So not in a million years did I expect to be writing for this fandom. Not even in a billion years...
But now I'm here, and I don't regret it one bit. Friendship is Magic is one of the best cartoons I've seen in a long time, and it's just begging to have a good fanfic written about it. So here I go with what I hope will be as in-character as possible and as true to the show as possible. A two-part story is coming your way, party ponies. This one's going to focus on my favorite pony, Applejack, and Derpy, who I believe needs some spotlight considering recent events in the show that have affected her character.
After all, she is a wonderful character. Why would anyone ever change her?
But anyway, on to the story! Read, enjoy, and remember to comment!
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Discolt Presents!
One Apple Short
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The goal was clear today. There was no doubt about it. She was going to do it.
Find a friend. With a free day ahead of her, Derpy was going to find a friend.
The idea had come to her so suddenly, and she wondered why she hadn't thought of it sooner. After all, there were more than enough ponies in Ponyville for at least one of them to constitute as a friend.
"It's time to find a friend..." The gray pegasus pony with golden eyes said, in her sweet yet unwieldy voice.
Floating above houses with as much elegance as she could muster, Derpy Hooves scanned the ground below for her ideal pal, watching as the Earth ponies, pegasus ponies, and unicorns went about their daily business. It was little more than another sunny day in Ponyville; there didn't seem to be the slightest sign of calamity. Down by the schoolhouse, Cheerilee was already herding the young fillies inside for class, only to shake her head as found herself having to stop the Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo from trying to climb the flagpole yet again.
Truth be told, Derpy had no real destination on her mind. Her thoughts had already begun drifting off, images of her new friend filling her head, so much in fact that she managed to fly too low and catch her wing on the flagpole. Stunned, Derpy pulled against the red flag now tied around her wing, but the harder she pulled, the tighter the flag wrapped itself around her wing. Finally, after one forceful tug, there was a loud ripping sound, and Derpy made a nervous smile before deciding to descend to the ground.
As a piece of the flag came down right over Cheerilee's eyes, Derpy looked away in embarrassment, her eyes betraying her when they didn't completely turn in the direction she was facing.
"Sorry. I don't know what went wrong..." Derpy said quietly. Her voice always seemed to bother her at the worst times.
"That's okay. It was an accident. No harm done." Cheerilee said, though in an unsure voice as she inspected the now torn flag. "We are going to need a new flag though..."
Sparks of excitement could be seen in the eyes of all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they heard Cheerilee's words.
"Cutie Mark Crusaders Flag Fixers!" they exclaimed in unison as they all bounced in excitement. Cheerilee could only laugh in response to their cute behavior.
"What am I going to do with you three?" she commented, but when she looked back at where Derpy had been, she saw that the gray filly was no longer there. Putting a hoof to her chin, she wondered if she had said something wrong.
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Today was a day that Twilight Sparkle could definitely look forward to. Despite her friends being busy with their own duties, she was still looking forward to the next few hours. With Spike's help, she'd managed to organize all of the newest books, including the newest installment of the Daring Do series. And now, with such a massive amount of work done and nothing in particular to do today, she could sit down and read Daring's exciting exploits while Spike took a well-deserved nap for his efforts.
Twilight galloped around in excitement at the thought, but stopped herself when she realized that Spike was still asleep upstairs. Quietly, she used her magic to retrieve the newest book on her reading list: Daring Do and the Ruby Dynasty.
Everything seemed so perfect. Twilight found a comfortable spot to lounge, and smiled as she magically flipped the first page.
Then suddenly, a series of loud and abrasive knocks completely interrupted her focus. She looked awkwardly at her front door and wondered who it could be.
"Coming..." She said in her most quiet-loud voice. She just couldn't wake up Spike after all the hard work he'd done yesterday.
When Twilight opened the door, she was greeted by a pony she had seen around town time and time again. Her eyes were probably the main reason she was so recognizable, but Twilight tried to not stare at them. After all, it was very impolite to stare.
"Hello..." Derpy said in a shy voice. For some reason, she felt intimidated all of sudden. It was so ironic that she'd act like this around Twilight Sparkle, and yet be so much more outgoing around somepony like Rainbow Dash.
"Oh, hello. Derpy, right? Did you come to borrow a book?" Twilight asked in her most sincere voice. Deep inside, she just wanted the pegasus pony to leave as quickly as possible. All she was doing was keeping Twilight from her book.
"Um, not really. I was just wondering...if you were busy..." Derpy replied. She didn't know Twilight very well, nor did she really know her friends. These six ponies were famous all around town, and it had always been Derpy's secret dream to be friends with at least one of them. But ever since the time she'd spent with Rainbow Dash, Derpy hadn't been able to be as outgoing around them as she wanted to be.
Twilight was taken aback by Derpy's question. What could she say? She wanted to say she was busy; but that would be a total lie. Looking back at the Daring Do book sprawled out and waiting to be read, Twilight put on her most sincere grin. "Oh, I'm not busy at all. Come in! Make yourself at home!"
As Derpy walked inside, her face lit up with a small smile, Twilight wondered if she was making some sort of mistake.
"Wow." Derpy exclaimed as she flew up high enough to get a good look at Twilight's extensive book collection. "That's a lot of books."
Twilight smiled as she replied in her best scholarly voice. "Yes, well, I do try to keep updated with Equestrian knowledge. It can be a tough job, but Spike and I manage."
"This looks interesting..." Derpy said as she tried to carefully pick a book from the shelves. It was as if her hooves were coated with butter though, and she found herself fumbling to keep it from falling.
"I got it! I got it! I-"
With a loud smack, the book landed right on Twilight Sparkle's head, causing the purple filly to shake herself loose from the momentary pain and confusion. Derpy just looked down, her face wrought with a mixture of fear and embarrassment.
"Sorry about that!" Derpy apologized quickly.
"It's okay. It's okay. Why don't you just take one of the books on the lower shelves..." Twilight said as she moved out from under Derpy. She could feel a thumping pain right behind her horn. That had sure been one heavy book.
"You mean like this one?" Derpy asked, and seconds later Twilight Sparkle heard a horrible ripping sound. Her eyes went wide as she saw Derpy holding the torn first page of Daring Do and the Ruby Dynasty.
"Derpy, you didn't!" Twilight said as she watched the gray pegasus try and put the ripped page back into the book. Her efforts were in vain, of course. Twilight's eyes narrowed as she approached Derpy, looking down at her with a very serious expression.
"I'm sorry, Derpy, but I think it'd be best for you to leave now." She said. A mixture of annoyance, anger, and complete surprise has taken over her mind for the time being. Her book could have been easily fixed with a spell, but it was the principle of Derpy's act that seemed to tick Twilight off so much. She watched the pegasus leave with her head down, and it was only after she shut the door quietly behind her did Twilight begin to realize how badly she'd just treated Derpy...
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"Oh, what a wonderfully perfect day..." Rarity noted to herself as she used her magic to gather together the various fabrics and gems she planned on using to create her latest fashion masterpiece. With the rest of her friends busy, Rarity had the entire day to herself to work on her various fashion projects.
And with Sweetie Bell in school, this meant that Rarity could expect her work to go completely undisturbed. Her workspace laid out in a relatively random order in front of her, Rarity wore an inquisitive expression as she put a hoof to her chin. Inspiration was starting to take root in her mind...
A series of quiet knocks interrupted her thoughts. They were only a minor annoyance though, and Rarity managed to keep her composure as she approached the door and opened it slowly with her magic.
"And who am I greeting on this wonderfully perfect day?" Rarity asked, only for her expression to change completely from one of confidence to one of fear when she found herself face to face with Derpy Hooves. Rarity looked back and forth, unsure of what to say before letting out a nervous laugh.
"Oh! Why, I didn't know you'd be stopping by. Did you order a dress? I must have forgotten it." She said, hoping to herself that that was indeed the case.
"No. I just thought I'd stop by and see what you were up to." Derpy replied, hoping this second attempt would turn out far better than the last.
"Oh, well, that's awfully thoughtful of you, but it seems..." Rarity began, but her statement trailed off when she couldn't think of a proper excuse. There was no way she was going to let Derpy in her precious boutique, not even Celestia herself came down from Canterlot and ordered her to. There were just too many risks involved.
"It seems? Did I come at a bad time?" Derpy asked, her voice still shaking with uncertainty. Rarity put on her most sincere expression and told herself that it was okay to lie just this once.
"Yes, a very bad time, unfortunately. I'm about to start a very large order of dresses that will be due in Canterlot tomorrow night, so all of my free time for the rest of today is already compromised. But perhaps we could reschedule?"
Derpy sighed, her head down as she gave Rarity a quiet response. "No, that's alright. I understand that you're busy. I'll leave you be."
And with that, Derpy began to ascend upwards again, taking care not to damage any part of Rarity's boutique as she made her exit. Rarity watched Derpy disappear out of view above, before closing the door behind her and letting out a huge sigh of relief.
It was okay to lie just once, she thought. "Derpy understands. I'm almost absolutely sure she doesn't have any hard feelings." She said to herself in an attempt to quell any unsure emotions.
But Rarity had seen the obvious sadness in Derpy's mismatched eyes. Saying that Derpy understood completely and didn't feel bad at all was just another big lie.
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Where could she possibly go now, Derpy wondered. As she flew high above Ponyville, she tried her best to hold back tears. Twilight Sparkle didn't seem to like her very much now, and she'd been unlucky enough to catch Rarity with such a big order on her plate.
She couldn't possibly go find Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie rarely stayed in one place. And on top of those two things, Derpy didn't even really know where Fluttershy lived. Sighing as she continued to fly along just below the clouds, her eyes managed to catch something in the distance.
Giving up was a bad thing. She'd never given up in the past, so why start now? Derpy slowly smiled as she realized that she still had one chance, and this one would be pretty hard for even her to screw up. With a burst of speed, she headed for Sweet Apple Acres, where she was sure that an honest pony like Applejack would be more than willing to be her new friend for the day.
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"Will y'all just calm down, already? Food's a'comin if you just give it a second." Applejack stated as she bit down onto the bucket handle and proceeded to unload its contents for the pigs to feed on. They seemed to squeal with glee as Applejack backed away, thanking Celestia that she'd managed to avoid the taste of rotten apples. The pigs seemed to love them, but Applejack was pretty sure she wouldn't feel the same, and she wasn't exactly eager to find out.
Beyond feeding the pigs, tending to the chickens and cows, and making sure that caterpillars weren't getting to any of the trees, today seemed to be a pretty carefree day for Applejack. Big Macintosh was gone for the rest of the day; having gone to get a new plow after the last one had met its end after being accidentally left out in the rain. Of course, Applejack had tried to convince her big brother that she could still use it, and there was no sense in wasting money on a new plow.
Truthfully, she detested days like this. While somepony like Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash enjoyed lazy time, Applejack always feared it would ruin her work ethic. After all, the feeling of bucking a whole basket worth of apples in one shot was a wonderful feeling, as long as the work required to do it wasn't too hard.
Wandering outside, Applejack sat down and just looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful, sunny day, with not so much as a cloud in the sky. Rainbow Dash had done a good job clearing them all out, Applejack thought.
With Applebloom sick with a cold, and Granny Smith tending to her every need, Applejack was starting to feel useless. She couldn't be around her sister; mostly because she'd just get in Granny Smith's way and end up probably getting sick herself.
So what work could be done? Surely there had to be something. After all, she couldn't just sit here like a lazy pig all day long.
Then, just as the idea to check the orchard and make absolutely sure that she'd bucked all the apples that could be bucked came into Applejack's head, somepony decided that Applejack's back would be the perfect landing zone. In her excitement, Derpy had managed to lose control of her flight pattern and tumbled right into Applejack with speed that could rival Rainbow Dash.
Both ponies rolled around wildly until they both hit the side of the barn. When the dust cleared, Derpy shook her head and came back to reality in an instant, while Applejack was swaying a little and could swear she was seeing stars.
"Sorry about that! I guess I didn't see where I was going." Derpy apologized, and it only took a few seconds for Applejack to realize she was being spoken to. Shaking herself out of her stupor, she got up on all four legs and focused completely on Derpy.
"Ah, it's no trouble. I've had worse." She said. "So were you looking for something? Maybe some fresh apples? I'd offer you pie but Granny Smith's tendin' to my little sis, and my pies just aren't as delicious as hers."
"Oh, I'm not really hungry. I was just hoping that you'd be free. Everypony seems to be really busy today." Derpy replied in her most sincere voice. She couldn't look Applejack straight in the face for some reason.
"Well..." Applejack began, unsure of exactly what to say. She was no liar, so it had to be the truth at the very least. "I was gonna go make sure I went and bucked the last of the apples. I guess that might count as bein' busy."
"Oh." Derpy said, her voice becoming very low in its tone. Now she was starting to think it was a good time to give up. Three ponies, and all of them were busy? There was no hope for her now.
Applejack noticed the sad look on Derpy's face, and watched as the gray filly turned tail and started to walk away. Gulping, the orange Earth pony knew she couldn't just let her leave. After all, she had come all the way to Sweet Apple Acres, and at the very least, Applejack could offer her some good company.
Besides, what's the worst that could happen? Rainbow Dash had the tendency to exaggerate, so her stories about Derpy were probably just a lot of rotten apples.
"Hey! I could use an extra pair of hooves out there, so I'd mighty appreciate the help." Applejack said, her smile growing when she saw Derpy turn around and perk up in surprise.
"What do ya say?"
Derpy nodded fast, a grin forming on her face. "Okay!"
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"So all ya gotta do is buck as hard as you can. Just like this." Applejack explained, before demonstrating with a powerful buck that knocked a few apples out of the tree and into the large basket below. "Whatever's left in the tree should come down as easy as rain."
Circling back to the basket, Applejack motioned for Derpy to look inside as she continued to explain.
"There's not many apples left, but jus' make sure you get rid of all the rotten ones. They don't make for good pie or good cider." Applejack said as she took one of the bruised ones and tossed it in a larger basket full of apples that were also just as undesirable. "It's all easy enough, if yer willing to do the work."
"Okay. I think I understand." Derpy said in response. Happier now that someone was finally giving her a chance, she wondered if she could possibly mess this up in any way. But it was just bucking apples. She couldn't mess this up...could she?
"Well, get to it! We only got so much time, and I don't wanna waste a single apple!" Applejack exclaimed, receiving a happy nod from Derpy before the gray pegasus went off between the trees to start bucking.
Satisfied with herself and glad to have the help, Applejack bucked the nearest tree with a smile on her face. A dozen apples fell out, and Applejack was glad to see that none of them were rotten. They'd make some wonderful cider or pie, Applejack thought. She looked behind her, watching as Derpy readied herself to buck her first tree.
The orange Earth pony couldn't help but watch. This hadn't been a bad idea after all, and Derpy seemed like a nice enough filly. Applejack waited to hear the sound of apples falling into the basket below.
But instead, there was a sharp cracking sound as Derpy's hooves made contact with the tree. The bark began to splinter like glass in all directions as the tree careened on its trunk. Applejack watched wide-eyed as the entire apple tree cracked apart right in the middle, falling back and getting its branches caught in a tree only a few feet away.
Branches snapped and leaves fluttered about, while both rotten and good apples were scattered all over the ground. After the noises stopped and the tree had settled in place, Derpy could only back away as Applejack came forward to look at the surprising mess.
"Wha...What in the hay did you do?" Applejack said, her voice suddenly rising with anger. Derpy had just destroyed an entire tree in one buck; a feat not even Big Macintosh could have accomplished. And by destroying a tree, she had just cost the Apple Family dozens of apples that could have been sold or made into delectable treats. But most importantly, Derpy Hooves had just cost them precious business, at at a time like this, when Grannie Smith and Applebloom were unable to do much, that was beyond bad.
"Do you realize what you just cost us? Big Mac and me are gonna have to uproot this whole tree and plant a new one! Do you know how long it takes to grow a new apple tree?" Applejack asked in a severe tone, leaving Derpy to shrink in fear as Applejack's voice only seemed to get louder and angrier with each sentence.
"A few days...?" Derpy replied nervously, but Applejack had already lost it. She seemed to tower over Derpy like Nightmare Moon on a bad day. The look in her eyes made her emotions pretty clear.
"You've just gone and ruined a part of our livelihood! I don't like bein' honest like this, but I just can't stand here and say nuthin'! Rainbow was right! You can't do anythin' without going ahead and just destroyin' it!" Applejack stated, her anger blinding her from the tears that started to form in the gray filly's eyes. Derpy was already backing away as Applejack barked out more words like an angry Diamond Dog.
"Go on and get! Get off mah farm and think twice before you show yer face aroun' here again!"
There wasn't much more to be said. Wiping the tears away from her eyes, Derpy couldn't even muster the strength to say sorry. She just flew up into the air, her wings knocking a few apples off their branches as she flew above the canopy and out of view.
Applejack just watched her leave with the same angry expression. A few apples rolled by her hooves, but she just kicked them aside and turned tail back towards the barn.
She couldn't believe anypony could be so clumsy, but the proof had finally been shown to her. And now it was going to cost the Apple Family a whole new tree for the orchard.
Still, her heart was trying to tell her that she had said some words which she would regret. Applejack could only try to ignore the knot in her stomach as her anger level slowly began to lessen once she realized Derpy was in fact gone.
The orange filly didn't know it yet; but boy, she going to feel really bad about all this soon enough...
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EDIT: To all people reading this, it DIDN'T get approved for EQ D, so because I just can't stand knowing that there are problems with this, that has immediately told me that there are a multitude of things wrong with this story. In the response e-mail I mostly got notes about Applejack being OOC, so I'm going to be working on a serious rewrite to rectify some of my most serious mistakes in the story. Expect a completely changed chapter soon!
