Author's Note

(AN: and here's Nico-Stone Rupan's second chapter. Be on the look out for something else coming in the next few days.)

December

December - Protecc the Derp

By: Nico-Stone Rupan

"Ze blonde hair iz wunderbar, but ze eyes would lead to ze showers," Aryanne Hoofler unabashedly commented to the newcomer.

From the moment Derpy Hooves arrived at the studio, she felt eyes upon her. More specifically, eyes upon her eyes. She had long gotten used to the attention, though. Long gone were the days of allowing herself to be tormented by the likes of Sunset Shimmer. She accepted herself. She was there to have fun. Also, Dinky happened to need braces. But mostly, to have fun.

Her swimsuit was simple, baby blue with white stripes. She hoped it would be alright. She got it off the rack at a sale once. On a mail carrier's salary, she didn't get many chances to dress fancy.

Her turn was in a few minutes, but she couldn't help but to peek into the set. She watched as a blue-haired model dive bomb onto a bed. Derpy giggled and thought she would like to try that.

As Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody came out, they embraced their former classmate. They hadn't seen each other much since CHS graduation. With well-wishes passed, Derpy peeked back into the set. The photographer was glancing at a clipboard. It seemed to her that he was just about to call out her name. Much too excited, she ran onto the beach platform before he could.

"I'm ready for my closeup, mister director!"

His startlement quickly passing, Iconic Portrait smiled politely. "I'm not called a director, Miss Hooves."

"Oh, sorry."

"Not a problem. I can already see that you're a newbie at this. Are you set?"

Derpy saluted. "All set, mister conductor!"

"It's 'photographer'," Iconic corrected, readying his camera.

Derpy smiled brightly. Iconic snapped the first photo. He was poised to take another before noticing that Derpy was standing completely still.

"Uh, Miss Hooves?"

"What's the matter?" Derpy asked worryingly. "Did I not smile big enough?"

"You smiled beautifully," Iconic assured. "But you also need to begin posing."

Derpy tilted her head. "Posing? Oh! You mean being sexy!"

Iconic nodded. "Sexy is a subjective term, but basically yes."

Derpy began tapping at her chin in thought, muttering to herself, "Sexy... sexy... what can I do that's... oh, I got it!" She then launched into a strangly familar bit for the camera. "Welcome home, dear. Would you like dinner? A bath? Or perhaps... meee?"

Iconic was a bit taken aback at the display. Indeed, he thought that he recognized it from somewhere. Anime, perhaps? Wherever it came from, it was causing Derpy to pose, so he was thankful for that.

"Good, good," he commented as he snapped. "Now start taking off your swimsuit."

Derpy abruptly paused. A deep blush swept across her adorable face. "I-I don't know. We just met..."

"Not for me, for the shoot," Iconic quickly clarified.

"Oh, well, that's a relief!" Derpy said as she cheerfully removed her top without hesitation. "Ooh! Can I go jump on the bed now?"

Iconic nodded. "Do what you feel is natural for you."

Just as giddy as she first ran onto the set, Derpy dashed over to the bed. She aimed to jump as smoothly as she witnessed Vinyl do before. The only problem was that for whatever reason, she decided to simultaneously take off her bikini bottom. Predictably, she tripped. She did succeed in landing in the middle of the bed, but far too hard, resulting in her bouncing right off. She fell over to the floor on the other side.

Iconic ran to her. "Are you alright?"

"A-ok!" Derpy assured, getting up and rubbing her now both sore and bare bottom. "Maybe I should go back to the beach part..."

Iconic let out a quiet sigh. He pondered whether or not he should call the shoot off. Derpy was a complete amatuer. Making the sitution more complicated was that he could clearly see an ethical dilemma on the horizon: what to do with her wall eyes. Would Habitat for Humanity request that he touch them up in post? To make them appear normal? He personally hated the idea, but he wasn't naive about the superficial business he was in.

Gazing at Derpy's happy and determined face, however, led Iconic to decide to keep going. Surely whatever could happen next wouldn't make him regret that decision or anything.

Derpy decided to attempt sexy poses once more. She put her fists to her hips and lifted a leg to set foot onto a beach ball prop. The pose appeared more "heroic" than "sexy" to Iconic, but he was about to take the photo anyway.

Before he could, though, Derpy started to lose her balance. About to fall back, she leaned forward. That action placed her weight onto the beach ball, applying too much pressure upon it. The ball shot from under her foot, becoming an airborne projectile. It took out two light stands before hitting and ricocheting off the wall.

Derpy and Iconic ducked in cover as the ball whizzed over them. It struck the sunny sky backdrop, the entire thing ripping down as a result. At that moment, the broken lights on the floor sparked a small fire, the smoke of which quickly triggered the sprinklers.

Iconic stared at the flames, then at the collapsed backdrop, then at the sand beneath his feet becoming wet mush, and then at Derpy.

Derpy flashed him an embarrassed smile. "Heh, heh. I just don't know what went wrong."

His instincts kicking in, Iconic took a snapshot of her at that moment. With her standing there, nude and soaked, yet still sporting a happy expression, Derpy appeared to him the definition of innocence. It was the kind of image that would invoke the emotional need to protect, a response that was often just as powerful as arousal.

It would also be the image which would end up inside the charity calendar. To Iconic's surprise, the organizers didn't say a word about fixing those precious eyes of hers.