Derpy's Bebop

Ditzy woke up without opening her eyes.

She yawned, stretched her legs and moved a blind hoof to her left, until she found what she had been looking for. She turned, opened her eyelids and smiled, seeing Blues sleeping next to her. He had an arm under his pillow and the other was reaching for her, a few inches from her body. A ray of light tickled his nose, while another lit up his coat. She rolled over on the bed, wrapped her arms around his chest and nuzzled is neck, losing herself in his scent.

Blues woke up some time after, feeling the mare hugging him. He blinked a couple times and looked at her. He moved a drowsy hoof to her hair and stroked it gently, yawning. He smiled. Music had brought them together, but their love wouldn't have lasted this much if that had been the only thing they had shared. He still believed in love at first sight, but he thought it was a pale imitation of what they had, like a paper fueled bonfire, intense but ephemeral. He had started to come to love everything about her, even how she was a bit clumsy, because of her eye condition. She always found a way to make his heart sing.

He remembered when she had made that 6 months anniversary dinner, just for the two of them, and how guilty he felt for not having counted the days they had been together like her. Now if his memory wasn’t playing tricks on him it had been seven months

(And… three days? Probably.)

since that night when she had knocked on his door and expressed her love. Since then, he had always been there when he needed her and she always did the same for him, supporting each other. That was what made the fire grow stronger and their love fonder. Of course, their relationship wasn’t perfect. Both of them had their flaws, but she really made it hard for him to find anything wrong with her. She was fun, cute, sweeter than any other girl he had been with and, most important, completely in love. He never thought that after all those lonely nights he could have really found someone that felt so right, as if they had been made for each other.

The last months had passed quickly, but every time he was lying in bed with her he didn’t regret a single day. He would look at her in the moonlight, a light blanket covering her body and at the same time revealing her forms, every fold of the tissue a tiny wave, moving up and down as she breathed. There was a living statue hidden beneath that sheet, a real masterpiece in which an expert artist had infused all his talent. He thought about all the times she had made his heart flutter,

(I love you more no I love you more no I do no I do and then she kissed my nose and I kissed her lips we were so happy and I’m so happy and I’m in love and she’s happy and I’ve never felt like this in my life I love her I love her I love her she’s my world I don’t want anything bad happening to her)

of how she always made him feel so indescribably happy.

He had even tried writing a love poem for her, but he had to admit to himself that writing wasn’t his field. He had been working for a month or so on a duet they could have performed together for her birthday though, since her sweet singing voice mixed nicely with slow jazz, to make up for her dinner.

A love poem. He’d never even thought of writing a love poem for someone… meeting Ditzy had completely changed his outlook on life. The days that used to be boring and mechanical were now filled with a feeling of satisfaction when he came home and saw her. It was as if he had found a missing piece that had been missing all his life and now he knew it was her, always at his side, inspiring him like no one else.

He really thought all those emotions were going to explode out of him, like a champagne cork. It was too much for him to handle, so good it almost hurt. He felt as if he was small foal again and she was his first school crush. She always made it look so new, so… he just couldn’t express his feelings. Had it been a music, it would have been one of those gospels that make you want to smile and dance around singing, feeling happy to be there and be alive, moving in time with everyone. It was fireworks. It was -

Too good to be true.

He never told her, and frankly didn’t want to tell himself that either, but there were those times when he wondered if he had done the right thing. There was a deeper, well hidden part of him that had been hurt long ago. The one that was still bleeding after all these years and had never recovered. It was the part that thought that solitude was better to be lied to and hurt again, that trusted nobody. The same one that had erected a wall around itself, barricaded in and shot everyone that tried to get near. Get out, it said, you’re only going to hurt me, rip me apart like the other one did. You’re going to walk through me and leave a walking corpse behind you, with the clawed out remains of a heart as the only proof you ever existed. You’ll burn me and stomp on the ashes just because you can.

That was the part of him that had never had accepted the fact he had let her into his life, but Blues had created a bridge and crashed he wall that protected

(Imprisoned)

it. He did that with a smile on his face, because he trusted Ditzy. He was offering her his love, his heart and soul, and he knew she’d take good care of them, stitching up the wounds on that scared and insecure part of him. She would give it a kiss and tell it that her “forever” was true, not just a word. She had even told him she would have given her own heart if that could have helped in any way.

It was that he had been thinking about during the first days, about the pain that she could have caused if she had stabbed that part, because he was defenseless against her charms.

But that sensation… The feeling to be her anchor in an ocean of doubt, to hold that little grey sparrow in his arms and hear her heart beat faster for his touch, to see the happiness in her eyes when they were together. It was worth it. He knew he loved her, that he trusted her with his life. He knew that she did the same.

Slowly the thought of being hurt again had slipped away, a wound slowly healing, cleansed by the touch of his beautiful grey angel. That’s what he was thinking in those minutes, while what resembled a dream come true after years of nightmares was hugging him, trying to express how much she cared for him.

“Good morning my muse…” he whispered in her ear.

She giggled and kissed him, embracing him with her wings and arms in a protective way. He was hers only hers, no one could ever take him away from her. No one. Ditzy could feel his hooves pressing tightly against her, as if a normal hug wasn’t enough, almost like she could have disappeared into smoke any moment and those were their last moments together. She was hugging him almost as strong. She wanted to melt with him, be able to fill his mind with her emotions, reaching a state of wordless unity more intense than any physical sensation. Nothing could break that sacred moment, two happy, scared and hurt souls that had finally found what they had been searching for, someone that understood them and loved them, someone similar.

One could have insinuated they were only two lonely people that didn’t want to spend their days alone. One instead could have said that they were born for each other, that Fate had wanted them to get together. They didn’t care. They couldn’t care less of anything anyone else thought of their relationship, because all they knew was one thing. One simple thing that transcended any logical explanation, romantic ideal and rationality itself.

They were one and nothing could divide them.

***

The alarm clock rang.

Blues didn’t know how much time had passed since he had woken up. He didn’t care. All he wanted was to keep his love in his arms, but it was the only thing he couldn’t do. He reluctantly broke the kiss they were sharing and looked at her, smiling gently.

“There’s a surprise we can both enjoy in the kitchen, if you’re hungry. I know I am…” he told her.

Ditzy got up and walked out of the door, following the narrow hallway to the spiral staircase that led to the kitchen. She opened the blinds and let the fresh morning air in, the light casting an oblong shadow of a bottle resting on the table on the wall behind it. It had taken months, but the storm had finally moved away from the small town.

(It was… Thursday yes yes it’s Thursday we’re still in the beginning of march look at that sky no clouds just a canvas of light blue perfect for flying a bit of wind oh it’s good not to have that horrible cold but just this warm days yes look oh look at that pony hey what are you doing there up at this hour I’d be rude better not wait what’s this smell)

She stopped looking out of the window and let her mind focus for a moment. She saw what she had smelled before. It was a small tray of muffins, plain brown ones, a couple a bit burnt on the edges, resting on the counter near the oven. She walked to it and poked one. Cold, she thought. He must have baked them all by himself. Blues wasn’t exactly what she’d call a cook, in fact he told her that he used to order just about everything he ate from the many takeaways in town, or go to a restaurant in special occasions. Those were probably the first things he had tried to cook in months.

She ate around the black burnt parts of the two and threw the leftovers in the trash can and walked up the stairs carefully holding the tray, smiling. They weren’t half bad for a first try.

She entered the bedroom and showed him a large smile. “You really shouldn’t have done that just for me, I’m surprised that you know how to turn on the oven without burning the kitchen down!” She giggled.

“Ha-ha.” He rolled his eyes, “I just felt like baking. I’ll need to start sooner or later, don’t you think? I can’t bring you out to dinner somewhere fancy every day, I can’t afford it.” He smiled. “You know, I had to make three batches of those to get something vaguely resembling a muffin. I don’t know about the taste so we’ll have to take a shot in the dark. The funny thing is that I have no idea how I managed not to wake up last night when the baking grid fell down on the floor. I mean, it made so much noise I thought you’d come down and ruin the surprise.”

“Huh.” She shrugged. “So you’re implying I’m a heavy sleeper then?” she walked to the bed slowly, trying not to make the tray fall down when she was near, and put it on the sheets with a grin of victory. She kissed him and took one of them from the tray, looking at it. “I might break the rules of chivalry and take you out to dinner myself because of this, chef Blues. Open up.”

He chuckled and opened his mouth.

“Now close your eyes.” She told him.

He cocked his head and did what she had told him to do. “You’d better not be playing anything Ditz, because if-”

She put the muffin into her mouth and held it firmly with her teeth, an inch from his lips. Blues could feel her hair brushing against his cheek and the strong smell of the sweet, so he started eating it from her mouth, biting it gently and savouring the moment, sometimes tracing her lips with his tongue. It was… different. It wasn’t making out, it wasn’t eating. It was a weird mix of the two and he could feel she was enjoying as much as he was. Her lips felt sugary, the muffin was spiced and intense. He could feel her stroking his hair and having his eyes closed only heightened the combination of sensations. He had to try this again with her soon, with other foods. It was… interesting.

They went on eating for several minutes, until the whole tray was empty. Wanting to experiment more, he kept his eyes closed and moved one hoof down her back. He could feel her muscles tensing and relaxing from his touch, the warmth of her coat, the feathers, oh the feathers! How could he have never felt how soft they were? It almost seemed like they were made of cotton candy, just a bit thicker, but so warm on the underside, as if she had fire in her veins.

He squeezed her tight and lay down on the bed again, bringing her down with him. They stayed there for a couple of minutes more, and then he opened his eyes. “I’m starting to understand why you only want to look at me when you wake up. I might even begin to do that too.” He rubbed his nose on hers and chuckled. “You’re adorable, you know that?”

“I do what I can.” She replied, nuzzling him back. “What time is it?”

“Mh? Damn it. Right.” He looked at the alarm clock on his left. “Still on time for me, but you probably have to get ready.”

“Oh who cares, they still treat me like a national hero at the post office for delivering all the mail with that crazy weather. I can get there a bit late for once, someone will cover me.” She licked his cheek. “So, where were we?”

***

He looked at her go. She still had some muffin crumbs in her hair, just like him, but she didn’t seem to care. When she got out of the main door he opened the bedroom’s window, the one that looked on the city, to look at her. “Ditz!” he yelled, “Come up a sec!”

He smiled as he saw her flying directly in front of him. “I forgot something?” she asked him.

“No, I did.” He cupped her face in his hooves and kissed her tenderly.

“I love you, muffin.” He whispered, smiling.

She looked at him.

He looked at her.

“Grab my arm.” She told him, after several seconds.

He kept staring at her.

“Trust me. Grab my arm.” She was smiling from ear to ear.

He moved his hoof slowly to her arm and she smiled. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do was safe in any way, but she wanted to do it anyway. He had told her once how much he would have liked to do it…

She grabbed his hooves and flew quickly upwards as he screamed.

She held him tight against her stomach with both her hooves and slowed down the pace, still going up.

(Oh god please no no I want to go down please please no no no god)

Blues tried to calm down, but he couldn’t. He had always wanted to fly, but that was too sudden. Now that he was up there he wanted to get down again on the safe, warm ground. He would have given anything to have something beneath his feet.

“Blues?” She was looking at him with a concerned expression, as the blue colt tried to squirm out of her grasp “ Stop squirming, or you’ll fall! I thought you always wanted to do this! You want to go down? Oh, I’m sorry, I should have thought a bit more about it … ”

He took a long breath. First, don’t look down. Look up. Up. There’s Ditzy. You’re safe. Okay. Okay, I’m calm… calm…

“I… I just never thought it would be like this! And you could have warned me, for hell’s sake!”

Wait.

His eyes widened. He could see a solitary sparrow flying near them. He was… flying. With the birds. There. In the air. Flying. Him.

He blinked.

“I’M FLYING!” He let out a cry of joy, all his fears washed away, one of his greatest dreams had come true. “WOOOOO!” He started laughing, God! It felt so right. The feeling of the wind on his face. His arms and legs dancing in the breeze.

He had never felt so alive in all his life.

***

He touched the ground again. Part of him wanted to go back up and soar high in the sky with Ditzy holding him, (he made her promise to do that again soon) but they both had to go to work. They kissed again and he looked at her flying to the town. He turned his back only when she had become a tiny dot in the air, no bigger than the bird he had seen before.

He dropped back on his bed, looking at the dust that swirled over the pillow, his mind back to what had happened before. “If only I had wings”, he said out loud to himself, “I could do that every day. It must feel so incredible to be a pegasus.” He moved a hoof behind his back, as if just by thinking it hard enough, he could grow his own pair. He was condemned to stay on the ground. Maybe one day he could have asked to a unicorn to cast one of those “walk-on-clouds” spells for him, maybe even his own pair of wings.

A colt can dream, can’t he?

He knew he would have arrived there late if he did what he wanted to do, but he had to express what he had inside him at the moment, he needed to relax and release his emotions before another day of manual labour.

He moved to the far left corner of the tiny room and picked up his saxophone. He didn’t really know what to play, but instead surrendered to the ocean of notes that was inside him and started playing the music of his soul, the rays of light on the shining brass and sending out golden reflections on the wall… the same colour of his lover's eyes.