Derpy's Firstsby dragonpony111ChaptersDerpy's First DayDerpy's First DreamDerpy's First FeedingDerpy's First OutingDerpy's First BathDerpy's First BottleDerpy's First HandicapDerpy's First StepDerpy's First WordDerpy's First DayAuthor's Note Usually these will be at the bottom but this note has some helpful info. Derpy's mother's name is Skybreeze, and her father's name is Bolter. They are both pegasi living in Cloudsdale. Also I greatly appreciate all proof reading!!! Derpy's First Day "We are almost there now Mrs. hooves. Just a few more pushes and don't forget to breathe. You're doing great the foal's snout is starting to emerge." "AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" *heavy breath* *heavy breath* *heavy breath* "DEAR CELESTIA THIS HURTS!!!!!" "WWWUUUUUAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH" "Aaaaannnnnnnnddd it's out. Well Mrs. Hooves you are now the proud parent of a little pegasus filly." After the tired pegasus heard it was finally over she passed out from all the pain and stress of giving birth, but after all these months of carrying her foal Mrs. Hooves had finally became a parent. The foal was born crying which was a healthy sign as it meant she was already breathing on her own. The staff then quickly removed the umbilical cord and took the foal away to be washed and have the usual batch of tests done. While this was being done one of the nurse unicorns used some smelling salts to wake up Mrs. Hooves. "Waa... uhhh.... Wh-what happened? Wait where is my baby?" "Don't worry Mrs. Hooves your little one should be just fine. They are cleaning her up and will perform the tests all newborn foals go through to make sure she is happy and healthy. Before you know it they will have her back in here for you to hold." "Her? I'm having a filly?" "Why yes. Didn't you hear the doctor?" "Uhh. I guess. Though I can't really remember much right before blacking out. So what does she look like? "From what I saw her coat was g..." "No wait! Don't tell me. I'd rather it be a surprise." Not a moment later and Mr. Hooves came bursting through the doors. He would have wanted to be there for the whole event but he worked on the Cloudsdale weather team, and it took too long for somepony to track him down and tell him his wife went into labor. "I'm here Skybreeze I'm here! Are you okay? How much longer until our foal is born?" "I already gave birth to her actually. It's alright though. I know you were out working." "Well the important thing is I'm here now and... WAIT! YOU SAID HER? WE ARE HAVING A FILLY?" "Yes Bolter. We now have our own little filly." The two pegasi then hugged each other as they both cried tears of joy. After they let out their emotions Bolter brought up the fact that they still hadn't settled on a name for either a filly or a colt. They argued a bit about picking the perfect name but eventually Skybreeze decided they should wait until they see her for the first time. After quite a while some distant cries could be heard down the hallway, and they grew louder as the seconds ticked by, Eventually a unicorn nurse walks in with their foal who was still crying, but the cries suddenly were quieter once the nurse entered the room. "Here you go Mr. and Mrs. Hooves. I think your daughter is ready to meet you now." The nurse then floated the little bundle of joy who was wrapped up in a comfy pink blanket over into the forelegs of Skybreeze. Upon receiving her filly she gently cradled the tiny crying pony and rocked her back and forth. "Ssshhhh. Ssshhhh. It's alright little one. Mommy and Daddy are here now, and we love you until the ends of Equestria." The foal's crying then changed into some light sobs as she began to calm down. Bolter then walked over and with a hoof brushed some of the filly's mane away from her face. "Hey there Sweetie I'm your Daddy. Your Mommy and I are both so glad to finally have you in our lives." The filly quit her sobbing altogether and let out a tiny giggle which melted the hearts of her parents. "Look Skybreeze she has my coat, but she has your eyes and mane." The foal was indeed born with her father's gray coat although it wasn't as dark, and her eyes and mane were a bright shiny gold just like her mother's. Before they knew it though the nurse came over to interrupt their family time. "I'm sorry to break things up so soon but I need to take her back for her shots now. One more thing. So I can get started on her paperwork have you picked out a name for the filly yet?" The Hooves couple gave each other an awkward stare only to be broken by their newborn blowing a raspberry at them for attention. Ever since she calmed down their daughter seemed to have a silly personality, and then a light bulb went off in Skybreeze's head. "Her name is Derpy. Derpy Hooves" "Are you sure honey? Why pick that name?" "Just look at her Bolter. She acts so cute and silly. Why not?" "Oh alright. I never win in a fight with you anyways." "Well okay then. I'll just take her from you for a few more minutes and I'll have her back in a Manehattan Minute." A purple glow surrounded the filly as the unicorn nurse used her magic to levitate out of her mother's grasp. The action of being taken away really upset Derpy as she broke out into a fit of loud crying, and she kicked her blanket off as she flailed her legs around. Upon this reaction the nurse instantly floated Derpy back to her mother's forelegs along with the blanket as well. Derpy kept her little tantrum going until Skybreeze consoled her, and Derpy knew she was being held by her mother again upon hearing her voice. Skybreeze then wrapped her up snugly back in the blanket. "Well Mr. and Mrs Hooves we usually only have trained staffed involved with administering the shots, but it seems Derpy won't remain calm or sit still unless you hold her. It seems we will have to give Derpy her shots in here. I'll be back momentarily." When the nurse returned she brought a rolling cart with her that had 3 syringes neatly arranged in a row, and all of them pre-filled with the vaccines. "Now if you could bring out one of Derpy's forelegs and hold her still I'll get her ready." Skybreeze did so and the nurse scrubbed an area of Derpy's leg clean with an alcohol wipe to sterilize her coat and skin. The nurse then rubbed an ice cube over that same spot to help numb some of the pain for Derpy making her shiver some. "Alright Skybreeze hold her steady. Here comes the first shot." As the nurse used her magic to insert the syringe Derpy winced from the pain, and started to sob as she gave her mother a frightened look. However Skybreeze was quick to comfort her. She just kept making funny faces at Derpy to distract her from what was going on, and before Derpy knew it she was all done. "You were great my little Derpy." "Yes our daughter was pretty brave wasn't she?" Bolter gave Derpy a tickling on her belly which made her laugh and squirm around. A few seconds later the Nurse put a band-aid where Derpy had her shots which made the little filly wince again; as that spot was still sore. The nurse then floated over a clipboard and ink pad in front of Skybreeze. "Here is Derpy's birth certificate. I made sure all the information is correct. It has her birthday, both of your names as the parents, her name, and Cloudsdale as her place of birth. To make it final all I need is Derpy's hoofprints at the bottom." Skybreeze pulled both of Derpy's forelegs out of the blanket and turned her around. She then pressed her daughter's little hooves onto the ink pad and then carefully onto her birth certificate. The nurse then floated over a wet cloth and washed Derpy's hooves squeaky clean. All of a sudden Derpy let out a long yawn and her eyelids began to droop. "You did great today Derpy and have earned yourself a much needed nap." Skybreeze wrapped her filly back into the pink blanket cocoon, and rocked her gently while humming a soft tune. Derpy's eyes shut completely and within moments she was soundly sleep. "I think you need to get some rest as well Mrs. Hooves. Hopefully Derpy won't wake up crying when I take her to the nursery with the other foals." Before giving her up Skybreeze gave Derpy a kiss on the forehead and then let the unicorn float her away. As soon as this happened though Derpy let out a soft distressed moan as it seemed the little filly could sense she was being taken from her mother again. However the nurse quickly popped a pacifier into Derpy's toothless mouth, and the filly began to contently suck on it. The nurse then floated Derpy out of the room and thankfully she remained asleep. Skybreeze turned in her hospital bed to get more comfortable and said to Bolter: "We finally have our precious gift we have been waiting so long for. I know you'll be a great dad." "And you a great a mom. Now get some rest honey. I'll be right here when you wake up. Derpy's First DreamBoth parents fell asleep with Skybreeze in her somewhat comfortable hospital bed, and Bolter right next to her in a stiff chair. After some hours had passed Bolter woke up with a slight pain in his back, and he stretched out in all directions to relieve it. Skybreeze was still contently asleep as she was tired out from giving birth to their foal. Bolter then left the room and walked over to the nursery. Standing there in front of the large glass window he could see Derpy sleeping in her crib among all the other foals. However she didn't look all that peaceful. Behind the pacifier she was sucking Derpy seemed to have somewhat of a frown on her face, and she was fidgeting in her blanket as though she was experiencing a nightmare. One of the many nurses of the hospital happened to be passing by and Bolter reached out to get her attention. "Uh excuse me, but would it be alright to take my daughter back to our room? We have been asleep the past few hours without her." "Sure that would be no problem at all. Which one is yours?" "Derpy. She is the little gray filly on the end there." The unicorn nurse entered the nursery and floated Derpy out with her magic. Bolter received Derpy by carefully cradling her with his wings and began his walk back to their room. "There there Derpy. You don't need to worry daddy has you now." Bolter could feel that Derpy calmed down upon being snuggled between his wings as her fidgeting stopped. If he could see her face as well he would have watched her frown turn into a content smile. Now that he was back in the room with both his wife and daughter sound asleep. Bolter made his way back to the chair he slept in, and shifted the sleeping filly to his forelegs as he gently plopped himself down taking care not to disturb Derpy. Bolter placed his hoof on Derpy's chest and could feel her tiny pulse as well as her chest move when she breathed. As he did this though Derpy instinctively reached up to wrap her little legs around Bolter's. He almost cried when Derpy did that and fought hard to keep back any tears. This was Bolter's first time alone with Derpy even if she was sound asleep, and he was filled with nothing but pure joy to finally hold his own little daughter. He thought he would have preferred a son but now that Derpy was here Bolter couldn't be happier. For the next hour Bolter just calmly rocked Derpy back and forth in the chair. He removed the hoof Derpy was holding to scratch an itch on his snout, but as soon as he did Derpy squirmed around a bit as her smile disappeared and she waved her forelegs around searching for daddy's hoof. Upon his itch being relieved Bolter quickly brought his hoof back to Derpy's chest and rubbed it softly. His filly then settled down again as she rewrapped her legs around Bolter's hoof. Her legs were so tiny that her hooves could barely reach one another. Bolter could feel his leg getting tired from holding it in that awkward position after awhile. So he tried quickly switching it out with an empty formula bottle that was sitting on a table beside him. Derpy wasn't fooled though and almost as if it were a reaction she tossed the bottle away, and it landed loudly on the floor as it bounced a few times before rolling underneath the bed. All the noise and commotion from the bottle bouncing on the floor woke Derpy up, but surprisingly not Skybreeze. As she slowly lifted her eyelids and blinked a few times to adjust her pupils to the light; Derpy's eyes searched around for a few moments before locking on to Bolter's. She gave him a puzzled but frightened look as she was expecting to see her mommy. "Hey there Derpy. I'm your daddy. There is no need to be upset, and mommy is right over there." Bolter turned Derpy towards Skybreeze and pointed a hoof at her as he said mommy. Derpy let out a few struggled whimpers as she reached both hooves out to Skybreeze. Bolter turned Derpy back to him and comforted her by brushing Derpy's mane. "Not now Sweetie. Mommy needs her rest to take care of you. I promise when she wakes up you will be the first pony to know, and then we can be with her." Derpy giggled and then she reached up toward Bolter who put her over his shoulder. Derpy grabbed onto his mane and snuggled into it as she yawned (Dropping her pacifier onto Bolter's mane in the process.). Bolter remembered he did accidentally wake the filly up from her nap and noticed she was still not fully rested. After cleaning the pacifier with a foal wipe and slipping it back into Derpy's mouth; In his softest voice he whispered to her: "Now go back to dreamland my little Derpy, You have a big day ahead of you." Derpy sucked on the pacifier as she drifted off back to sleep. Bolter felt tempted to bring Derpy back to the nursery so he could get some more sleep himself, but the father knew Derpy was too scared when she was without either him or Skybreeze. Somehow he eventually managed to nod off despite the fact he was sitting in an uncomfortable position in an even more uncomfortable chair, and with his Daughter tightly tugging at his mane. After more time had passed Bolter was woken up. This time by Derpy's tiny ruffled wings which were brushing up against his face as they buzzed. This was usually a sign that a baby pegasus was having a pleasant dream. Bolter didn't know what a foal who was barely twenty four hours old could even dream about (Derpy just dreamed about hugging her mommy and daddy.), but he was just glad it wasn't a nightmare. When Bolter turned to look at her Derpy's wings tickled the tip of his nose, and he had to quickly bring his other hoof up to prevent an oncoming sneeze in fear of waking her again. Doing his best not to disturb Derpy he carefully pulled his mane from her hooves replacing it with his leg, and brought her down in his lap in a much more natural position so her wings wouldn't tickle him as much. It was obvious to Bolter that Derpy was born with attachment issues, but he knew in time Derpy would grow out of them (or so he hoped). "Sweet dreams Derpy." Author's Note Feedback and proofreading is always encouraged and welcomed!!! Also feel free to send in any ideas for one of "Derpy's Firsts" you would want me to write about. One more chapter with Derpy still in the hospital but after that she will be home (I hope, I'm running out of ideas fit for a hospital setting.). Derpy's First FeedingAuthor's Note The word nipple and a breastfeeding scene is described here. Immature and stuck up parents be warned. Also I'm sorry this chapter is a bit short. I just found it too hard to keep writing without talking in circles on this subject. Derpy's First Feeding After he cradled Derpy and shifted his body Bolter rocked the sleeping foal for a while longer. Derpy's wings continued to buzz sporadically as she dreamed and her face would smile greater when they did. Eventually he noticed Skybreeze started to stir in her bed as she began to wake up. The rested mare rubbed her eyes as she let out a long drawn out yawn. "Is that you Bolter?" "Yes honey, and I have our daughter with me. Look I think she is having her first dream." Bolter walked over and presented the sleeping Derpy to Skybreeze who watched her daughter's wings as they buzzed or fluttered every few seconds. When she awwed her voice was loud enough to wake up Derpy who wasn't pleased at all to be disturbed again. Her face had an annoyed look on it as she pouted, but that quickly disappeared when she noticed mommy was finally awake and right next to her. Again she reached out to Skybreeze as she made a few labored whimpers. Other than crying these sounds were the only ones Derpy could make as she hadn't found her voice yet. Her mommy happily obliged to pick her up while her daddy was reluctant to give her away. Skybreeze brought Derpy in for a close tight hug, but her little filly could only place her forelegs on Skybreeze's chest as they were much too short to wrap around for a full hug. Derpy nuzzled her mommy's soft and warm chest and looked up at her with an excited look. "Aww! Bolter how will we ever say no to this precious face?" "I don't know. It's gonna be tough." Derpy laughed at that and once again dropped her pacifier. Bolter made a dive for it so it wouldn't get dirty from touching the floor. For the next few minutes Skybreeze played with her daughter on the hospital bed. She attempted to play peekaboo by hiding underneath her covers, but this would only upset Derpy as she began to cry any time mommy would "disappear". Though tickling her and holding her up to pretend she could fly had Derpy more than amused. It had been almost a full day since she was born, and even though she had spent much of it sleeping Derpy finally felt the sensation of hunger for the first time, and it was a strong feeling at that. Out of nowhere Derpy changed from laughing to the beginnings of a cry as she let out a few sobs. Both of her parents could hear their foal's tummy rumbling as they watched Derpy rub her hooves on it. Her mommy tried to console her when Derpy frowned but regardless she broke out into a full on ear piercing cry. *sniff* "Waa..." *sniff* *sniff* "WUAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!" " I know you're hungry Derpy. Just be patient one more moment and I'll feed you." Derpy's cries only intensified when Skybreeze set her down at the end of the hospital bed. Next Skybreeze shifted her body out from underneath the covers. She spread her hindlegs open to reveal her nipples which were swollen with milk. "Okay my little Derpy. Come to mommy now and drink up." By instinct Derpy calmed down from her wailing and blubbering as became fixated on to her target. She slowly crawled up to Skybreeze and then placed her lips around the closest nipple she could reach. Derpy then began sucking on it as if it were her pacifier. Skybreeze felt a slight discomfort as this was her first time ever breastfeeding, but she felt relieved being able to naturally feed her filly. Most newborn foals would reject a bottle so if they mother didn't produce any milk of her own the situation quickly became dire. Derpy suckled from her mother's nipple for a solid five minutes before she stopped. Hunger sated the filly then looked up at her mommy with a discomforting look on her face, but Skybreeze knew what was coming next. *hiccup* *hic* hiccup* Derpy had her first ever case of the hiccups and didn't know why she couldn't control them. She gave her mommy another frightened look, but Skybreeze rapidly scooped her up and placed Derpy over her shoulder as she patted the hiccuping filly's back. Within a few moments Derpy let out a tiny burp that startled her. Now with the hiccups gone and a belly full of warm milk Derpy felt much better. Skybreeze then brought Derpy back in front of her face and booped her tiny little nose. Derpy giggled and through imitation she booped her mommy's nose right back. This started an intense booping war which of course Skybreeze let her daughter win. She set the bouncing filly back down on the bed and feigned a surrender. Derpy clapped her hooves together in excitement, but she was interrupted when Bolter picked her up. "Come here sweetie. Now it's daddy's turn to play." Derpy was caught off guard as Bolter lifted her up from behind, and she was so startled in fact that she wet her diaper. This was another new sensation to her and Derpy again didn't know what or why that just happened so she just cried. When Bolter tried to cradle her in an attempt to calm her down he felt the welt squish of Derpy's diaper. After much protest and pleading with Skybreeze to change her. Skybreeze just made the point that he caused it so he should have to do it. After a heavy sigh he agreed, but only because taking care of his daughter down was more important. He brought the distraught filly over to the changing table in the hospital room and carefully set Derpy down on her back. Derpy flailed around and kicked at Bolter as he attempted to remove her diaper. "Come on Derpy please hold still. I need to get you out of that diaper." Though once he had it off and cleaned Derpy with some foal wipes his daughter mostly calmed down to a few light sobs. He then added some foal powder to prevent a possible diaper rash, and then attempted to put a fresh diaper on her. Derpy was extremely ticklish and refused to sit still as Bolter tried several times to get her legs in place. After quite a struggle however Bolter finally had Derpy changed and back to her silly personality. Bolter carried her back over to Skybreeze, and Derpy hopped from his arms to land on the hospital bed. She slowed her descent by buzzing her tiny wings and landed safely, but both of her parents had mini heart attacks when she jumped. "Raising her is going to be a two pony job!" "Well then it's a good thing she has TWO parents!" Derpy's First OutingAfter a few more days to let Skybreeze rest, and for the hospital staff to make sure that Derpy was healthy the Hooves family were finally leaving the hospital. Bolter was busy packing the bag of items useful for raising a foal, and Skybreeze had just finished strapping a foal carrier to her chest. Derpy was on the hospital bed playing with her rattle one of the nurses gave her. The filly would just wave it around and occasionally bang it on the bed, but the noise it made kept her reasonably distracted while her parents prepared to go home. After a few more moments Skybreeze and Bolter were ready to leave. "Are you ready to see the world my little Derpy? Come on lets get you strapped in." Derpy looked at her mommy and smiled as she waved her forelegs (including rattle) in the air. Once Skybreeze picked her up and lowered her into the foal carrier; Derpy had a confused look on her face and whimpered a few times. She didn't know why her mommy didn't want to hold her. As soon as Skybreeze tightened the two straps that held Derpy securely in place her daughter started to struggle. Not only were the straps a bit too tight but they also prevented Derpy from escaping. The scared little filly reached up to her mommy as she started to cry. "I can't hold you and walk at the same time Derpy. I have to carry you like this until we get home." Skybreeze knew Derpy didn't understand a single word she was speaking but said them anyway. She then asked Bolter for help in consoling their daughter. The gray pegasus pondered for a moment before reaching into the bag he just packed. He brought out Derpy's pacifier and a small jar of honey. He then dipped the pacifier into the sweet substance and waited a moment for the excess to drip off. "Here you go Derpy try this. Also I think you made her straps a bit too tight Sky." Upon popping the pacifier into her mouth Derpy formed a surprise look on her face. This was the first time she tasted anything other than milk or the rubber pacifier. She was content enough to suck on it quietly but she still struggled in her carrier. Skybreeze readjusted the two straps and Derpy instantly snuggled in. The sweet nectar combined with the warmth from her mommy's chest and the secure hold from the foal carrier made Derpy feel safe and happy. The mini pegasus then focused on the sweet flavor of the honey as she rapidly sucked her pacifier. The filly wasn't even startled as her parent's walked through the noisy and busy hallways of the hospital on their way out. After a quick stop at the front desk to finish the last bit of paperwork; Bolter and Skybreeze ventured out of the hospital. As soon as they made it outside the bright light from the high noon sun blinded Derpy's sensitive eyes. The foal was used to the moderately lit rooms back in the hospital which paled in comparison to Celestia's sun. Through reflex her eyelids snapped shut and she covered them with her hooves. After a minute or so she slowly began to open her eyes. At first everything was just solid bright, but as her pupils dilated to adjust she slowly gained her vision back. The hospital's walls, floors, and ceilings were painted various shades of blue-gray which looked quite dull. Derpy was amazed at all the wonderful colors the streets of Cloudsdale provided, and she almost couldn't turn her head fast enough to get a look at everything she passed by. The Hooves were making their way to main street as they needed to pickup a few things on their way home. They were periodically stopped when they would run into one of their friends along the way, and answered all of the questions about their newborn foal. The first few times Derpy would flinch and shy away as the big ponies frightened her. Especially when they would get up close to her face to talk to her. Though after meeting several ponies along with constant reassurances from her parents. Derpy finally relaxed enough to greet them with a smile hidden behind her pacifier. The first stop Skybreeze and Bolter made was at a toy store. They weren't sure what kind of toys Derpy would enjoy so they thought it would be best to let their filly decide for herself. They explored the store taking brief pauses to see if anything caught Derpy's attention. The first toy that did was a stuffed monkey plush, and it's hands velcroed together allowing it to hang off of the display. When they walked by it Derpy reached out for it as she let out a few squeaks. Bolter got it down for her and presented it to Derpy. She instantly grabbed it and hugged it tightly; with the widest smile appearing on her face. The rest of the store however didn't really have anything that interested Derpy too much. In fact all of the sounds from the other little ponies playing around the store and yelling began to upset Derpy. When her parents noticed this they immediately went to the cashier to pay for the monkey. Derpy refused to let go of it so Bolter lifted her from the foal carrier and plopped her down on the counter. After he did Derpy was entranced by a nearby bubble maker. Her eyes followed the colorful bubbles as they floated around, and she giggled when one bumped her nose making it pop. The worker running the cash register noticed this also. "Ah I see your little filly likes bubbles as well. One of our best selling toys right now is a little train that makes bubbles when you push it along." The cashier pointed to a display case behind the counter that was filled with these trains. Derpy's parents decided to get her that as well and they paid for both toys. During the rest of their trip home Derpy just continued to hug her new monkey, and she was too distracted with it to let anypony else interact with her. Author's Note I fleshed out the previous chapter some more to make it long enough for my liking. I'm really enjoying writing this more than I thought. I guess I'll never get tired of reading or writing Derpy/foal fics. Derpy's First BathDerpy had only spent one night at her home so far. Already though she was beginning to accumulate a dirty appearance as she crawled around the cloud flooring. Also the few times Derpy's parents gave her a honey dipped pacifier to console her she would usually end up with honey drool on her coat. Skybreeze finally noticed Derpy could really use her first bath. A full on bath and not one of the cleanings with a wet towel she received at the hospital. Derpy was sitting in the middle of the living room floor as she hugged her monkey with one leg, and crawled along pushing her train with the other. She would occasionally stop to try and catch some of the bubbles the train made. It was during one of these moments Skybreeze grabbed her and lifted her away. Derpy was trying to catch a bubble so she wasn't holding her toys, and she whined at being taken away from them. "Ssshh. Ssshh. My little Derpy you need to take a bath. You can keep playing when you're done." Derpy still didn't understand any words only being a week old, and she reached out for her monkey and train as she was carried away. Once they were inside the bathroom Skybreeze set the filly on the floor, and she turned her attention to getting the bath ready. Derpy could still see her toys in the other room and she began to crawl over to them. Skybreeze noticed Derpy's escape attempt and quickly caught her. She then set Derpy back on the clouded floor and shut the bathroom door. Derpy just pouted and crossed her forelegs while she had a glaring look on her face. Skybreeze already had the soap, shampoo, scrubber, and brush ready. Next she turned on both faucets and the water came gushing out as it hit the tub. The sudden, loud, and unknown noise made Derpy jump back. She crawled over to a corner and began to cry while shaking in fear. Her mommy noticed her daughter's reaction and quickly scooped her up. "It's alright Derpy. It's just water filling the tub for your bath." Skybreeze walked over and showed Derpy the tub with the water level rising inside it. Derpy had buried her head into her mommy's chest and peeked out to see. The strange sight had her interest, but she was still worried about what was going on. Once the tub was filled to a safe level for bathing a foal; Skybreeze turned off the faucets, and dipped a hoof to make sure the temperature wouldn't burn Derpy. Skybreeze then removed Derpy's diaper and slowly lowered her into the tub. As soon as Derpy's hindlegs touched the warm water she instantly flinched, and tried to squirm out of her mommy's hold. The scared filly buzzed her wings so hard that she raised herself up some. Skybreeze stopped her attempt to put Derpy in the water and decided to rub her with a wet cloth. "See Derpy. It's just some nice warm water." Derpy shook when the wet cloth touched her, but after a few seconds she began to enjoy it's warmth. Once her filly was sufficiently calmed down Skybreeze made a second attempt at putting her in the tub. Derpy still had a worried look on her face but she didn't fight it this time. Once she was settled in though she just had a confused look on her face not knowing what to expect next. "Here Derpy. Want to play with Mr. Ducky?" Skybreeze tried to float a little rubber duck in front of Derpy, but she made an upset noise as she pushed it away. The reaction caused a little splash, and Skybreeze ended up wet herself. Then she had the sudden realization that Derpy loved bubbles, and a bubble bath would make things go much more smoothly. She fetched the bottle of bubble bath from the bathroom cupboard and began pouring it into the water. After pouring a hefty amount she put a hoof into the water and began mixing it around. As the bubbles started forming Derpy giggled while she attempted to catch them. Soon Derpy's own commotion was enough to keep the bubbles forming so Skybreeze watched her play for a few minutes. Once the little filly was covered in bubbles and happily laughing Skybreeze began to clean Derpy. She squeezed some soap onto the scrubber and began scrubbing Derpy's coat all over. This was a struggle as her daughter refused to hold still because she didn't like it. Once that was finished washing her mane and tail was just as big of a pain. When Skybreeze lifted Derpy's rear end by her tail the filly let out a little wail, and she kicked a few times. "Okay Derpy we are almost done. Now we just need to get you dry." Skybreeze pulled the plug from the Drain and lifted Derpy out of the tub. She shivered as her body left the warm water and met the cooler air. When Skybreeze set her down on the counter the little filly instinctively tried to shake herself dry which only resulted in drops of water covering everything. Her mommy then began to rub her down with a towel, and finished by wrapping her in it. Derpy snuggled in it for warmth as Skybreeze left to get a new diaper. The warm feeling of the towel didn't last too long as Skybreeze quickly returned and unwrapped it. After putting on the new diaper Derpy was then sat upright. Skybreeze started with brushing her tail to remove all the tangles, and then moved on to her mane. Now that she was all cleaned, dried, and brushed Derpy finally looked like the precious little filly her parents knew she was. Skybreeze held Derpy up in front of the bathroom mirror and pointed at her reflection. "See Derpy. Look at how pretty you are now." Derpy was entranced by how shiny her mane and tail were, and she made some happy noises which were nothing but nonsense. Skybreeze then brought Derpy out of the bathroom and back to her toys like she promised earlier. As she leaned down Derpy leaped from her forelegs and buzzed her wings to gently plop down on the floor. She then made a beeline as she crawled to her monkey, and gave it a big hug. She rolled around on the floor with it a few times, and then Skybreeze noticed something terrible. Derpy's monkey was also covered in honey drool and was just making Derpy all sticky again. Now she needed another bath... Derpy's First Bottle"Ow" Skybreeze let out a little yelp while she was giving Derpy her morning feeding. The little foal was a few months old now and the tips of her first baby teeth were coming in. Now Derpy rubbed her mommy's nipple raw as she sucked milk. Skybreeze now knew she would have to get her filly accustomed to drinking formula from a bottle; however hard the switch might be. Skybreeze just dealt with the pain for this feeding and hoped it would be one of the last. *hiccup* *hic* *hiccup* "WUAAAAHHHH!!!" *hiccup* "WUAAAAHHHH!!!" Derpy still got a case of the hiccups after feeding sometimes, and she cried because she still could not control them. Skybreeze quickly reacted and threw Derpy over her shoulder. After she patted her filly's back a few times a high pitched burp escaped the little pegasus's mouth. When she brought Derpy back in to her view the foal had a smile on her face and flapped her wings in joy. "BAAAAAA!" The filly could now blurt out one syllable babbles, and even match the tone of her voice to her current mood. She still didn't understand what most words meant, but she seemed to recognize her name. Skybreeze chuckled at her daughter's attempt at speech, and then remembered that they still hadn't bought any bottles or formula yet. She strapped on the foal carrier and settled in Derpy to make a trip to the store. When the pair arrived Skybreeze picked out a shopping cart and set Derpy in the child's seat. Derpy fidgeted a bit and started to whine because her mommy wasn't carrying her. Skybreeze stroked her mane and reassured her. "Ssshh. Ssshh. I'm going to be right here the whole time Derpy. This won't take too long." The mother made her way over to the aisle containing items for foals, and grabbed a brand new set of bottles as well as some cases of baby formula. While she shopped for a few other odds and ends she noticed Derpy was chewing on the handle bar of the shopping cart. Knowing how unsanitary that was Skybreeze immediately scolded her for doing so. Derpy reeled back as she made some noises that signaled being in pain, and she held her hooves to her cheeks. "Oh that's right you're teething now. I'm sorry Derpy let me get you something to help." Skybreeze went right back to the foal aisle and fetched a purple teething ring. She offered it to Derpy who was puzzled not knowing what to do with it. Next her mommy gently pushed it to her mouth and the filly learned it was okay to bite it. Derpy contently chewed it as the rubber ring soothed the pain in her gums. Skybreeze finished obtaining the last few items on her list and paid for everything when she was done. Skybreeze struggled on the flight back home as she had to carry her filly and the shopping bags. After arriving home she unloaded all of the bags onto the dining table and set Derpy down by her few toys in the living room. Which now included a set of foam blocks to help Derpy learn letters and numbers, a sparkly ball she loved to bounce against the wall, and a puzzle board with cut out holes for learning her shapes. Her mommy went over to the couch to take a nap. Derpy took her rattle and bubble train, and rolled it along as she crawled over to Skybreeze. She shook her rattle a couple times to try and get mommy to play, but her mommy just let out a heavy sigh. Being ignored brought a worried look on her face, and the attention seeking filly banged her rattle on the cloud floor which made a louder sound. "Not now Derpy. Mommy needs a nap." Skybreeze rolled over on the couch to face away from Derpy. This just made Derpy angry and she crawled up to the couch. Barely able to reach but the filly banged her rattle on her mommy's back to try and get her to play. Fed up with this Skybreeze lumbered off of the couch and picked Derpy up. At first her filly was excited thinking they were going to play. She continued to shake her rattle in excitement which only annoyed the tired mare slightly more. Skybreeze walked into her bedroom and sat Derpy down in her crib next to the bed. Skybreeze had managed to get Derpy used to being separated a bit, but she still had to be in same room with the foal or crying would ensue. Derpy's excitement turned into sadness when her mommy let go. "I'll be right back Derpy. Don't worry." The distraught foal began to whimper, but before those whimpers turned into a full on cry her mommy was back. She exchanged Derpy's rattle and bubble train for her plush monkey, and gave her a honey dipped pacifier. Derpy snuggled her monkey as she would now sleep on it like it was a monkey mattress, and looked back to up to Skybreeze with heavy eyelids. "That's right Derpy you could use a nap too. We don't want a cranky filly when daddy comes home do we?" Derpy drifted off to sleep sucking on the sweet honey. Skybreeze had to fall asleep in her bed nearby though. Somehow even asleep if she or Bolter left the room Derpy could sense it. At first she would only whine in her sleep, but eventually she would wake up and start crying loudly once she realized her mommy and daddy were gone. Later that same night Skybreeze was on the floor with Derpy sitting between her legs, and she was helping Derpy put the pieces in the puzzle board. She would point to an empty hole, say what shape it was, grab the correct piece, say what shape it was, and place it in the hole. Derpy was still too young to really grasp this concept yet, and would try to imitate her mommy but she would only grab a random piece and try to force it into the wrong hole. After a while of playing the familiar rumbling sound of a hungry filly Derpy reached Skybreeze's ears. Now it was bottle time whether Derpy liked it or not. She brought Derpy into the kitchen and sat her down beside her. She filled a bottle with formula and began to heat it in the microwave. While waiting for the timer to finish Skybreeze felt a sharp pain on one of her nipples. Motivated by hunger Derpy had crawled underneath her mommy and was suckling milk. Skybreeze scooped her up and set Derpy in her high chair. Derpy started crying as she had never been refused a feeding before and her tummy was really hungry. After she heard the ding from the microwave and checked the temperature of the formula. Skybreeze lowered the bottle to Derpy's mouth. "Here Derpy. You'll be feeding from bottles now." Derpy stopped her wailing and stared at the bottle. Unsure of it she stuck her tongue out, but when she tasted the rubber nipple she spat it out. Derpy pushed the bottle away with a look of defiance on her face. "Ah Ah!" "Come on Derpy I know you're hungry. It will taste just as good if you try it I promise." Skybreeze brought the bottle back to her mouth but Derpy pushed it away again, and turned her head away every time Skybreeze made another attempt. Skybreeze had one last trick up her sleeve. She dipped the bottle's nipple in honey and cradled Derpy in her other foreleg. Unable to move her head away this time Derpy was forced to taste the rubber nipple as Skybreeze brought it to her mouth, but once she tasted the familiar sweetness of the honey she began to suckle. As soon as the formula hit her tongue Derpy knew this was like a feeding, and began gulping down the formula. She looked up at her mommy with happy eyes and Skybreeze returned the gesture. "See Derpy I told you it would taste just as good? Now be a good little filly and finish it all." Author's Note I always welcome any proof reading. Also how does everyone feel about my time skip from a week told to a few months? Eventually the time skips get naturally longer anyways. Derpy's First Handicap"Honey I'm home!" Bolter came in through the door as he called to his wife. Derpy was startled by the noise and momentarily stopped playing with her toys. She looked up to see her daddy and began crawling over to him. Bolter kneeled down for a hug but when Derpy was almost there she sat upright and began her hug too early. She ended up hugging nothing but air and fell forward. Her eyes began to tear up but Bolter pulled her into a hug and reassured her. "It's okay Derpy you just tripped a little. We all do that." "LAAAAAAA!" Derpy let another one of her unintelligible babbles as she hugged her daddy back. Bolter carried her across the living room and Derpy locked her focus onto her toys as she hoped daddy was going to play with her. Derpy whimpered though when Bolter walked right by them and headed into the kitchen where Skybreeze was readying dinner. Bolter sat his filly in her high chair and Skybreeze greeted him with a peck on the cheek. "So how was work today?" "Oh the usual. Though we are getting some clouds ready for a big storm over Ponyville. How has Derpy been?" "She has been such a joy today. Derpy took an extended nap and has been happily playing with her toys since she woke up." "BUUUU" "NAAAAAAA" Derpy heard her name mentioned which garnered her attention, and she tried some noises to get her parents to look at her. She was unable to understand what they were talking about, but it obviously involved her in some way so Derpy wanted in on the action. Both of them gave her a smile and Skybreeze patted Derpy on her head. After exchanging a few more details of their day Bolter walked off to go read his newspaper in the living room while Skybreeze finished cooking their dinner. Derpy's high chair had a few toys attached to it that usually kept her entertained for varying lengths of time. Eventually though Derpy's stomach began to grumble and she started to whine in response to her hunger. However the sounds of cooking in the kitchen kept Skybreeze from noticing until Derpy's whine turned into a loud wailing. Skybreeze practically dropped what she was doing and rushed over to tend to her foal. Derpy really only cried for three reasons. Either she was hungry, needed a changing, or both of her parents had left the room. With Skybreeze being right there and after checking her diaper to make sure it was clean. She knew Derpy simply needed to be fed. "I guess it's time for your dinner too Derpy. I'll grab your bottle." She then left Derpy in her high chair and quickly prepared a bottle of formula. It wasn't long before Skybreeze had Derpy cradled and presented the bottle to her. When Derpy noticed the bottle she calmed down into quiet sobs which in turn became an eager smile. Derpy reached out to grasp the bottle but she missed her mark with every attempt, and seemed to grow frustrated in doing so. "What's wrong Derpy? This bottle is like all the other ones." At first Skybreeze thought Derpy's misguided efforts at grabbing the bottle were Derpy trying to refuse the bottle. This was puzzling because Skybreeze had gotten her used to being bottle fed within the last few weeks. Soon though it dawned on her that Derpy was in fact trying to reach the bottle but was struggling to do so. So she brought it up to Derpy's lips directly and her filly was finally able to feed from the bottle. During the feeding though Skybreeze noticed Derpy's eyes were looking in different directions. She thought her daughter was just making a funny face at the moment. When Derpy had drained the bottle Skybreeze burped her over the shoulder, but when She brought Derpy back in view the foal's eyes still seemed to stare off in different directions. Skybreeze booped her nose to get Derpy to blink but upon reopening her eyes they were still pointed in different directions. "Bolter come in here quick. I think something is happening to our daughter!" Bolter had managed to rush in before the newspaper he was reading could even float to the ground. He immediately went over to check on Derpy but didn't see anything wrong at first glance. "What's a matter Skybreeze? Derpy looks okay." "Her eyes! Look at her eyes! They aren't pointing straight!" "Well maybe she is just making a funny face? Like she is trying to sneeze or something?" "No it isn't that. When I tried feeding her she had trouble grabbing the bottle." The couple went on back and forth both worried as to what they should do. Derpy then began to cry. Not caused by her condition which wasn't bothering her yet, but because she was sensing how upset her parents were, and the infant filly didn't know what else to do. Derpy's crying made Skybreeze and Bolter refocus on the situation at hand, and they knew action must be taken instead of bickering. They both raced off to the Cloudsdale hospital. When they barged in with distraught looks on their faces while they carried a crying foal the ponies instantly received help from the nurse at the front desk. Derpy's condition wasn't life threatening so the family had to wait while ponies with more serious issues were cared for first. Derpy kept crying and kicking no matter if Skybreeze or Bolter held her, and their attempts at consoling her made no progress. Though her fit must have tired her out as eventually Derpy nodded off into sleep. After some other pony was wheelchaired out. A doctor finally called for the Hooves family to come back to an examination room with him. Derpy's parents explained what was wrong with their daughter's eyes and the things they noticed about her earlier in the day. The pegasus doctor had to wake Derpy up to examine them which upset the foal. She remained calm in the presence of her parents but she pouted at the doctor with the meanest stare. The doctor explained that Derpy was merely experiencing the onset of Strabismus. "So is she going to lose her vision?" Asked a worried Skybreeze. "No not at all. However this will effect her depth perception. Other side effects are usually headaches and sudden migraines caused by Derpy's brain trying to process two wildly different images and..." The pegasus doctor went on to explain what it meant for Derpy to have strabismus but he was interrupted by Bolter. "But will Derpy be okay? Is there a cure? "Well there are treatments to help minimize the effects. Derpy can wear an eye-patch to avoid headaches, and when she settles in to her condition corrective lenses will help her see better." "No surgery either?' "I'm afraid that would be too dangerous and Derpy could actually go blind in that eye. We can also try to..." As the adult ponies were talking about Derpy as they kept saying her name she began to wimper. She was in a strange place and this mean pony was making mommy and daddy sad. Why couldn't Derpy just be at home playing with mommy and daddy or hugging them? She tried making some babbles in an upset tone but the ponies kept talking. Author's Note Finally got over my writer's block and finished this chapter which sat in unpublished limbo for months. More on this story to come! Derpy's First StepIt had been about a month since that visit to the hospital. Derpy's condition hadn't noticeably worsened yet, and she really only seemed to have issues related to depth perception; such as grabbing things or bumping her head when crawling around. For such a needy foal Derpy's parents were just happy they had something that would keep Derpy occupied. Other than spending time with mommy or daddy playing with her toy bubble train was always her favorite activity during the day. The colorful bubbles would catch the light in just the right way which made them shimmer brightly. This was a sight Derpy thought to be incredibly pretty. She would giver her bubble train a large push across the floor, and the trail of bubbles it would create left Derpy in a trance. Once they started falling though Derpy would try to pop or catch as many of them as she could with her hooves, and she would giggle with every success. However Derpy became frustrated with her bubble train after several recent futile attempts. The filly could no longer catch the bubbles easily which led her to abandon it more often. Her parents saw how heartbroken Derpy was, and they would help her catch them, but Derpy didn't seem to enjoy it as much as catching them herself. Of all the things that would upset Derpy the most. It wasn't her impaired vision exactly, but just the fact that she couldn't enjoy all of the bubbles her toy train made. Despite her situation though Derpy was becoming more active as the days went on. She would crawl around much more, be much more playful during bath time, and also get more excited any time her parents took her outside. The filly's courage was increasing too. Meeting new ponies didn't frighten Derpy to the point of burying her head into Skybreeze's chest. Though she still squirmed around when somepony other than Skybreeze or Bolter tried to hold her. As long as Derpy was awake and distracted by something like one of her toys her parents could finally go off into another room without Derpy crying for them; although this still happened anytime Derpy was sleeping. Neither of them had the slightest idea of how their sleeping daughter knew they were away. In the recent days Skybreeze had noticed that when she would set Derpy down her foal would stand on her own for a brief moment, and after a few seconds Derpy would succumb to her shaky legs as she fall back on her haunches. Derpy noticed that all the big ponies like her mommy and daddy were walking on their legs, and not crawling around like she was. The filly didn't understand how to do this yet but thought she could at least try getting up on her legs. Her impaired vision definitely hindered her progress though. Always bumping into walls and tripping over her toys had her scared enough with only crawling, but she wanted to be just like mommy and daddy to make them proud. One day Skybreeze had just finished brushing Derpy's mane and tail after a bath, and she set the newly cleaned filly on the living room floor with her toys. Like usual Derpy attempted to stand for as long as she could, but this time Derpy lifted up one of her front legs. It looked as though she was making an attempt at taking a step forward, but all she managed to do was lose her balance, teeter back and forth a few times, and finally tumbling over as she landed on her back. *sniff* *sniff* "Waaa." "WAAAAAA..." "Don't worry sweetie you're getting it. Just keep trying your best and you'll get it." Derpy was about to start crying but Skybreeze instantly scooped her up to console her. Bolter and her couldn't be more pleased that at least Derpy seemed to be progressing normally despite her vision problems; even she was a bit slower than a normal foal. Though Derpy's parents detested the word normal when it was used in such a way by other ponies. To them Derpy was no different than any other foal as nopony is ever perfect. Some of Derpy's incoherent babble even started to sound more like actuall syllables, and when one of her parents would ask Derpy if she wanted her bottle their daughter would simply respond "Baba" or some close variation of the sound. She needed some help guiding the piece exactly into the hole, but Derpy had also seemed to figure out her puzzle toy. Derpy had managed to grab any shape and attempt to put it into the correct hole, but it usually took her a few tries to center the piece right due to her vision. The big moment finally came one day in the afternoon. Derpy had just finished one of her naps and was still waking up in her crib when Bolter had arrived home from work. She was starting to get anxious and fidgety because she knew daddy was home and Derpy wanted to hug him. Skybreeze was also in the bedroom doing some cleaning and noticed Derpy getting upset from hearing her whines. "Calm down Derpy. I'll bring you in there in just a moment. Daddy isn't going anywhere." All Derpy really understood from that sentence was the word daddy which had the opposite effect of settling her down. Skybreeze finished some dusting and finally picked up Derpy from her crib which excited the rambunctious filly even more. After Skybreeze carried her into the other room Derpy leaped from her hold when she saw Bolter, and buzzed her wings to gently plop onto the ground. She was so excited that she struggled up onto her legs. After a moment of finding her balance Derpy took her first step forward, but she wasn't prepared for the shift in her weight. The forward momentum caused her to take a few rushed steps to try and stay up but she eventually tumbled forward and rolled into Bolter's leg. Derpy wanted to cry for failing in front of her parents, but Bolter picked her up and held her up above his head. "Wow Derpy you just took your first steps! Your mother and I are both so proud of you!" Derpy's First WordDespite her vision troubles Derpy was still as eager to learn as any other filly. She would take a few awkward steps here and there, and became more confident as her legs steadied. The more pressing thing on her mind however was making those sounds like all the big ponies did. Derpy noticed that all of these different sounds meant different things and that the big ponies were using them to communicate. The little filly would babble at most interactions now, but she always made a random noise as she didn't realize yet to attach the same sound to a certain thing. Derpy did at least use similar sounds depending on her emotion which made it easier for Bolter and Skybreeze to figure out what she wanted or needed. One sound in particular was a high pitch squeak that Derpy had developed when anything startled her, and being a filly as easily scared as she was meant that her parents were all too familiar with that noise. *SSQQQUUEEAAKK!!!* It was ear piercing at first but her parents quickly got used to it, and didn't overreact as much as time went on. They knew sometimes it was best to let their daughter face something surprising, and to encourage Derpy to embrace it instead of shying away. The little filly's biggest issue seemed to be meeting other adult ponies, and especially large stallions as their size was extremely imposing to Derpy. She had learned that the doorbell ringing meant somepony was about to come in the house, and if it did then she would scamper off behind some furniture until one of her parents coaxed her back out. If that pony happened to go near or sit on that furniture Derpy's squeak was guaranteed to be heard. Another set of sounds Derpy had managed to form were one syllable babbles whenever she tried to draw attention to herself or something, but still she always used a different one randomly. One day Skybreeze was sitting with Derpy as she played with her puzzle toy. Derpy would present every piece to her mom before putting it in the right spot, and Skybreeze would always state the color and name of the shape. Derpy's response was always a different babble though before she placed the piece down. In her head though Derpy was eager to try and form those big fancy sounds other ponies referred to as words, but she just couldn't quite grasp how to put different syllables together. Derpy still hadn't reached her first birthday yet, but she was well on her way to speaking like everypony else. The filly had managed to realize that the same sounds were always used for the same things, and by this point Derpy had figured out to use the same single syllable babble for certain things. Skybreeze and Bolter could now ask her rudimentary yes or no questions and correctly understand their daughter's response most of the time. Derpy would try to put together and speak sentences of these syllables when in her mind they had meaning, but to anypony who heard them they were just a cute string of nonsensical noises from a foal. The one thing that Derpy still cherished the most was her stuffed monkey plush. That thing went everywhere with her and visibly you could see it's wear. Next to her parents it was her greatest source of comfort when she was frightened, and what she wanted most was to be able to ask her parents for it if she needed to. Monkey was such a short simple world yet Derpy couldn't sound out those two syllables together even though she could do so perfectly in her head. She had the hardest time trying to pronounce the K sound and would refer to her plush as either Me or MeMe sometimes, but not often enough for her parents to associate that sound. Being able to say what she wanted had Derpy so frustrated with herself. She always felt bad for making her parents ask a bunch of yes or no questions for something as simple letting them know what toy she wanted to play with. She had so many words inside her mind that she wanted to express to the world but her tiny mouth just didn't seem to want to let them out. For a while Derpy became so saddened at her lack of progress that she simply stopped trying to speak altogether. Other than squeaking or crying Derpy refused to make any other sounds and this worried her parents. Her parents took Derpy to a foal specialist who after several tests assured them that all foals develop at different times, and to just be more patient with their child. During her little silent stage of foalhood Derpy had began to better understand what other ponies were saying around her, and grasp basic meaning from their sentences. Derpy was mad at herself after hearing the doctor; as she understood it Derpy was making her parents wait more than they needed to, but she didn't want to upset them and was determined more than ever to make them proud. A few nights later Derpy was all ready for bedtime and sitting in her crib. Skybreeze had forgot to put her monkey plush in the crib with Derpy which made it impossible for the foal to fall asleep. Derpy just had to have her monkey but needed to let her mom know. So she kicked off her blanket and toddled over to the other end of her crib and picked up her rattle. She waved it across the bars of the crib back and forth until Skybreeze came over to settle her down. Skybreeze tried cradling her back and forth while singing a lullaby but Derpy wasn't having it until she got her monkey. Until finally: "Muh!..." "Mon!.." "What's a matter Derpy? Please fall asleep." Skybreeze tried offering Derpy a bottle and her pacifier but she rejected both of them. She was out of ideas until suddenly: "Monk!.." "Mon...Key!" "Monkey!" "Oh you just want your monkey. Okay I'll... wait WHAT!?" "Monkey! Monkey! Monkey!" "Oh Derpy your first word! Quick lets go get Daddy he'll be so proud of you!"
Derpy's First DayAuthor's Note Usually these will be at the bottom but this note has some helpful info. Derpy's mother's name is Skybreeze, and her father's name is Bolter. They are both pegasi living in Cloudsdale. Also I greatly appreciate all proof reading!!! Derpy's First Day "We are almost there now Mrs. hooves. Just a few more pushes and don't forget to breathe. You're doing great the foal's snout is starting to emerge." "AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" *heavy breath* *heavy breath* *heavy breath* "DEAR CELESTIA THIS HURTS!!!!!" "WWWUUUUUAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH" "Aaaaannnnnnnnddd it's out. Well Mrs. Hooves you are now the proud parent of a little pegasus filly." After the tired pegasus heard it was finally over she passed out from all the pain and stress of giving birth, but after all these months of carrying her foal Mrs. Hooves had finally became a parent. The foal was born crying which was a healthy sign as it meant she was already breathing on her own. The staff then quickly removed the umbilical cord and took the foal away to be washed and have the usual batch of tests done. While this was being done one of the nurse unicorns used some smelling salts to wake up Mrs. Hooves. "Waa... uhhh.... Wh-what happened? Wait where is my baby?" "Don't worry Mrs. Hooves your little one should be just fine. They are cleaning her up and will perform the tests all newborn foals go through to make sure she is happy and healthy. Before you know it they will have her back in here for you to hold." "Her? I'm having a filly?" "Why yes. Didn't you hear the doctor?" "Uhh. I guess. Though I can't really remember much right before blacking out. So what does she look like? "From what I saw her coat was g..." "No wait! Don't tell me. I'd rather it be a surprise." Not a moment later and Mr. Hooves came bursting through the doors. He would have wanted to be there for the whole event but he worked on the Cloudsdale weather team, and it took too long for somepony to track him down and tell him his wife went into labor. "I'm here Skybreeze I'm here! Are you okay? How much longer until our foal is born?" "I already gave birth to her actually. It's alright though. I know you were out working." "Well the important thing is I'm here now and... WAIT! YOU SAID HER? WE ARE HAVING A FILLY?" "Yes Bolter. We now have our own little filly." The two pegasi then hugged each other as they both cried tears of joy. After they let out their emotions Bolter brought up the fact that they still hadn't settled on a name for either a filly or a colt. They argued a bit about picking the perfect name but eventually Skybreeze decided they should wait until they see her for the first time. After quite a while some distant cries could be heard down the hallway, and they grew louder as the seconds ticked by, Eventually a unicorn nurse walks in with their foal who was still crying, but the cries suddenly were quieter once the nurse entered the room. "Here you go Mr. and Mrs. Hooves. I think your daughter is ready to meet you now." The nurse then floated the little bundle of joy who was wrapped up in a comfy pink blanket over into the forelegs of Skybreeze. Upon receiving her filly she gently cradled the tiny crying pony and rocked her back and forth. "Ssshhhh. Ssshhhh. It's alright little one. Mommy and Daddy are here now, and we love you until the ends of Equestria." The foal's crying then changed into some light sobs as she began to calm down. Bolter then walked over and with a hoof brushed some of the filly's mane away from her face. "Hey there Sweetie I'm your Daddy. Your Mommy and I are both so glad to finally have you in our lives." The filly quit her sobbing altogether and let out a tiny giggle which melted the hearts of her parents. "Look Skybreeze she has my coat, but she has your eyes and mane." The foal was indeed born with her father's gray coat although it wasn't as dark, and her eyes and mane were a bright shiny gold just like her mother's. Before they knew it though the nurse came over to interrupt their family time. "I'm sorry to break things up so soon but I need to take her back for her shots now. One more thing. So I can get started on her paperwork have you picked out a name for the filly yet?" The Hooves couple gave each other an awkward stare only to be broken by their newborn blowing a raspberry at them for attention. Ever since she calmed down their daughter seemed to have a silly personality, and then a light bulb went off in Skybreeze's head. "Her name is Derpy. Derpy Hooves" "Are you sure honey? Why pick that name?" "Just look at her Bolter. She acts so cute and silly. Why not?" "Oh alright. I never win in a fight with you anyways." "Well okay then. I'll just take her from you for a few more minutes and I'll have her back in a Manehattan Minute." A purple glow surrounded the filly as the unicorn nurse used her magic to levitate out of her mother's grasp. The action of being taken away really upset Derpy as she broke out into a fit of loud crying, and she kicked her blanket off as she flailed her legs around. Upon this reaction the nurse instantly floated Derpy back to her mother's forelegs along with the blanket as well. Derpy kept her little tantrum going until Skybreeze consoled her, and Derpy knew she was being held by her mother again upon hearing her voice. Skybreeze then wrapped her up snugly back in the blanket. "Well Mr. and Mrs Hooves we usually only have trained staffed involved with administering the shots, but it seems Derpy won't remain calm or sit still unless you hold her. It seems we will have to give Derpy her shots in here. I'll be back momentarily." When the nurse returned she brought a rolling cart with her that had 3 syringes neatly arranged in a row, and all of them pre-filled with the vaccines. "Now if you could bring out one of Derpy's forelegs and hold her still I'll get her ready." Skybreeze did so and the nurse scrubbed an area of Derpy's leg clean with an alcohol wipe to sterilize her coat and skin. The nurse then rubbed an ice cube over that same spot to help numb some of the pain for Derpy making her shiver some. "Alright Skybreeze hold her steady. Here comes the first shot." As the nurse used her magic to insert the syringe Derpy winced from the pain, and started to sob as she gave her mother a frightened look. However Skybreeze was quick to comfort her. She just kept making funny faces at Derpy to distract her from what was going on, and before Derpy knew it she was all done. "You were great my little Derpy." "Yes our daughter was pretty brave wasn't she?" Bolter gave Derpy a tickling on her belly which made her laugh and squirm around. A few seconds later the Nurse put a band-aid where Derpy had her shots which made the little filly wince again; as that spot was still sore. The nurse then floated over a clipboard and ink pad in front of Skybreeze. "Here is Derpy's birth certificate. I made sure all the information is correct. It has her birthday, both of your names as the parents, her name, and Cloudsdale as her place of birth. To make it final all I need is Derpy's hoofprints at the bottom." Skybreeze pulled both of Derpy's forelegs out of the blanket and turned her around. She then pressed her daughter's little hooves onto the ink pad and then carefully onto her birth certificate. The nurse then floated over a wet cloth and washed Derpy's hooves squeaky clean. All of a sudden Derpy let out a long yawn and her eyelids began to droop. "You did great today Derpy and have earned yourself a much needed nap." Skybreeze wrapped her filly back into the pink blanket cocoon, and rocked her gently while humming a soft tune. Derpy's eyes shut completely and within moments she was soundly sleep. "I think you need to get some rest as well Mrs. Hooves. Hopefully Derpy won't wake up crying when I take her to the nursery with the other foals." Before giving her up Skybreeze gave Derpy a kiss on the forehead and then let the unicorn float her away. As soon as this happened though Derpy let out a soft distressed moan as it seemed the little filly could sense she was being taken from her mother again. However the nurse quickly popped a pacifier into Derpy's toothless mouth, and the filly began to contently suck on it. The nurse then floated Derpy out of the room and thankfully she remained asleep. Skybreeze turned in her hospital bed to get more comfortable and said to Bolter: "We finally have our precious gift we have been waiting so long for. I know you'll be a great dad." "And you a great a mom. Now get some rest honey. I'll be right here when you wake up.
Derpy's First DreamBoth parents fell asleep with Skybreeze in her somewhat comfortable hospital bed, and Bolter right next to her in a stiff chair. After some hours had passed Bolter woke up with a slight pain in his back, and he stretched out in all directions to relieve it. Skybreeze was still contently asleep as she was tired out from giving birth to their foal. Bolter then left the room and walked over to the nursery. Standing there in front of the large glass window he could see Derpy sleeping in her crib among all the other foals. However she didn't look all that peaceful. Behind the pacifier she was sucking Derpy seemed to have somewhat of a frown on her face, and she was fidgeting in her blanket as though she was experiencing a nightmare. One of the many nurses of the hospital happened to be passing by and Bolter reached out to get her attention. "Uh excuse me, but would it be alright to take my daughter back to our room? We have been asleep the past few hours without her." "Sure that would be no problem at all. Which one is yours?" "Derpy. She is the little gray filly on the end there." The unicorn nurse entered the nursery and floated Derpy out with her magic. Bolter received Derpy by carefully cradling her with his wings and began his walk back to their room. "There there Derpy. You don't need to worry daddy has you now." Bolter could feel that Derpy calmed down upon being snuggled between his wings as her fidgeting stopped. If he could see her face as well he would have watched her frown turn into a content smile. Now that he was back in the room with both his wife and daughter sound asleep. Bolter made his way back to the chair he slept in, and shifted the sleeping filly to his forelegs as he gently plopped himself down taking care not to disturb Derpy. Bolter placed his hoof on Derpy's chest and could feel her tiny pulse as well as her chest move when she breathed. As he did this though Derpy instinctively reached up to wrap her little legs around Bolter's. He almost cried when Derpy did that and fought hard to keep back any tears. This was Bolter's first time alone with Derpy even if she was sound asleep, and he was filled with nothing but pure joy to finally hold his own little daughter. He thought he would have preferred a son but now that Derpy was here Bolter couldn't be happier. For the next hour Bolter just calmly rocked Derpy back and forth in the chair. He removed the hoof Derpy was holding to scratch an itch on his snout, but as soon as he did Derpy squirmed around a bit as her smile disappeared and she waved her forelegs around searching for daddy's hoof. Upon his itch being relieved Bolter quickly brought his hoof back to Derpy's chest and rubbed it softly. His filly then settled down again as she rewrapped her legs around Bolter's hoof. Her legs were so tiny that her hooves could barely reach one another. Bolter could feel his leg getting tired from holding it in that awkward position after awhile. So he tried quickly switching it out with an empty formula bottle that was sitting on a table beside him. Derpy wasn't fooled though and almost as if it were a reaction she tossed the bottle away, and it landed loudly on the floor as it bounced a few times before rolling underneath the bed. All the noise and commotion from the bottle bouncing on the floor woke Derpy up, but surprisingly not Skybreeze. As she slowly lifted her eyelids and blinked a few times to adjust her pupils to the light; Derpy's eyes searched around for a few moments before locking on to Bolter's. She gave him a puzzled but frightened look as she was expecting to see her mommy. "Hey there Derpy. I'm your daddy. There is no need to be upset, and mommy is right over there." Bolter turned Derpy towards Skybreeze and pointed a hoof at her as he said mommy. Derpy let out a few struggled whimpers as she reached both hooves out to Skybreeze. Bolter turned Derpy back to him and comforted her by brushing Derpy's mane. "Not now Sweetie. Mommy needs her rest to take care of you. I promise when she wakes up you will be the first pony to know, and then we can be with her." Derpy giggled and then she reached up toward Bolter who put her over his shoulder. Derpy grabbed onto his mane and snuggled into it as she yawned (Dropping her pacifier onto Bolter's mane in the process.). Bolter remembered he did accidentally wake the filly up from her nap and noticed she was still not fully rested. After cleaning the pacifier with a foal wipe and slipping it back into Derpy's mouth; In his softest voice he whispered to her: "Now go back to dreamland my little Derpy, You have a big day ahead of you." Derpy sucked on the pacifier as she drifted off back to sleep. Bolter felt tempted to bring Derpy back to the nursery so he could get some more sleep himself, but the father knew Derpy was too scared when she was without either him or Skybreeze. Somehow he eventually managed to nod off despite the fact he was sitting in an uncomfortable position in an even more uncomfortable chair, and with his Daughter tightly tugging at his mane. After more time had passed Bolter was woken up. This time by Derpy's tiny ruffled wings which were brushing up against his face as they buzzed. This was usually a sign that a baby pegasus was having a pleasant dream. Bolter didn't know what a foal who was barely twenty four hours old could even dream about (Derpy just dreamed about hugging her mommy and daddy.), but he was just glad it wasn't a nightmare. When Bolter turned to look at her Derpy's wings tickled the tip of his nose, and he had to quickly bring his other hoof up to prevent an oncoming sneeze in fear of waking her again. Doing his best not to disturb Derpy he carefully pulled his mane from her hooves replacing it with his leg, and brought her down in his lap in a much more natural position so her wings wouldn't tickle him as much. It was obvious to Bolter that Derpy was born with attachment issues, but he knew in time Derpy would grow out of them (or so he hoped). "Sweet dreams Derpy." Author's Note Feedback and proofreading is always encouraged and welcomed!!! Also feel free to send in any ideas for one of "Derpy's Firsts" you would want me to write about. One more chapter with Derpy still in the hospital but after that she will be home (I hope, I'm running out of ideas fit for a hospital setting.).
Derpy's First FeedingAuthor's Note The word nipple and a breastfeeding scene is described here. Immature and stuck up parents be warned. Also I'm sorry this chapter is a bit short. I just found it too hard to keep writing without talking in circles on this subject. Derpy's First Feeding After he cradled Derpy and shifted his body Bolter rocked the sleeping foal for a while longer. Derpy's wings continued to buzz sporadically as she dreamed and her face would smile greater when they did. Eventually he noticed Skybreeze started to stir in her bed as she began to wake up. The rested mare rubbed her eyes as she let out a long drawn out yawn. "Is that you Bolter?" "Yes honey, and I have our daughter with me. Look I think she is having her first dream." Bolter walked over and presented the sleeping Derpy to Skybreeze who watched her daughter's wings as they buzzed or fluttered every few seconds. When she awwed her voice was loud enough to wake up Derpy who wasn't pleased at all to be disturbed again. Her face had an annoyed look on it as she pouted, but that quickly disappeared when she noticed mommy was finally awake and right next to her. Again she reached out to Skybreeze as she made a few labored whimpers. Other than crying these sounds were the only ones Derpy could make as she hadn't found her voice yet. Her mommy happily obliged to pick her up while her daddy was reluctant to give her away. Skybreeze brought Derpy in for a close tight hug, but her little filly could only place her forelegs on Skybreeze's chest as they were much too short to wrap around for a full hug. Derpy nuzzled her mommy's soft and warm chest and looked up at her with an excited look. "Aww! Bolter how will we ever say no to this precious face?" "I don't know. It's gonna be tough." Derpy laughed at that and once again dropped her pacifier. Bolter made a dive for it so it wouldn't get dirty from touching the floor. For the next few minutes Skybreeze played with her daughter on the hospital bed. She attempted to play peekaboo by hiding underneath her covers, but this would only upset Derpy as she began to cry any time mommy would "disappear". Though tickling her and holding her up to pretend she could fly had Derpy more than amused. It had been almost a full day since she was born, and even though she had spent much of it sleeping Derpy finally felt the sensation of hunger for the first time, and it was a strong feeling at that. Out of nowhere Derpy changed from laughing to the beginnings of a cry as she let out a few sobs. Both of her parents could hear their foal's tummy rumbling as they watched Derpy rub her hooves on it. Her mommy tried to console her when Derpy frowned but regardless she broke out into a full on ear piercing cry. *sniff* "Waa..." *sniff* *sniff* "WUAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!" " I know you're hungry Derpy. Just be patient one more moment and I'll feed you." Derpy's cries only intensified when Skybreeze set her down at the end of the hospital bed. Next Skybreeze shifted her body out from underneath the covers. She spread her hindlegs open to reveal her nipples which were swollen with milk. "Okay my little Derpy. Come to mommy now and drink up." By instinct Derpy calmed down from her wailing and blubbering as became fixated on to her target. She slowly crawled up to Skybreeze and then placed her lips around the closest nipple she could reach. Derpy then began sucking on it as if it were her pacifier. Skybreeze felt a slight discomfort as this was her first time ever breastfeeding, but she felt relieved being able to naturally feed her filly. Most newborn foals would reject a bottle so if they mother didn't produce any milk of her own the situation quickly became dire. Derpy suckled from her mother's nipple for a solid five minutes before she stopped. Hunger sated the filly then looked up at her mommy with a discomforting look on her face, but Skybreeze knew what was coming next. *hiccup* *hic* hiccup* Derpy had her first ever case of the hiccups and didn't know why she couldn't control them. She gave her mommy another frightened look, but Skybreeze rapidly scooped her up and placed Derpy over her shoulder as she patted the hiccuping filly's back. Within a few moments Derpy let out a tiny burp that startled her. Now with the hiccups gone and a belly full of warm milk Derpy felt much better. Skybreeze then brought Derpy back in front of her face and booped her tiny little nose. Derpy giggled and through imitation she booped her mommy's nose right back. This started an intense booping war which of course Skybreeze let her daughter win. She set the bouncing filly back down on the bed and feigned a surrender. Derpy clapped her hooves together in excitement, but she was interrupted when Bolter picked her up. "Come here sweetie. Now it's daddy's turn to play." Derpy was caught off guard as Bolter lifted her up from behind, and she was so startled in fact that she wet her diaper. This was another new sensation to her and Derpy again didn't know what or why that just happened so she just cried. When Bolter tried to cradle her in an attempt to calm her down he felt the welt squish of Derpy's diaper. After much protest and pleading with Skybreeze to change her. Skybreeze just made the point that he caused it so he should have to do it. After a heavy sigh he agreed, but only because taking care of his daughter down was more important. He brought the distraught filly over to the changing table in the hospital room and carefully set Derpy down on her back. Derpy flailed around and kicked at Bolter as he attempted to remove her diaper. "Come on Derpy please hold still. I need to get you out of that diaper." Though once he had it off and cleaned Derpy with some foal wipes his daughter mostly calmed down to a few light sobs. He then added some foal powder to prevent a possible diaper rash, and then attempted to put a fresh diaper on her. Derpy was extremely ticklish and refused to sit still as Bolter tried several times to get her legs in place. After quite a struggle however Bolter finally had Derpy changed and back to her silly personality. Bolter carried her back over to Skybreeze, and Derpy hopped from his arms to land on the hospital bed. She slowed her descent by buzzing her tiny wings and landed safely, but both of her parents had mini heart attacks when she jumped. "Raising her is going to be a two pony job!" "Well then it's a good thing she has TWO parents!"
Derpy's First OutingAfter a few more days to let Skybreeze rest, and for the hospital staff to make sure that Derpy was healthy the Hooves family were finally leaving the hospital. Bolter was busy packing the bag of items useful for raising a foal, and Skybreeze had just finished strapping a foal carrier to her chest. Derpy was on the hospital bed playing with her rattle one of the nurses gave her. The filly would just wave it around and occasionally bang it on the bed, but the noise it made kept her reasonably distracted while her parents prepared to go home. After a few more moments Skybreeze and Bolter were ready to leave. "Are you ready to see the world my little Derpy? Come on lets get you strapped in." Derpy looked at her mommy and smiled as she waved her forelegs (including rattle) in the air. Once Skybreeze picked her up and lowered her into the foal carrier; Derpy had a confused look on her face and whimpered a few times. She didn't know why her mommy didn't want to hold her. As soon as Skybreeze tightened the two straps that held Derpy securely in place her daughter started to struggle. Not only were the straps a bit too tight but they also prevented Derpy from escaping. The scared little filly reached up to her mommy as she started to cry. "I can't hold you and walk at the same time Derpy. I have to carry you like this until we get home." Skybreeze knew Derpy didn't understand a single word she was speaking but said them anyway. She then asked Bolter for help in consoling their daughter. The gray pegasus pondered for a moment before reaching into the bag he just packed. He brought out Derpy's pacifier and a small jar of honey. He then dipped the pacifier into the sweet substance and waited a moment for the excess to drip off. "Here you go Derpy try this. Also I think you made her straps a bit too tight Sky." Upon popping the pacifier into her mouth Derpy formed a surprise look on her face. This was the first time she tasted anything other than milk or the rubber pacifier. She was content enough to suck on it quietly but she still struggled in her carrier. Skybreeze readjusted the two straps and Derpy instantly snuggled in. The sweet nectar combined with the warmth from her mommy's chest and the secure hold from the foal carrier made Derpy feel safe and happy. The mini pegasus then focused on the sweet flavor of the honey as she rapidly sucked her pacifier. The filly wasn't even startled as her parent's walked through the noisy and busy hallways of the hospital on their way out. After a quick stop at the front desk to finish the last bit of paperwork; Bolter and Skybreeze ventured out of the hospital. As soon as they made it outside the bright light from the high noon sun blinded Derpy's sensitive eyes. The foal was used to the moderately lit rooms back in the hospital which paled in comparison to Celestia's sun. Through reflex her eyelids snapped shut and she covered them with her hooves. After a minute or so she slowly began to open her eyes. At first everything was just solid bright, but as her pupils dilated to adjust she slowly gained her vision back. The hospital's walls, floors, and ceilings were painted various shades of blue-gray which looked quite dull. Derpy was amazed at all the wonderful colors the streets of Cloudsdale provided, and she almost couldn't turn her head fast enough to get a look at everything she passed by. The Hooves were making their way to main street as they needed to pickup a few things on their way home. They were periodically stopped when they would run into one of their friends along the way, and answered all of the questions about their newborn foal. The first few times Derpy would flinch and shy away as the big ponies frightened her. Especially when they would get up close to her face to talk to her. Though after meeting several ponies along with constant reassurances from her parents. Derpy finally relaxed enough to greet them with a smile hidden behind her pacifier. The first stop Skybreeze and Bolter made was at a toy store. They weren't sure what kind of toys Derpy would enjoy so they thought it would be best to let their filly decide for herself. They explored the store taking brief pauses to see if anything caught Derpy's attention. The first toy that did was a stuffed monkey plush, and it's hands velcroed together allowing it to hang off of the display. When they walked by it Derpy reached out for it as she let out a few squeaks. Bolter got it down for her and presented it to Derpy. She instantly grabbed it and hugged it tightly; with the widest smile appearing on her face. The rest of the store however didn't really have anything that interested Derpy too much. In fact all of the sounds from the other little ponies playing around the store and yelling began to upset Derpy. When her parents noticed this they immediately went to the cashier to pay for the monkey. Derpy refused to let go of it so Bolter lifted her from the foal carrier and plopped her down on the counter. After he did Derpy was entranced by a nearby bubble maker. Her eyes followed the colorful bubbles as they floated around, and she giggled when one bumped her nose making it pop. The worker running the cash register noticed this also. "Ah I see your little filly likes bubbles as well. One of our best selling toys right now is a little train that makes bubbles when you push it along." The cashier pointed to a display case behind the counter that was filled with these trains. Derpy's parents decided to get her that as well and they paid for both toys. During the rest of their trip home Derpy just continued to hug her new monkey, and she was too distracted with it to let anypony else interact with her. Author's Note I fleshed out the previous chapter some more to make it long enough for my liking. I'm really enjoying writing this more than I thought. I guess I'll never get tired of reading or writing Derpy/foal fics.
Derpy's First BathDerpy had only spent one night at her home so far. Already though she was beginning to accumulate a dirty appearance as she crawled around the cloud flooring. Also the few times Derpy's parents gave her a honey dipped pacifier to console her she would usually end up with honey drool on her coat. Skybreeze finally noticed Derpy could really use her first bath. A full on bath and not one of the cleanings with a wet towel she received at the hospital. Derpy was sitting in the middle of the living room floor as she hugged her monkey with one leg, and crawled along pushing her train with the other. She would occasionally stop to try and catch some of the bubbles the train made. It was during one of these moments Skybreeze grabbed her and lifted her away. Derpy was trying to catch a bubble so she wasn't holding her toys, and she whined at being taken away from them. "Ssshh. Ssshh. My little Derpy you need to take a bath. You can keep playing when you're done." Derpy still didn't understand any words only being a week old, and she reached out for her monkey and train as she was carried away. Once they were inside the bathroom Skybreeze set the filly on the floor, and she turned her attention to getting the bath ready. Derpy could still see her toys in the other room and she began to crawl over to them. Skybreeze noticed Derpy's escape attempt and quickly caught her. She then set Derpy back on the clouded floor and shut the bathroom door. Derpy just pouted and crossed her forelegs while she had a glaring look on her face. Skybreeze already had the soap, shampoo, scrubber, and brush ready. Next she turned on both faucets and the water came gushing out as it hit the tub. The sudden, loud, and unknown noise made Derpy jump back. She crawled over to a corner and began to cry while shaking in fear. Her mommy noticed her daughter's reaction and quickly scooped her up. "It's alright Derpy. It's just water filling the tub for your bath." Skybreeze walked over and showed Derpy the tub with the water level rising inside it. Derpy had buried her head into her mommy's chest and peeked out to see. The strange sight had her interest, but she was still worried about what was going on. Once the tub was filled to a safe level for bathing a foal; Skybreeze turned off the faucets, and dipped a hoof to make sure the temperature wouldn't burn Derpy. Skybreeze then removed Derpy's diaper and slowly lowered her into the tub. As soon as Derpy's hindlegs touched the warm water she instantly flinched, and tried to squirm out of her mommy's hold. The scared filly buzzed her wings so hard that she raised herself up some. Skybreeze stopped her attempt to put Derpy in the water and decided to rub her with a wet cloth. "See Derpy. It's just some nice warm water." Derpy shook when the wet cloth touched her, but after a few seconds she began to enjoy it's warmth. Once her filly was sufficiently calmed down Skybreeze made a second attempt at putting her in the tub. Derpy still had a worried look on her face but she didn't fight it this time. Once she was settled in though she just had a confused look on her face not knowing what to expect next. "Here Derpy. Want to play with Mr. Ducky?" Skybreeze tried to float a little rubber duck in front of Derpy, but she made an upset noise as she pushed it away. The reaction caused a little splash, and Skybreeze ended up wet herself. Then she had the sudden realization that Derpy loved bubbles, and a bubble bath would make things go much more smoothly. She fetched the bottle of bubble bath from the bathroom cupboard and began pouring it into the water. After pouring a hefty amount she put a hoof into the water and began mixing it around. As the bubbles started forming Derpy giggled while she attempted to catch them. Soon Derpy's own commotion was enough to keep the bubbles forming so Skybreeze watched her play for a few minutes. Once the little filly was covered in bubbles and happily laughing Skybreeze began to clean Derpy. She squeezed some soap onto the scrubber and began scrubbing Derpy's coat all over. This was a struggle as her daughter refused to hold still because she didn't like it. Once that was finished washing her mane and tail was just as big of a pain. When Skybreeze lifted Derpy's rear end by her tail the filly let out a little wail, and she kicked a few times. "Okay Derpy we are almost done. Now we just need to get you dry." Skybreeze pulled the plug from the Drain and lifted Derpy out of the tub. She shivered as her body left the warm water and met the cooler air. When Skybreeze set her down on the counter the little filly instinctively tried to shake herself dry which only resulted in drops of water covering everything. Her mommy then began to rub her down with a towel, and finished by wrapping her in it. Derpy snuggled in it for warmth as Skybreeze left to get a new diaper. The warm feeling of the towel didn't last too long as Skybreeze quickly returned and unwrapped it. After putting on the new diaper Derpy was then sat upright. Skybreeze started with brushing her tail to remove all the tangles, and then moved on to her mane. Now that she was all cleaned, dried, and brushed Derpy finally looked like the precious little filly her parents knew she was. Skybreeze held Derpy up in front of the bathroom mirror and pointed at her reflection. "See Derpy. Look at how pretty you are now." Derpy was entranced by how shiny her mane and tail were, and she made some happy noises which were nothing but nonsense. Skybreeze then brought Derpy out of the bathroom and back to her toys like she promised earlier. As she leaned down Derpy leaped from her forelegs and buzzed her wings to gently plop down on the floor. She then made a beeline as she crawled to her monkey, and gave it a big hug. She rolled around on the floor with it a few times, and then Skybreeze noticed something terrible. Derpy's monkey was also covered in honey drool and was just making Derpy all sticky again. Now she needed another bath...
Derpy's First Bottle"Ow" Skybreeze let out a little yelp while she was giving Derpy her morning feeding. The little foal was a few months old now and the tips of her first baby teeth were coming in. Now Derpy rubbed her mommy's nipple raw as she sucked milk. Skybreeze now knew she would have to get her filly accustomed to drinking formula from a bottle; however hard the switch might be. Skybreeze just dealt with the pain for this feeding and hoped it would be one of the last. *hiccup* *hic* *hiccup* "WUAAAAHHHH!!!" *hiccup* "WUAAAAHHHH!!!" Derpy still got a case of the hiccups after feeding sometimes, and she cried because she still could not control them. Skybreeze quickly reacted and threw Derpy over her shoulder. After she patted her filly's back a few times a high pitched burp escaped the little pegasus's mouth. When she brought Derpy back in to her view the foal had a smile on her face and flapped her wings in joy. "BAAAAAA!" The filly could now blurt out one syllable babbles, and even match the tone of her voice to her current mood. She still didn't understand what most words meant, but she seemed to recognize her name. Skybreeze chuckled at her daughter's attempt at speech, and then remembered that they still hadn't bought any bottles or formula yet. She strapped on the foal carrier and settled in Derpy to make a trip to the store. When the pair arrived Skybreeze picked out a shopping cart and set Derpy in the child's seat. Derpy fidgeted a bit and started to whine because her mommy wasn't carrying her. Skybreeze stroked her mane and reassured her. "Ssshh. Ssshh. I'm going to be right here the whole time Derpy. This won't take too long." The mother made her way over to the aisle containing items for foals, and grabbed a brand new set of bottles as well as some cases of baby formula. While she shopped for a few other odds and ends she noticed Derpy was chewing on the handle bar of the shopping cart. Knowing how unsanitary that was Skybreeze immediately scolded her for doing so. Derpy reeled back as she made some noises that signaled being in pain, and she held her hooves to her cheeks. "Oh that's right you're teething now. I'm sorry Derpy let me get you something to help." Skybreeze went right back to the foal aisle and fetched a purple teething ring. She offered it to Derpy who was puzzled not knowing what to do with it. Next her mommy gently pushed it to her mouth and the filly learned it was okay to bite it. Derpy contently chewed it as the rubber ring soothed the pain in her gums. Skybreeze finished obtaining the last few items on her list and paid for everything when she was done. Skybreeze struggled on the flight back home as she had to carry her filly and the shopping bags. After arriving home she unloaded all of the bags onto the dining table and set Derpy down by her few toys in the living room. Which now included a set of foam blocks to help Derpy learn letters and numbers, a sparkly ball she loved to bounce against the wall, and a puzzle board with cut out holes for learning her shapes. Her mommy went over to the couch to take a nap. Derpy took her rattle and bubble train, and rolled it along as she crawled over to Skybreeze. She shook her rattle a couple times to try and get mommy to play, but her mommy just let out a heavy sigh. Being ignored brought a worried look on her face, and the attention seeking filly banged her rattle on the cloud floor which made a louder sound. "Not now Derpy. Mommy needs a nap." Skybreeze rolled over on the couch to face away from Derpy. This just made Derpy angry and she crawled up to the couch. Barely able to reach but the filly banged her rattle on her mommy's back to try and get her to play. Fed up with this Skybreeze lumbered off of the couch and picked Derpy up. At first her filly was excited thinking they were going to play. She continued to shake her rattle in excitement which only annoyed the tired mare slightly more. Skybreeze walked into her bedroom and sat Derpy down in her crib next to the bed. Skybreeze had managed to get Derpy used to being separated a bit, but she still had to be in same room with the foal or crying would ensue. Derpy's excitement turned into sadness when her mommy let go. "I'll be right back Derpy. Don't worry." The distraught foal began to whimper, but before those whimpers turned into a full on cry her mommy was back. She exchanged Derpy's rattle and bubble train for her plush monkey, and gave her a honey dipped pacifier. Derpy snuggled her monkey as she would now sleep on it like it was a monkey mattress, and looked back to up to Skybreeze with heavy eyelids. "That's right Derpy you could use a nap too. We don't want a cranky filly when daddy comes home do we?" Derpy drifted off to sleep sucking on the sweet honey. Skybreeze had to fall asleep in her bed nearby though. Somehow even asleep if she or Bolter left the room Derpy could sense it. At first she would only whine in her sleep, but eventually she would wake up and start crying loudly once she realized her mommy and daddy were gone. Later that same night Skybreeze was on the floor with Derpy sitting between her legs, and she was helping Derpy put the pieces in the puzzle board. She would point to an empty hole, say what shape it was, grab the correct piece, say what shape it was, and place it in the hole. Derpy was still too young to really grasp this concept yet, and would try to imitate her mommy but she would only grab a random piece and try to force it into the wrong hole. After a while of playing the familiar rumbling sound of a hungry filly Derpy reached Skybreeze's ears. Now it was bottle time whether Derpy liked it or not. She brought Derpy into the kitchen and sat her down beside her. She filled a bottle with formula and began to heat it in the microwave. While waiting for the timer to finish Skybreeze felt a sharp pain on one of her nipples. Motivated by hunger Derpy had crawled underneath her mommy and was suckling milk. Skybreeze scooped her up and set Derpy in her high chair. Derpy started crying as she had never been refused a feeding before and her tummy was really hungry. After she heard the ding from the microwave and checked the temperature of the formula. Skybreeze lowered the bottle to Derpy's mouth. "Here Derpy. You'll be feeding from bottles now." Derpy stopped her wailing and stared at the bottle. Unsure of it she stuck her tongue out, but when she tasted the rubber nipple she spat it out. Derpy pushed the bottle away with a look of defiance on her face. "Ah Ah!" "Come on Derpy I know you're hungry. It will taste just as good if you try it I promise." Skybreeze brought the bottle back to her mouth but Derpy pushed it away again, and turned her head away every time Skybreeze made another attempt. Skybreeze had one last trick up her sleeve. She dipped the bottle's nipple in honey and cradled Derpy in her other foreleg. Unable to move her head away this time Derpy was forced to taste the rubber nipple as Skybreeze brought it to her mouth, but once she tasted the familiar sweetness of the honey she began to suckle. As soon as the formula hit her tongue Derpy knew this was like a feeding, and began gulping down the formula. She looked up at her mommy with happy eyes and Skybreeze returned the gesture. "See Derpy I told you it would taste just as good? Now be a good little filly and finish it all." Author's Note I always welcome any proof reading. Also how does everyone feel about my time skip from a week told to a few months? Eventually the time skips get naturally longer anyways.
Derpy's First Handicap"Honey I'm home!" Bolter came in through the door as he called to his wife. Derpy was startled by the noise and momentarily stopped playing with her toys. She looked up to see her daddy and began crawling over to him. Bolter kneeled down for a hug but when Derpy was almost there she sat upright and began her hug too early. She ended up hugging nothing but air and fell forward. Her eyes began to tear up but Bolter pulled her into a hug and reassured her. "It's okay Derpy you just tripped a little. We all do that." "LAAAAAAA!" Derpy let another one of her unintelligible babbles as she hugged her daddy back. Bolter carried her across the living room and Derpy locked her focus onto her toys as she hoped daddy was going to play with her. Derpy whimpered though when Bolter walked right by them and headed into the kitchen where Skybreeze was readying dinner. Bolter sat his filly in her high chair and Skybreeze greeted him with a peck on the cheek. "So how was work today?" "Oh the usual. Though we are getting some clouds ready for a big storm over Ponyville. How has Derpy been?" "She has been such a joy today. Derpy took an extended nap and has been happily playing with her toys since she woke up." "BUUUU" "NAAAAAAA" Derpy heard her name mentioned which garnered her attention, and she tried some noises to get her parents to look at her. She was unable to understand what they were talking about, but it obviously involved her in some way so Derpy wanted in on the action. Both of them gave her a smile and Skybreeze patted Derpy on her head. After exchanging a few more details of their day Bolter walked off to go read his newspaper in the living room while Skybreeze finished cooking their dinner. Derpy's high chair had a few toys attached to it that usually kept her entertained for varying lengths of time. Eventually though Derpy's stomach began to grumble and she started to whine in response to her hunger. However the sounds of cooking in the kitchen kept Skybreeze from noticing until Derpy's whine turned into a loud wailing. Skybreeze practically dropped what she was doing and rushed over to tend to her foal. Derpy really only cried for three reasons. Either she was hungry, needed a changing, or both of her parents had left the room. With Skybreeze being right there and after checking her diaper to make sure it was clean. She knew Derpy simply needed to be fed. "I guess it's time for your dinner too Derpy. I'll grab your bottle." She then left Derpy in her high chair and quickly prepared a bottle of formula. It wasn't long before Skybreeze had Derpy cradled and presented the bottle to her. When Derpy noticed the bottle she calmed down into quiet sobs which in turn became an eager smile. Derpy reached out to grasp the bottle but she missed her mark with every attempt, and seemed to grow frustrated in doing so. "What's wrong Derpy? This bottle is like all the other ones." At first Skybreeze thought Derpy's misguided efforts at grabbing the bottle were Derpy trying to refuse the bottle. This was puzzling because Skybreeze had gotten her used to being bottle fed within the last few weeks. Soon though it dawned on her that Derpy was in fact trying to reach the bottle but was struggling to do so. So she brought it up to Derpy's lips directly and her filly was finally able to feed from the bottle. During the feeding though Skybreeze noticed Derpy's eyes were looking in different directions. She thought her daughter was just making a funny face at the moment. When Derpy had drained the bottle Skybreeze burped her over the shoulder, but when She brought Derpy back in view the foal's eyes still seemed to stare off in different directions. Skybreeze booped her nose to get Derpy to blink but upon reopening her eyes they were still pointed in different directions. "Bolter come in here quick. I think something is happening to our daughter!" Bolter had managed to rush in before the newspaper he was reading could even float to the ground. He immediately went over to check on Derpy but didn't see anything wrong at first glance. "What's a matter Skybreeze? Derpy looks okay." "Her eyes! Look at her eyes! They aren't pointing straight!" "Well maybe she is just making a funny face? Like she is trying to sneeze or something?" "No it isn't that. When I tried feeding her she had trouble grabbing the bottle." The couple went on back and forth both worried as to what they should do. Derpy then began to cry. Not caused by her condition which wasn't bothering her yet, but because she was sensing how upset her parents were, and the infant filly didn't know what else to do. Derpy's crying made Skybreeze and Bolter refocus on the situation at hand, and they knew action must be taken instead of bickering. They both raced off to the Cloudsdale hospital. When they barged in with distraught looks on their faces while they carried a crying foal the ponies instantly received help from the nurse at the front desk. Derpy's condition wasn't life threatening so the family had to wait while ponies with more serious issues were cared for first. Derpy kept crying and kicking no matter if Skybreeze or Bolter held her, and their attempts at consoling her made no progress. Though her fit must have tired her out as eventually Derpy nodded off into sleep. After some other pony was wheelchaired out. A doctor finally called for the Hooves family to come back to an examination room with him. Derpy's parents explained what was wrong with their daughter's eyes and the things they noticed about her earlier in the day. The pegasus doctor had to wake Derpy up to examine them which upset the foal. She remained calm in the presence of her parents but she pouted at the doctor with the meanest stare. The doctor explained that Derpy was merely experiencing the onset of Strabismus. "So is she going to lose her vision?" Asked a worried Skybreeze. "No not at all. However this will effect her depth perception. Other side effects are usually headaches and sudden migraines caused by Derpy's brain trying to process two wildly different images and..." The pegasus doctor went on to explain what it meant for Derpy to have strabismus but he was interrupted by Bolter. "But will Derpy be okay? Is there a cure? "Well there are treatments to help minimize the effects. Derpy can wear an eye-patch to avoid headaches, and when she settles in to her condition corrective lenses will help her see better." "No surgery either?' "I'm afraid that would be too dangerous and Derpy could actually go blind in that eye. We can also try to..." As the adult ponies were talking about Derpy as they kept saying her name she began to wimper. She was in a strange place and this mean pony was making mommy and daddy sad. Why couldn't Derpy just be at home playing with mommy and daddy or hugging them? She tried making some babbles in an upset tone but the ponies kept talking. Author's Note Finally got over my writer's block and finished this chapter which sat in unpublished limbo for months. More on this story to come!
Derpy's First StepIt had been about a month since that visit to the hospital. Derpy's condition hadn't noticeably worsened yet, and she really only seemed to have issues related to depth perception; such as grabbing things or bumping her head when crawling around. For such a needy foal Derpy's parents were just happy they had something that would keep Derpy occupied. Other than spending time with mommy or daddy playing with her toy bubble train was always her favorite activity during the day. The colorful bubbles would catch the light in just the right way which made them shimmer brightly. This was a sight Derpy thought to be incredibly pretty. She would giver her bubble train a large push across the floor, and the trail of bubbles it would create left Derpy in a trance. Once they started falling though Derpy would try to pop or catch as many of them as she could with her hooves, and she would giggle with every success. However Derpy became frustrated with her bubble train after several recent futile attempts. The filly could no longer catch the bubbles easily which led her to abandon it more often. Her parents saw how heartbroken Derpy was, and they would help her catch them, but Derpy didn't seem to enjoy it as much as catching them herself. Of all the things that would upset Derpy the most. It wasn't her impaired vision exactly, but just the fact that she couldn't enjoy all of the bubbles her toy train made. Despite her situation though Derpy was becoming more active as the days went on. She would crawl around much more, be much more playful during bath time, and also get more excited any time her parents took her outside. The filly's courage was increasing too. Meeting new ponies didn't frighten Derpy to the point of burying her head into Skybreeze's chest. Though she still squirmed around when somepony other than Skybreeze or Bolter tried to hold her. As long as Derpy was awake and distracted by something like one of her toys her parents could finally go off into another room without Derpy crying for them; although this still happened anytime Derpy was sleeping. Neither of them had the slightest idea of how their sleeping daughter knew they were away. In the recent days Skybreeze had noticed that when she would set Derpy down her foal would stand on her own for a brief moment, and after a few seconds Derpy would succumb to her shaky legs as she fall back on her haunches. Derpy noticed that all the big ponies like her mommy and daddy were walking on their legs, and not crawling around like she was. The filly didn't understand how to do this yet but thought she could at least try getting up on her legs. Her impaired vision definitely hindered her progress though. Always bumping into walls and tripping over her toys had her scared enough with only crawling, but she wanted to be just like mommy and daddy to make them proud. One day Skybreeze had just finished brushing Derpy's mane and tail after a bath, and she set the newly cleaned filly on the living room floor with her toys. Like usual Derpy attempted to stand for as long as she could, but this time Derpy lifted up one of her front legs. It looked as though she was making an attempt at taking a step forward, but all she managed to do was lose her balance, teeter back and forth a few times, and finally tumbling over as she landed on her back. *sniff* *sniff* "Waaa." "WAAAAAA..." "Don't worry sweetie you're getting it. Just keep trying your best and you'll get it." Derpy was about to start crying but Skybreeze instantly scooped her up to console her. Bolter and her couldn't be more pleased that at least Derpy seemed to be progressing normally despite her vision problems; even she was a bit slower than a normal foal. Though Derpy's parents detested the word normal when it was used in such a way by other ponies. To them Derpy was no different than any other foal as nopony is ever perfect. Some of Derpy's incoherent babble even started to sound more like actuall syllables, and when one of her parents would ask Derpy if she wanted her bottle their daughter would simply respond "Baba" or some close variation of the sound. She needed some help guiding the piece exactly into the hole, but Derpy had also seemed to figure out her puzzle toy. Derpy had managed to grab any shape and attempt to put it into the correct hole, but it usually took her a few tries to center the piece right due to her vision. The big moment finally came one day in the afternoon. Derpy had just finished one of her naps and was still waking up in her crib when Bolter had arrived home from work. She was starting to get anxious and fidgety because she knew daddy was home and Derpy wanted to hug him. Skybreeze was also in the bedroom doing some cleaning and noticed Derpy getting upset from hearing her whines. "Calm down Derpy. I'll bring you in there in just a moment. Daddy isn't going anywhere." All Derpy really understood from that sentence was the word daddy which had the opposite effect of settling her down. Skybreeze finished some dusting and finally picked up Derpy from her crib which excited the rambunctious filly even more. After Skybreeze carried her into the other room Derpy leaped from her hold when she saw Bolter, and buzzed her wings to gently plop onto the ground. She was so excited that she struggled up onto her legs. After a moment of finding her balance Derpy took her first step forward, but she wasn't prepared for the shift in her weight. The forward momentum caused her to take a few rushed steps to try and stay up but she eventually tumbled forward and rolled into Bolter's leg. Derpy wanted to cry for failing in front of her parents, but Bolter picked her up and held her up above his head. "Wow Derpy you just took your first steps! Your mother and I are both so proud of you!"
Derpy's First WordDespite her vision troubles Derpy was still as eager to learn as any other filly. She would take a few awkward steps here and there, and became more confident as her legs steadied. The more pressing thing on her mind however was making those sounds like all the big ponies did. Derpy noticed that all of these different sounds meant different things and that the big ponies were using them to communicate. The little filly would babble at most interactions now, but she always made a random noise as she didn't realize yet to attach the same sound to a certain thing. Derpy did at least use similar sounds depending on her emotion which made it easier for Bolter and Skybreeze to figure out what she wanted or needed. One sound in particular was a high pitch squeak that Derpy had developed when anything startled her, and being a filly as easily scared as she was meant that her parents were all too familiar with that noise. *SSQQQUUEEAAKK!!!* It was ear piercing at first but her parents quickly got used to it, and didn't overreact as much as time went on. They knew sometimes it was best to let their daughter face something surprising, and to encourage Derpy to embrace it instead of shying away. The little filly's biggest issue seemed to be meeting other adult ponies, and especially large stallions as their size was extremely imposing to Derpy. She had learned that the doorbell ringing meant somepony was about to come in the house, and if it did then she would scamper off behind some furniture until one of her parents coaxed her back out. If that pony happened to go near or sit on that furniture Derpy's squeak was guaranteed to be heard. Another set of sounds Derpy had managed to form were one syllable babbles whenever she tried to draw attention to herself or something, but still she always used a different one randomly. One day Skybreeze was sitting with Derpy as she played with her puzzle toy. Derpy would present every piece to her mom before putting it in the right spot, and Skybreeze would always state the color and name of the shape. Derpy's response was always a different babble though before she placed the piece down. In her head though Derpy was eager to try and form those big fancy sounds other ponies referred to as words, but she just couldn't quite grasp how to put different syllables together. Derpy still hadn't reached her first birthday yet, but she was well on her way to speaking like everypony else. The filly had managed to realize that the same sounds were always used for the same things, and by this point Derpy had figured out to use the same single syllable babble for certain things. Skybreeze and Bolter could now ask her rudimentary yes or no questions and correctly understand their daughter's response most of the time. Derpy would try to put together and speak sentences of these syllables when in her mind they had meaning, but to anypony who heard them they were just a cute string of nonsensical noises from a foal. The one thing that Derpy still cherished the most was her stuffed monkey plush. That thing went everywhere with her and visibly you could see it's wear. Next to her parents it was her greatest source of comfort when she was frightened, and what she wanted most was to be able to ask her parents for it if she needed to. Monkey was such a short simple world yet Derpy couldn't sound out those two syllables together even though she could do so perfectly in her head. She had the hardest time trying to pronounce the K sound and would refer to her plush as either Me or MeMe sometimes, but not often enough for her parents to associate that sound. Being able to say what she wanted had Derpy so frustrated with herself. She always felt bad for making her parents ask a bunch of yes or no questions for something as simple letting them know what toy she wanted to play with. She had so many words inside her mind that she wanted to express to the world but her tiny mouth just didn't seem to want to let them out. For a while Derpy became so saddened at her lack of progress that she simply stopped trying to speak altogether. Other than squeaking or crying Derpy refused to make any other sounds and this worried her parents. Her parents took Derpy to a foal specialist who after several tests assured them that all foals develop at different times, and to just be more patient with their child. During her little silent stage of foalhood Derpy had began to better understand what other ponies were saying around her, and grasp basic meaning from their sentences. Derpy was mad at herself after hearing the doctor; as she understood it Derpy was making her parents wait more than they needed to, but she didn't want to upset them and was determined more than ever to make them proud. A few nights later Derpy was all ready for bedtime and sitting in her crib. Skybreeze had forgot to put her monkey plush in the crib with Derpy which made it impossible for the foal to fall asleep. Derpy just had to have her monkey but needed to let her mom know. So she kicked off her blanket and toddled over to the other end of her crib and picked up her rattle. She waved it across the bars of the crib back and forth until Skybreeze came over to settle her down. Skybreeze tried cradling her back and forth while singing a lullaby but Derpy wasn't having it until she got her monkey. Until finally: "Muh!..." "Mon!.." "What's a matter Derpy? Please fall asleep." Skybreeze tried offering Derpy a bottle and her pacifier but she rejected both of them. She was out of ideas until suddenly: "Monk!.." "Mon...Key!" "Monkey!" "Oh you just want your monkey. Okay I'll... wait WHAT!?" "Monkey! Monkey! Monkey!" "Oh Derpy your first word! Quick lets go get Daddy he'll be so proud of you!"
