared a thundercloud for the first time. No matter how he got it, it left me the only one in my class without a cutie mark.

Thunderstorm was showing it off when I came into the classroom, and he looked at me with an expression that I only later determined was up to no good. “Now if only someone could help Sky Bolt here get his cutie mark.” All the foals in the class laughed, but stopped when the teacher walked in.

Later, at recess, I was playing on the merry-go-round when Thunderbolt stopped it. He was giving me the same look he had when he made his comment that morning. I should have known then that something was going to go wrong.

“What good is a pony without a cutie mark?” Thunderstorm said. “And what possible good could it mean that they’re the last in their class to get it?” He then used his brute strength to spin the merry-go-round so fast that I ended up flying off of it and landing roughly in the clouds a ways off, hind legs flailing about in the air. It took the teacher coming out and getting me for me to be freed from that cloud.

But this had to be better. I had two friends that genuinely cared for my feelings, and Derpy said she loved me. I still didn’t know what that meant, but it had to be good, since my parents said it all the time, both to each other and to me. It couldn’t be such a bad thing.

I got out of bed and looked out my window. There was Derpy’s Cloud Muffin sitting in the windowsill. I smiled as both Derpy and Alto appeared. They smiled wide and waved. We met up outside the cabins.

“I wonder what’s on the schedule today!” Derpy said, excitedly.

“I don’t know, I think we did everything already,” Alto said.

We all shrugged and went to breakfast. “I don’t know what there is left to do,” I say, sitting down at our usual table. Derpy sat next to me and Alto on her other side.

“You two look so good together,” Alto said with a smile on her face.

“Thanks, Alto,” Derpy said. She put a wing around me and pulled me close. The last time we were this close was when Strata pushed us together, the only difference was that I didn’t feel so awkward now, it actually felt nice. I wanted to stay here, under her wing for a while, but alas, it wouldn’t stay that way.

“Hey, there, Alto,” North Breeze said, walking toward the food line.

“Hello, North Breeze,” Alto said, with a grudge.

“Why do you say it like that?” North Breeze said, cluelessly.

“You insult my friends then you expect me to like you?” she asked incredulously. “Do you really think that, North Breeze?”

“Well,” he said, as Strata came over and put a hoof on his shoulder. He was speechless. He was genuinely, unequivocally speechless.

“Forget her,” Strata said. “She’s too into those losers.”

The next thing that happened shocked all of us sitting at that table. North Breeze swatted Strata’s hoof off of him and spun to face her.

“I just realized something, Strata,” he gave her a heavy scowl. “I realized that hanging around you has made me into a mean pony.” Strata gasped. “I was never like this in school!”

“What are you saying, North Breeze?” she said, incredulously.

“I don’t think I want to be friends with you anymore.”

Strata scoffed. “You’re not my friend anymore because you think it made you a mean pony? I have news for you, North Breeze, you were always a mean pony. I just showed you what you truly were, and I was your friend anyway.” She turned her nose up and, with one last look over her shoulder, said, “I really thought I liked you, North Breeze. I really did.” She walked away.

“That took a lot of courage,” Alto said. “I thought you liked her too.”

“Well, that’s the thing,” he said, hanging his head, “I really like you more, Alto.” There was a gasp of surprise from all present.

“I—I didn’t know you felt that way, North Breeze,” Alto responded.

“I didn’t either until you left to be friends with Derpy and Sky Bolt. I felt this… emptiness, like somepony had taken a part of me and hid it away. I didn’t realize that it was you that I didn’t have until the other day. When I look at you, I feel whole again, Alto. I don’t ever want to feel empty. I just don’t know that you can forgive me for all the torment I put you and your friends through.”

Alto gave Derpy and I a long, questioning look. She seemed to be thinking about the request North Breeze had made, and there was a lot she had to go through. Could she overlook the way North Breeze had treated her, Derpy, and I? I gave a smile, since I believed that it was completely up to Alto. I would be her friend no matter what, and I watched as Derpy did the same.

Alto gave it a little longer, making sure the smiles Derpy and I gave her were genuine, then responded to a worried North Breeze, “I can forgive you if they can.” I nodded quickly and Derpy followed suit. The smile that spread across North Breeze’s face spread contagiously to the rest of the table as he sat down. I could see Strata, and her disapproving stare as she watched all of this transpire. It was clear that she was upset that this had just happened.

Out of the seven of us in the group, there was really only one bully now, Strata. She led the other two against us. I figured they were simply afraid that they were going to be ‘uncool’ or something if they didn’t follow her lead, but as I watched them, they gave sideways glances at Strata.

As we walked out of breakfast to meet up with Mrs. Storm, Strata was left alone as the other two came over to Derpy, Alto, North Breeze, and I.

“I just wanted to apologize,” said the first filly. She had an orange coat and yellow mane. “I just don’t know where things went so bad. I guess I wanted to have friends here so badly that I didn’t care who I hurt.” She held out a hoof. “My name is Sunny Skies,” she introduced, “and I just want to say I’m sorry.”

The filly behind her, who had an azure coat and a white mane simply hung her head.

“We forgive you,” Derpy said, smiling. “We can all be friends if you like!”

Strata was furious. I could tell that from here. She was giving me a stare like she wanted to light me on fire, and if she was a unicorn, I bet she would have succeeded.

There was only one unicorn I ever met. She had come to the Cloudesium to see the Wonderbolts performance. She was walking on clouds, and if a unicorn had the magic to do that, then unicorns had to have the magic to set ponies on fire by staring.

Our new friends accompanied us as we set out across the camp behind Mrs. Storm. We ventured past anything that I had seen earlier to a larger area full of dark grey, ominous clouds that I really, really didn’t like the looks of.

“Today we will test your teamwork capabilities. You will be combined with Mrs. Wing’s group on today’s activity.” All six of us friends were excited to see who we would be working with, but when I caught a glimpse of who was at the front of that pack, my heart sank.

It was none other than the dark-gray-and-deep-blue colt I had grown up to resent befriending. Thunderstorm smirked as he led his little band of six students toward us. I could see Strata giving him a look. It was very peculiar, her eyes seemed half-closed, but not in a tired looking way, it seemed more like she was beckoning him over to her.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Sky Bolt, Derpy, and Alto. The misfits of Flight Camp.”

“We aren’t so misfit anymore, Thunderstorm,” I said, as my three new friends take their places on either side of me.

“Well, I see the misfits got more misfitted,” Thunderstorm said, a smirk crossing his face. That look was the one he had given me back on that first Friday after he got his cutie mark. I was beginning to hate that look.

“We aren’t misfitted! If anything, you are since you have to take all your joy from making fun of us! I know I’m happy just having my friends!”

“You mean your fillyfriend?” Strata said, leaning on Thunderstorm. “Or are you still too embarrassed about that?”

“I heard you last night, Sky Bolt, I heard you say ‘I love you too, Derpy Hooves.’” Thunderstorm had this look on his face that could only mean he was up to no good. There was probably no stopping him as he set into trying to tear me and my friends down.

“Aw, that’s precious,” Derpy whispered to me, putting a wing around me. “But I think you need to watch yourself, Muffin.”

There it was again, Derpy was calling me Muffin, only this time she didn’t stop herself. There was this warm feeling in my chest, and I had a smile that would put all the other smiles to shame. I didn’t think there would be a pony in all of Equestria from here until the end of time that could smile as bright, wide, or genuine as I did that day. I was certain that not even Thunderbolt and Strata could take it away.

“If you’re not such misfits, then I challenge you. Your team versus my team. You’ve got six, I’ll sit somepony out to give me six.” Thunderstorm looked at Strata.

“What do you mean I have to sit out?”

“I don’t know you that well,” Thunderstorm said. “I don’t think you’d be any good at Storm Wrangling anyway.”

“Why? Is it because I’m not as quote unquote, ‘Rough and Tumble’ as you?”

“In short, yes.” Strata scoffed at Thunderstorm. “I resent that statement, Thunderstorm.” She gave him a scowl, then went over and sat on the sidelines. Thunderstorm was in his ‘I’m better than everypony else’ mood. I knew this one all too well. The only way to get that smirk off his face was to beat him at this game.

And I trusted my new friends enough to be able to do that.

“The goal of this exercise is to clear out the thunderclouds,” said Cloud Wing, floating down from the upper cloud layer. “Even a Wonderbolt knows that teamwork is necessary to complete a difficult task. I could not ask any of you to do this task on your own.

“To help, you will have the guidance of your counselor.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Wing,” Thunderstorm said in a voice so polite I didn’t think it could ever come from him.

“Yes, Thundercloud?”

“It’s Thunderstorm,” he said, annoyed.

“Yes, yes, Thundercloud. What was it you wanted to say?”

“I was going to ask if we could make this a competition, you know, between Mrs. Storm’s class and Mrs. Wing’s.”

Cloud Wing looked to the two counselors, who then looked at each other. It was clear to them that this was news to them. Baffled by the turn of events, they nodded their heads in agreement.

“Then it is settled,” he said. “We shall make it a competition between Mrs. Storm’s class and Mrs. Wing’s class.

“Uh, sweetie,” Mrs. Wing said. “If I could have a word with you.” The two huddled together, then beckoned Mrs. Storm over.

“You and your little band of misfits are going down, Sky Bolt.”

“We’ll show you, Thunderstorm! We can do anything that you can! We may not be the fastest, or the strongest, or even the smartest,” I said, looking at his friends, “but we’re friends. And friendship will overcome any obstacle set before us!”

All my friends cheered as the counselors and the Wonderbolt returned to us. “After much discussion, we agreed that this competition shall go on, but under very strict rules,” Cloud Wing said. “Rule one: There will be no foul play. Anypony caught trying to sabotage the other team will immediately be pulled from the contest, and their team will be disqualified.

“Rule Two: This contest is only for recreational purposes. If I find out that any of you use this against the other foals, I will boot you all out of Flight Camp under Sky Fire’s direct orders.”

“Who’s Sky Fire?” one of the fillies asked.

“She’s the current captain of the Wonderbolts.”

A resounding ‘Oh’ swept across the thirteen of us.

“Rule Three: You are to clear out your half the thunderclouds as quickly as possible, under the direct guidance of your counselor. If you do not listen to your counselor, you will be disqualified.”

“What in the hay does disqualified mean?”

“Watch your language, filly. Disqualified means that you are no long allowed to compete.”

Another chorus of ‘oh’ spread across us.

“Since Mrs. Storm’s class has an extra member, I will ask that you sit out,” Cloud Wing said, pointing at Strata. It seemed he only picked her because she wasn’t standing with the rest of us. “Now remember, Thunder Clouds are very finicky, and if you don’t listen to your teammates and counselor, you are going to get hurt.

“Don’t worry, though, Pegasi were build to withstand lightning strikes. It hurts a bit, and you’ll singe a few feathers, but you’ll be fine in a minute or two. Us Pegasi were built to handle the weather.” He gave a smile and looked out across the two teams of six. “You will each need to assign yourselves a team captain.”

“I’ll be my team’s captain,” Thunderstorm said immediately, much to the audible dismay of his classmates. “What? I’ve always been a natural leader!” He spoke with a voice that made all this ‘friends’ shudder in fear.

None of them replied.

“That’s what I thought.”

I turned to my teammates. “Who should be our captain. I know that North Breeze is a great flyer, and Alto is very nimble. Derpy, you are great at Raincloud Duty, and I’m good at Cloud Busting. I think either Sunny Skies or her friend should be our captain.”

“I… I don’t know,” said the azure filly. She shied back.

“I think that was a fair assessment of our abilities, Sky Bolt,” North Breeze said. “I think you’re a great leader.”

“Really? I… I don’t think I’d make a good captain. Not against Thunderstorm.”

“Humility is a trait that only the best leaders have, Sky Bolt,” Alto said. “That, and courage. You have both!”

“I… really don’t know.”

“I second the vote to make Sky Bolt our captain,” North Breeze said.

“Me too,” Sunny added. Her friend held up a nervous hoof in agreement.

“I can’t think of a better leader,” Derpy said.

With all this support from my friends, I could hardly resist. “I’ll be the captain for our team.”

“Very Well,” Cloud Wing said. It was clear that he was already forming the outcome of this contest in his mind. He showed us where to line up, and the counselors took places up on a little balcony of clouds.

“We can do this!” I say to my team. I can’t hear what Thunderstorm is saying to his team, but it seems a lot more terrifying. They were cowering from him when he turned to face him.

“Step one: I want North Breeze and Sunny Skies to collect the clouds. We need them all together. Next, I want you,” I say, pointing to the azure filly who still had yet to tell me her name—there wasn’t quite time for such formalities right now—and Derpy to clear the rain out of them.” Derpy gave me a smile as she scooted closer to the azure filly.

“It’ll be alright,” she said, giving a smile that was soon reflected from behind the white mane.

“Finally, Alto, you and I will Cloud Bust. We need your agility to make sure that they don’t escape. I’ll make sure they’re done.”

“I think we should all put our hooves in the middle,” Alto said. Upon seeing all the quizzical looks on the rest of our faces, “it’s something sports ponies do to feel more like a team before going out on the field.”

Reluctantly, all six of us put our hooves in. It seemed like an awkward idea at the time, but now that we did it, I could understand why the sports ponies did it. It felt good inside that I had so many friends, and that they all were here to help me.

We took our places, and Cloud Wing flapped up into the sky holding a flag he got from who knows where. “On your mark.” Our wings all started a precursory flap or two. “Get set.” We all looked like we were about to pounce on those clouds. “Go!”

In a flash, North Breeze was out in the middle of the field, Sunny Skies right behind. They gathered up the thunderclouds from all the corners of our region and pulled them in close to the center, where Derpy and the azure filly were waiting.

I watched as Thunderstorm’s team rounded up their clouds as well, pulling them close. They seemed to have the faster fliers. I watched as their Raincloud Duties were started before ours. I had no doubt that Derpy could bring us into the lead. Our Rainclouders swooped down and landed on the gray clouds, bouncing happily as the rainwater fell from them. On occasion, a lightning strike would echo from either team’s clouds. I placed my wing around Alto, who was frightened. This only seemed like the logical thing to do, comforting a friend. She smiled at me and cuddled up close.

Once the dark gray storm clouds were drained of rain, they became an almost translucent white. That was Alto and my cue. I give her one last look, and I see that she’s no longer cowering, but instead giving me a look of determination. She flies up, circling the group of our clouds, ready to weave through them to collect the strays.

I take this moment to notice that Thunderstorm and one of his teammates were at the same step. This, however, this was what I loved to do. I kicked the clouds like there was nothing else to do in the entire world, and Alto made sure that none of them got away. It wasn’t until the last cloud, which was being a little testy, flew straight past her. I glanced over at Thunderstorm, who seemed to be having the same problem. Both of our clouds were dropping very quickly, and there was only one thing to do: we both immediately dived for our clouds. This was the one thing none of us succeeded at. Both of our entire teams went diving after their clouds, only to have other clouds—ones that weren’t part of the clearing activity, get in their way. Buried and embarrassed, they could only watch as Thunderstorm and I were the last two Pegasi flying.

Here came the hard part: the pull up. Neither one of us had done it, and it was clear that whoever did it correctly would be the victor. I drew close to my cloud, spread my wings and turned my back legs to it in hopes that I would buck it before Thunderstorm could buck his. I closed my eyes and awaited the moment of truth.

Comments

[Loeden]

D'aww. Just makes me want to hug the both of them.

[DrakoGlyph]

2238769

I always want to just hug Derpy. In fact, if I was in Equestria, and it's fate lay in my hooves, Derpy would be part of my Elements of Harmony

[dracoantares]

Cliff hanger? WHYYYYY!!!!!!!

[DrakoGlyph]

2267234 I love the hay out of cliff hangers ;3 Just makes you want to keep reading!