DERP DAY AFTERNOON
Rainbow Dash sped through the sky above Ponyville as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie watched on from the ground. Rainbow flew around clouds performing loops and blasting through them. Every spin and roll that Rainbow did dazzled the two on the ground watching her move. Rainbow Dash flew towards them before stopping on a dime and having the wind rush past her, blowing her tail and her mane as she posed heroically. Pinkie and Fluttershy both clapped and cheered for their friend.
"Wow Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie exclaimed bouncing in place. "That was amazing! Especially when you were like zoom and then all pow and then you went all woo and then you zip, bang, zowie!"
"Thanks Pinkie, I thought I coulda done better with some of those flips, but you're right, I'm awesome," Rainbow Dash said proudly.
"I can't wait to see you and Fluttershy compete in the Cloudsdale Cross Country Challenge!" Pinkie said with a large smile on her face.
"I can't wait either, even though I'm a bit nervous," Fluttershy said before Rainbow Dash nudged her a bit.
"No need to be nervous. With us working together it'll be in the bag. My speed and your smarts, we'll blow the competition away!"
Fluttershy beamed from the praise as Pinkie giggled a bit.
"So where are the stops this year?" Pinkie asked as Rainbow Dash stretched out. "I wanna make sure we get to see the whole thing!"
"Well, it's a checkpoint race," Fluttershy began. "It's not all about speed either, it's more about accuracy. You have to hit each checkpoint at a certain time, and each team has their own checkpoints. The goal is to get from Cloudsdale to Manehatten then from Manehatten to Canterlot with the most accurate times."
"Yep, and first team there with all the checkpoints marked off with the closest time is crowned the best flight team in Equestria!" Rainbow Dash added as she started doing pushups with her wings. "It's in the bag for us, I just know it!"
"I just wish I could fly, it all sounds so exciting!" Pinkie squealed.
"Pinkie, didn't you enter the Equestrian Cross Country Gallop?" Rainbow asked with a smirk.
"Uh huh! Applejack and I entered!" she replied excitedly.
"Didn't you also lose the map, eat all the food, get lost and come in dead last?"
"Uh huh! But we had a lot of fun!"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and sighed a bit. Fluttershy and Pinkie began giggling to themselves before suddenly Fluttershy sneezed loudly. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash looked at her curiously as they were certain they'd never heard Fluttershy sneeze quite as loud as she did. Another sneeze escaped her, causing her to jump suddenly in the air.
"Fluttershy, you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked moving over to her friend.
"I...I'm not s-" she was cut off by another loud sneeze that made Pinkie and Rainbow recoil suddenly. Fluttershy groaned a bit and put a hoof to her head. Both Pinkie and Rainbow Dash looked at one another as Fluttershy seemed unsteady on her hooves. Rushing to her side, they caught her as she toppled over and let out another groan.
"Whoa now Fluttershy, what's up?" Rainbow asked, concerned for her friend.
"I don't feel too good suddenly," she responded, her cheeks flushing.
"We should really get you to a doctor," said Pinkie looked to Rainbow Dash who nodded in agreement.
"I'll take her," Rainbow said before scooping Fluttershy up in her arms and disappearing into the sky. Pinkie watched her shoot off into the sky before she frowned a bit and gambled towards the hospital herself.
The door to the hospital shot open as the nurse behind the reception desk ducked down, unsure of what was happening. Rainbow Dash swooped quickly towards the desk holding her friend and looked around for the nurse. Giving a peek, the nurse looked up to Rainbow and cleared her throat a bit to get her attention.
"Can I help you?" she asked, still a bit shaken from the sudden intrusion.
"My friend Fluttershy isn't feeling well!" Rainbow exclaimed, presenting Fluttershy who suddenly sneezed loudly again causing Rainbow to nearly drop her from the force behind the sneeze.
"Oh my, she certainly doesn't seem to be," the nurse said before trotting towards the back. "Follow me, we'll make sure the doctor gets to see her."
Rainbow Dash nodded and flew after the nurse with Fluttershy hanging on. She could feel her friend start to shiver as she carried her. This made Rainbow frown with concern as the nurse opened a room door up. Inside the room were a bunch of other ponies in beds who also seemed to be suffering the same as Fluttershy. The sneezes from the room were loud and forceful enough to practically lift the ceiling. In fact, Rainbow Dash was certain it moved a few centimeters as she entered.
The nurse lead her to a bed where Rainbow Dash deposited the sickly Fluttershy gently. Pulling the bed sheet over her friend, she bit her bottom lip as the nurse went to her side and placed a thermometer in Fluttershy's mouth. The thermometer didn't seem to stand a chance as it nearly exploded from the burst of heat it was exposed to. The nurse pulled it from her mouth as the doctor walked up and shook his head.
"Looks like it's the same as these poor ponies," he said with a sigh. "It just doesn't get any easier."
"What's wrong with her?" Rainbow Dash asked, watching as Fluttershy began to toss and turn in bed.
"I'm afraid it's the pony flu, miss," the doctor explained. "Just never gets any easier."
Rainbow Dash gave a frown before Fluttershy turned over and looked up at her.
"Rainbow Dash, I'm so sorry," Fluttershy muttered, tears starting to well up in her eyes before Rainbow looked back to the doctor.
"W-Well, how long will she need to be in here?" she asked as the doctor sighed once more.
"I'm afraid it's going to be at least a week before she's able to be up and around again."
"A week!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she turned to Fluttershy and pouted. "But the competition is in two days!"
"I'm sorry Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy managed.
"I guess...I guess I should just pull out from the competition," Rainbow said with a sigh.
"No!" Fluttershy suddenly exclaimed before a loud sneeze rattled the walls of the room. "Excuse me. Rainbow Dash, you can't just pull out of the competition! You've been training for this for a while now! Please, promise Rainbow Dash, promise me you'll fly the competition and win! Um...that is, if you want to."
Rainbow Dash smiled and placed a hoof on her friend. "I'll do it for you, Fluttershy!'
With that, Rainbow Dash was flying out the hospital and back out into the world with a new goal in mind. Find a dependable flyer before the next two days were up. As she flew out the door, she passed Pinkie Pie who stumbled back from the force of Rainbow's exit. She grumbled and stood up once more, moving to the door to check on her friend as well.
Rainbow Dash flew towards Cloudsdale thinking about who she could possibly get to compete with her. She knew a majority of the pegasi who were competing, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. As she approached the floating city, she saw the first pegasi she could ask. There, flying out of the city towards her was Cloudchaser. Rainbow maneuvered herself towards her and came up along side of the pegasus.
"Hey Cloudchaser, you going to be in the Cloudsdale Cross-Country Challenge?" Rainbow asked as Cloudchaser blinked a bit, curious as to why she'd decided to talk to her.
"Uh, yeah, but I'm-" she began before Rainbow Dash cut her off.
"Do ya have a partner yet?" Rainbow asked with a large grin.
"Oh, I mean I would but Flitter and I are entering together," Cloudchaser answered with a smile of her own. Rainbow Dash halted suddenly as Cloudchaser flew ahead and she crossed her arms with a groan.
"Who else could I ask?" Rainbow Dash asked herself before she flew towards the city of Cloudsdale once more.
Cloudsdale was alive with pegasi flying around city of cloud and rainbows. It glittered brightly in the sunlight as Rainbow Dash came to a stop and landed on the soft ground. She watched the hustle and bustle with a curious gaze, her mind trying to find just who would be a good partner. A familiar white pegasi flew past causing Rainbow Dash to perk up suddenly and fly towards him.
"Snowflake!" she exclaimed as the giant of a pegasi turned to see her. "Hey, you're competing in the competition, right?"
"YEAH!" Snowflake exclaimed, flexing his muscles extravagantly.
"Great! Do you need a partner?" Rainbow asked, her voice filled with hope.
"YEAH!" he exclaimed once more before blinking and stopping for a moment to think. "Uh, no."
Rainbow Dash groaned and kicked a bit of cloud into the air as Snowflake flew off. She turned back to Cloudsdale and floated for a bit, staring at the bright rainbow falls and the puffy clouds that made up the town. Her eyes watched as other pegasi flew about, some to the rainbow factory, others to the various weather stations. The sight of a particular turquoise pegasus caught her eye, however. Flying around the clouds was Lightning Dust, looking as though she were in a hurry which was not much of an astute observation. To Rainbow Dash, Lightning Dust would make a decent partner, but the fact she'd already once tried to show off made her wonder if it was a good idea to ask.
"Well hey, Rainbow Dash," the voice of Lightning Dust came, startling Rainbow Dash out of her thoughts.
"Hey Lightning Dust, what's up?" Rainbow asked, composing herself quickly.
"So, have you entered the race yet?" Lightning Dust asked with a sly grin.
"Oh yeah, totally entered it," Rainbow answered giving a bit of a laugh.
"That's good, at least I know I'll have some competition when me and Thunderlane take the whole thing by storm.
Rainbow Dash groaned under her breath. Thunderlane was going to be the next pegasus she asked to see if he had a partner. Fluttershy getting sick was a major thorn in her plans and the fact that Lightning Dust was in front of her gloating made it even worse.
"What about you?" Lightning Dust asked, poking at Rainbow Dash with her wing. "Got someone to run the race with ya?"
"Uh, yeah, totally!" Rainbow answered with trepidation. Her nervous laughter did little, however to convince Lightning Dust.
"Hope they're a real winner, cause if not you're gonna be left in the dust," the pegasi said, fluttering her wings. "Lightning Dust!"
With that, she shot off into the sky, leaving Rainbow Dash in a cloud of, well, clouds. A tiny zap of lightning shot out from one right onto Rainbow's cheek making her wince. She sighed and pouted a bit, crossing her hooves and sitting on the cloudy ground. As she watched Cloudsdale go about its daily business, she once again got lost in her thoughts. With Fluttershy out of the picture and the other ponies she trusted enough to be on a team with, she wasn't sure if she could even compete.
Raising up once again into the air, she sighed and made her way towards a particular building in Cloudsdale. The registration office for the challenge itself. Her heart grew heavier as she neared the building. She felt a bit like she'd let both herself and Fluttershy down.
Behind the desk sat Spitfire, wearing her uniform and looking as though she were going through paperwork. Her eyes turned towards the door to see Rainbow Dash coming in downtrodden. Leaning forward on the desk, she lowered the sunglasses on her face and gave a bit of a smirk.
"Well well, Rainbow Dash, what brings you here?"
"Well ma'am," Rainbow began with a slight wince, knowing that the words she was going to say were about to hurt. "I need to withdraw from the competition."
"What?" Spitfire reeled a bit, the words hitting her like concrete. "You're kidding me right? What happened, lose your nerve cause Lightning Dust is in it?"
"No, nothing like that, ma'am. Fluttershy is sick with the pony flu, and I can't find another partner."
"Huh, that's it?" Spitfire asked before going through a pile of papers. She muttered to herself for a brief moment before finding what she'd been searching for.
"What's that?" Rainbow asked curiously.
"There's another pegasus that came here saying she'd lost her partner as well," Spitfire said, her hoof going down the list before stopping and tapping on it. "Ah, here we go. Derpy Hooves."
"Derpy?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed , her mouth dropping as the words fell out of it. "No way, that featherbrain can barely fly straight!"
Spitfire frowned and leaned forward at her desk, giving Rainbow Dash a stern stare.
"I-I'll...all right," Rainbow relented with a sigh as she put her hooves on her head. Spitfire nodded with a smile, making a few things down on the paper.
"Glad to hear it, Dash." she said, filing the paper back into the stack she'd retrieved it. "You might wanna go talk to your new partner."
Rainbow Dash didn't say anything as she fluttered out of the office and back out to Cloudsdale. She planted herself outside of the office as the door closed and grumbled to herself. Her thoughts turned to her new partner. Yes, she wanted to compete but she wasn't certain of Derpy's ability to even begin to read a map, or go the right direction, or even show up on time! Flopping onto the ground on her back, she stared up at the sky and rubbed her eyes. She had to be having some sort of bad dream.
Rainbow Dash eventually got up and flew slowly further into Cloudsdale. She had a vague idea as to where Derpy lived here and made her way to the residential area. The buildings made of clouds stood around her as she looked about to find her home. That was when she saw a crooked mailbox poking out of the clouds. The name on the box read "Derpy" and the house itself seemed like it was sitting at a slant. Rainbow sighed a bit and knocked on the door, only having to wait for a few moments before the wall-eyed pegasus opened the door. For a moment, Rainbow could swear it looked like she was sad, but quickly perked up at the sight of her.
"Oh, hey Rainbow Dash!" Derpy exclaimed.
"Hi Derpy, listen, I've got some news," she said with a slight sigh. "Fluttershy is sick, and she was supposed to be my partner for the Cloudsdale Cross Country Challenge. So I was here to see if you wanted to be my partner for the race."
Derpy's eyes widened along with the smile on her face. Excitedly she jumped around, managing to knock over a table that sat next to the door. Flapping and leaping, Derpy cheered and dashed out the door to hug Rainbow tightly.
"This is awesome!" Derpy cheered, clinging to Rainbow Dash. "We're gonna be the best team ever!"
"Uh huh," Rainbow replied with a bit of a grimace. "But you're gonna need to be on time tomorrow! We need to train extra hard if we're gonna win."
"Don't you worry, Rainbow Dash, I'll be there!" Derpy said before gasping. "Oh, I'm gonna have to really get ready, I didn't think I'd be making it into the competition after Blossomforth told me she was sick!"
With that, Derpy rushed back into her home, leaving Rainbow Dash to rub her sore body after being squeezed as hard as she had. With another sigh, she fluttered back towards the center of Cloudsdale, a troubled look on her face. Somehow she knew this was all going to be a total disaster.
The morning sun spread light all over Ponyville as Rainbow Dash sat on a cloud overlooking one of the many fields just outside of town. She had just come from seeing Fluttershy in the hospital and now waited impatiently for Derpy to show herself. Rolling around in the fluffy cloud, she mumbled incoherently trying to pass the time. After what felt like an eternity, the blonde pegasus finally approached the cloud Rainbow Dash rested on. Frowning, she sat up and rubbed her eyes a bit.
"It's about time!" Rainbow Dash shouted as Derpy stopped midflight and looked down from being scolded. "I mean, let's just...ugh. Let's start, okay?"
"Okay!" Derpy said with exuberance. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes a bit.
"The first thing we need to do is make sure we can fly together, this is about precision, not speed."
Derpy nodded and flew up into the sky followed by Rainbow Dash. The two of them flew around various clouds and groups of birds, often needing to change direction suddenly from Derpy not having any sort of flight pattern. Rainbow flew in front of her and waved a hoof for her to follow. Zipping ahead, Derpy tried to keep up but found herself straining to try to keep up. Her wings beat furiously before she gasped and touched down on a nearby cloud out of breath. Rainbow Dash circled back around and sighed a bit before flying down slowly to the cloud Derpy had landed on.
"Okay, maybe I could slow down just a little bit," Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her head. "But some bits of the race are going to need us to really push ourselves. Are you sure you can do that?"
"Sure I can, Rainbow Dash!" Derpy exclaimed with a smile.
"All right, how about the navigation?" Rainbow asked, her confidence clearly not showing.
"Uh huh! I can do that!"
"All right, let's do that then."
Derpy pulled a map out from beneath her wings and looked at it for a few cross-eyed moments. Time to Rainbow Dash, as always, felt like an eternity was dragging by.
"Can you at least get us to the Everfree Forest without going the wrong way?" Rainbow asked impatiently as Derpy looked up from the map, head darting this way and that. Pressure began to build as she spun the map around trying to get her bearings. Suddenly, she rolled the map up and leapt off the cloud.
"This way!" she shouted after Rainbow Dash who followed close behind. They flew into the sky, Rainbow keeping a sharp eye on the ground watching Ponyville shrink behind them. Something felt off, however, as there were no signs of trees anywhere to be seen in the direction they were headed. She grumbled a bit wondering if Derpy hadn't just picked a direction.
"Derpy, are you sure about this?" she asked as the grey pegasus looked back for a moment as though she were attempting to think of a response. "Watch out!"
The shout from Rainbow Dash came a bit too late as Derpy hadn't noticed in her moment of thought she started to steer herself straight towards the ground. Derpy gasped, trying to stop herself before Rainbow Dash swooped down and grabbed her. The speed, however, proved to be a bit too much for even Rainbow to help slow them down. Both of them slammed into the ground, tumbling about in a furious ball of rainbows and blonde hair. When they came to a stop, the two of them lay in a tangled mess on the ground, both dizzy and winded from the fall. Rainbow was the first to recover, shaking her head and growling a little as she pushed Derpy away from her.
"I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash," Derpy said as Rainbow continued to seethe before letting out a slow breath of air and clearing her throat.
"It's okay, I'll just have to take care of the map too," Rainbow said with a groan. "What about time keeping? We gotta make sure we get as close to the time we need to be at the checkpoints as we can. Can you do that?"
"I'll do it!" Derpy said excitedly, getting back up in the air as Rainbow stretched her wings, trying to get a crick out of them.
"All right, we'll fly back to Ponyville, we'll say we make it in five minutes from here, can you keep track of the time and make sure we get to, let's say the library in exactly five minutes?"
Derpy sat on the ground for a few moments thinking to herself. Rainbow Dash sat down as well with a disgruntled look on her face as Derpy seemed to try to figure the whole thing out. Tapping at the side of her head gently with her hoof before she opened her mouth to answer. Rainbow Dash, it seemed, ran out of paitence at just that time.
"You know what forget it, I'll just keep time too," she said turning away from Derpy and moving on. "Just make sure you show up tomorrow and we'll just, do whatever."
Rainbow flew off into the sky towards Ponyville as Derpy sat in the field still trying to call out to her. It was far too late though, Rainbow had already zipped into the distance. Derpy looked towards the ground and pouted, running a hoof along the ground idly.
Minutes passed as Derpy finally lifted herself up off the ground and slowly made her way back towards her home in Cloudsdale. As she lifted into the sky, her gaze went from the floating city down to Ponyville, the sad look still not going away. She knew she was a klutz, just as well as she knew she wasn't the fastest pegasus in the world. She knew she could mess things up, and she knew that she wasn't the best at much of anything.
Derpy's thoughts drifted aimlessly, thinking of Rainbow Dash taking responsibility for everything during a team race. It was so aimless, Derpy didn't quite take notice of the thundering cloud rolling along in front of her. As soon as she was in it, she gasped a bit. The lightning flashed brightly and the thunder cracked like a whip. Rain hit her hard as she rolled around in the cloud trying to get out of it.
Suddenly, she felt something hit her, the sudden shift in speed and direction made her look around frantically, wondering if she'd been spit out. That was when she caught the trail of rainbow soaring out of the cloud. Around her was the arm of Rainbow Dash who sped towards Cloudsdale with Derpy in tow. She smiled for a moment but the thoughts of Rainbow Dash once again having to come to her rescue made her heart sink like a stone.
As they reached Cloudsdale, Rainbow set Derpy down on the clouds of the town and let out a breath.
"Are you okay, Derpy?" Rainbow asked with a furrowed brow. "I came back to say something to you, but then I saw you heading for that storm cloud and tried to get to you as fast as I could."
"Don't worry about me, Rainbow," Derpy replied, her tone low and sad. "You don't hafta worry about me at all."
She fluttered into the air and began to make her way back to the residential area of Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash lifted a hoof and tried to speak but relented and sighed, watching the pegasus disappear behind the clouds. Her eyes then turned down towards Ponyville as clouds moved on below her, laying on her stomach she wondered if there was anything she could do to make it up to Derpy.
Derpy entered her house and closed the door behind her. Her face was long, her eyes focused on the ground before she looked up to see a small device on the ground. It was on the table she'd knocked over the other day when Rainbow came to give her the good news. Picking it up, she looked it over, seeing it was a clock with red marks all around it. A time keepers clock. She set the table back upright and placed the time keepers clock atop it before moving further into her home.
She dug the map out from her wing and set it on the table just outside the kitchen. It unfolded showing a red mark at the top to indicate which direction it needed to be held properly. Her hooves went to her head as she lowered it towards the ground, sadness welling up inside of her. Her eyes flooded and the thoughts of disappointing Rainbow Dash rushed forth like a torrent.
A knock at the door brought her out of it. She wiped the tears from her eyes and moved slowly towards the door. Looking out of the peephole, she saw Rainbow Dash who looked just as upset as she was. Frowning, she leaned up against the door and stared at the ground.
"Hey, Rainbow Dash," she said, sinking to the floor, her back against the door.
"Hey, Derpy," Rainbow Dash responded. "I was...wondering if I could come in, maybe?"
Derpy sat against the door for a few moments before getting up and opening the door with her wing. She then retreated into the house as Rainbow Dash wandered in. Much to Rainbow's amazement, it wasn't at all what she expected. From the outside the skewed mailbox and home would have made things seem like chaos on the inside. However the home of Derpy was well kept save for a few things that seemed to have been knocked over. However, where she believed chaos would reign was more order than her own home.
An uncomfortable silence followed as Derpy sat down next to her bed and rested her head against it. Rainbow couldn't even begin to speak, trying to think of something to say but drawing an absolute blank. She kept looking around as though she were frantically trying to find a conversation starter, but Derpy beat her to it, finally speaking up.
"I'm sorry I'm such a screw up, Rainbow," she began, holding up a hoof when Rainbow Dash tried to interrupt her. "I know I am. I don't try to be on purpose, but I'm a klutz, I can't help it. I try and try but nothing ever seems to work out. That's why Blossomforth isn't my partner anymore. She says she's sick, but I know better. Nopony ever wants to be partners with me cause I mess up all the time. You were trying to be nice, and I appreciate it, but I'll just bring you down with me."
Rainbow Dash sat with her mouth open, words now even more difficult to find. Derpy buried her head in the blanket of her bed and stared at the ground. Rainbow moved towards the door with her head down, defeat in her eyes. As she turned her gaze back towards Derpy, she let go of trying to think with her mind, deciding this was the moment to let the heart take over.
"You shouldn't be sorry, Derpy," she said, eyes still on the ground. "I should be the one that's sorry. I was totally rude to you and didn't need to be. If you don't show up, I'll understand. But for what it's worth, I'm sorry Derpy. I hope you show up tomorrow and race with me."
Rainbow Dash gave a slight smile to Derpy whose eyes were now fixed on her before they turned back to the floor. Silence filled the room once more as Rainbow turned back to the door and walked back out into Cloudsdale. Closing the door, she just watched as Derpy sat at her bed motionless. A sigh escaped her before she flew up into the sky and took one last look at Derpy's home. She felt her tears welling up but wiped them away and began to fly off.
"There's always next year," she said to herself, flying back towards Ponyville to prepare more for the competition in the morning.
Cloudsdale was full of hustle and bustle the following morning as banners flew in the air for the race. The teams lined up before a table where Spitfire sat, registering them and giving them their route maps. At the back of the line, Rainbow Dash peeked out and sighed a bit. Derpy hadn't shown up. She stared at the clouds under her hooves before the sound of laughter from behind her filled her ears.
"Well, it looks like you're not going to be in this one, Rainbow Dash," Lightning Dust said as she landed with Thunderlane.
"My partner will be here, she's just running late," Rainbow replied with a frown.
The laughter continued as she found herself getting closer and closer to the table. She began to even wonder if Derpy accepted her apology. Everything she'd ever said to her and all the times she was mean culminated to this one moment that she wished she could take back everything she said. A she moved to the table, Spitfire looked around with head canted to one side.
"Uh, Rainbow Dash, where is your partner?" Spitfire asked, confused clearly by the fact Rainbow stood alone in front of her.
"I guess she didn't make it," Rainbow said, ears now down, sulking at the table.
"I'm here!" Derpy cried from the sky as she came down and landed next to Rainbow. A gasp escaped Rainbow Dash as Derpy looked over and smiled to her partner. She never thought she'd be as happy as she was to see Derpy, the two of them bumping hooves in excitement. Spitfire cleared her throat and pushed over a map to the two of them. Derpy took the map in her mouth and wandered off with Rainbow Dash.
"I didn't think you'd actually show up after everything I said," Rainbow said as Derpy placed the map down on the ground.
"You came back though," Derpy said as she produced the time keepers clock and the map from yesterday from under her wing. "No one really ever came back for me like you did."
Rainbow Dash swore she was about to tear up but shook it off as Derpy marked the route map they were given. Handing it over to Rainbow she grinned and Rainbow took it happily. The two moved to the starting position, Derpy wound up the clock that hung from her neck. Rainbow in the mean time stared down at the map before tucking it under her wing. She stretched herself out and looked to Derpy who smiled happily.
"Ready to do this, partner?" Rainbow asked.
"I'm ready!" Derpy cheered as Spitfire moved towards the starting line. A flag in her teeth, she rose it in the air then quickly dropped it down. The teams were off into the sky soaring high and branching off in different directions. Rainbow and Derpy both set off towards the range of mountains they could see in the distance. Derpy looked at the clock around her neck to make sure it'd started. Her expression softened as she watched the second hand tick away and both were making their way to the first checkpoint.
"How are we on time?" Rainbow Dash called out to Derpy who checked the clock once again.
"Uh, we should slow down a little, I think!" Derpy responded as Rainbow nodded and took the speed down a notch. Wisps of clouds hurtled by them as they continued into the blue. It wasn't long before the first check point was in view. Rainbow looked back to Derpy who then waved them on, checking her clock once more. As the two passed the checkpoint, they circled around and landed on the cloud next to Soarin who looked down at a list before turning back to the both of them.
"You guys are a whole two minutes behind, what happened?" he asked as Derpy looked down at the clock and started adjusting the clock quickly. Rainbow Dash in the mean time looked back to her and put a hoof on her shoulder.
"Hey, don't sweat it, it just means we'll have to haul it towards the next check point to catch back up, it'll be fine," she said with a reassuring smile. Derpy nodded and watched as Rainbow pulled the map out of her wing and ran her eyes along it. The route was clear, stuffing it back under her wing and launching back into the sky. Derpy followed close behind as they soared away from the checkpoint.
Derpy spent most of the journey to the second one attempting to fiddle with the clock around her neck. Rainbow occasionally looked back to see what she was doing with slight worry before she hung back to fly next to her Derpy.
"Hey, you okay?" she asked as Derpy dropped the clock from her hooves. The force it fell was enough for it to drop off of the thin fabric that held it around Derpy's neck in the first place. She gasped watching it plummet to the ground before Rainbow grabbed her by the tail.
"Hey! We don't have time! We'll figure something out along the way, okay?" Rainbow Dash said as Derpy looked up. The smiling face of Rainbow Dash made her nod a little as the two started back on their path.
The journey was soon over as the second checkpoint came into view. Both Rainbow and Derpy sped along amongst the clouds until they crossed the line. Coming back around, looking down at her clipboard and watch stood Fleetfoot, marking a few things down on the paper before turning her eyes back up to the two pegasi flapping above. The look Rainbow and Derpy received made them both uneasy.
"You guys are ten minutes ahead, you do know this is more about accuracy than speed, right?" Fleetfoot asked before the two of them nodded and shot off into the sky once more without a word.
Derpy was beginning to feel down again, her eyes watching the ground roll by. Off in the distance was the town of Manehatten. The buildings stood tall and proud, brushing the very sky that Rainbow Dash and Derpy flew. Rainbow every so often pulled the map from her wing and gave it a quick glance, trying not to let it get away from her. Derpy in the mean time simply watched, her mind aflutter with thoughts of how poorly she felt she was doing. She felt she'd been right all along.
Above the city of Manehatten the next checkpoint had been reached by the two of them. Once again they were under the time they needed to reach the checkpoint. Rainbow Dash simply smiled to Derpy, resting another reassuring hoof on her back, but it didn't feel like it was enough to her. The city of Manehatten rolled out of view as they made their way to the next checkpoint. Derpy drug along behind Rainbow Dash, keeping to herself until Rainbow finally came to her side.
"What's wrong, Derpy?" she asked soaring along next to the blonde pegasi. "You've been down for a while now."
"I lost the clock and now we're gonna lose cause of me," Derpy replied with a sigh.
"Well, yeah, but don't sweat it. Maybe the other teams are doing just as bad, besides, we've at least been hitting the checkpoints."
Derpy gasped as Rainbow finished her sentence. Out of nowhere a black cloud rolled into their path. It sparked with lightning and roared with thunder as the two flew into it. Rainbow grabbed hold of Derpy to get them out but it was far too late. A spark of lightning lashed at Rainbow's wing causing her to yelp in pain. They dropped out of the sky, Rainbow still holding onto Derpy. The ground drew ever closer as Derpy quickly switched positions with Rainbow Dash and flapped with all her might.
Her wings stung as she flapped harder than she ever had before. Sweat poured from her brow, the strain on her body almost too much. They seemed to slow, however, as Derpy found a nearby safe cloud to land on. Out of breath, she lay on the cloud with Rainbow Dash who seemed to be out of it after getting zapped by the lightning. Derpy looked to her and then around seeing that they were all alone. She snapped her head left and right, trying to figure out where they needed to go and what they needed to do next until Derpy looked down to the map that hung out of Rainbow Dash's feathers. Snagging it from her, she rolled it out onto the cloud and looked at it intently.
The hills that rolled on beneath them looked familiar and in the distance she could see the mountains they'd crossed before. The route, however, looked to be far too long for Derpy to make having to carry Rainbow Dash. She looked once more to the injured pegasus and nodded a little. Closing up the map and tucking it under her wing, she picked up Rainbow Dash and began a slow climb into the sky.
The journey was taking a toll on Derpy who had to stop every so often to set Rainbow Dash down into the clouds and rest herself. The sun was beginning to crawl towards the horizon as Derpy continued on with the limp Rainbow Dash in her arms. Her body ached not only from the competition, but the amount of force she needed just to carry her. She never stopped though, even after every rest stop, she continued to plow ahead. Time, to her, felt as though it were dragging like a dull knife.
Doubt began to set in as Derpy continued on. She wondered if she were even headed the right direction. She wondered if she were even doing the right thing. Her heart felt as though it wanted to break but she shook it off. Her body was sore and her emotions scattered, but the sight of Rainbow Dash needing her and the words of encouragement ringing in her ears seemed to always help her stand back up and continue to fly into the ever darkening night with her friend in her arms.
Soon, Derpy saw the destination ahead. Canterlot clung to the side of the mountain, a bright dot that Derpy focused on in the darkness. Her body screamed for her to stop, but she continued ahead. Her wings felt as though they were getting ready to give out, but she continued on. The last of her strength it felt was draining fast but she kept her eyes set on Canterlot. There, she could see it now. The finish line.
A crowd was still gathered around the finish line and much to Derpy's relief, they seemed to spot her. Quickly, the sky was flooded with pegasi coming to her aide. They took Rainbow Dash into their arms as well as Derpy who nearly fell from the sky out of exhaustion. Even as she was carried though, she smiled, watching Rainbow and herself carried to a shelter nearby that she could only assume held a doctor and nurse to look after them. The last waking moment she had before it all turned dark was the tent being opened and muffled voices around her.
Rainbow Dash groaned a bit as her eyes slowly opened. The familiar sight of the Ponyville hospital ceiling was more than enough of a clue to tell her where she was. As she sat up, she saw Twilight sitting by her side with her head in a book. It took a moment, but Twilight looked over and perked up at the sight of her friend being awake.
"Hey, everypony come here, she's awake!" Twilight called into the room. Rarity and Applejack moved towards Rainbow Dash's bedside with bright smiles.
"Hey guys," Rainbow Dash managed with a grimace. Talking seemed to be on the list of things not to do terribly often.
"How ya'll doin' Rainbow?" Applejack asked.
"It really hurts, but I'm okay," she said rubbing her head a bit.
"Is she awake?" Pinkie's voice came from the hallway as she and Fluttershy entered the room. Rainbow Dash smiled seeing all of her friends in the room with her. Fluttershy it seemed was doing much better than when Rainbow had last seen her.
"Pinkie, Fluttershy, it's great seeing all of you guys again," Rainbow Dash said, settling into the bed a bit.
"So what happened up there?" Fluttershy asked, moving to her friend's side.
Rainbow Dash looked down to the bed, her mind working overtime to compound the last moments she'd been conscious. "Well, there was a storm that Derpy and I flew into on accident, and then I got hit by lightning and then...oh no, where is Derpy?!"
"I'm here," Derpy's voice came from the bed next to her. Rainbow smiled wide and tried to get out of bed but couldn't move. Derpy, however, rolled out of bed and came to Rainbow's side to hug her. The two embraced, Rainbow not caring if her friends saw this small moment of weakness.
"Derpy carried you all the way to Canterlot after you got zapped," Twilight explained as Rainbow Dash looked up at Derpy.
"You kept having to do everything during the race," Derpy explained. "I felt like I didn't have to do anything, like I was just dead weight you were carrying. But after seeing you get hit, I took the map and tried to get us back to Canterlot as soon as possible. You always stayed positive even after everything was going wrong. I had to make sure you made it back in one piece."
Rainbow's mouth hung open. She was speechless.
"Derpy stayed up with you all night to make sure you were okay after you were brought here," Twilight went on. "She even made sure you were both put into the same room so she could make sure you were okay."
"I...I don't know what to say," Rainbow said as she settled back into her bed looking around to all of them.
"Maybe we should let them rest, I need to get back to my room anyway," Fluttershy said as she turned with Pinkie Pie to head back into the hospital room she stayed in. The rest of them nodded and said their goodbye's to both Rainbow Dash and Derpy. Derpy in the mean time climbed back into her bed and lay with a smile on her face.
"Hey Derpy?" Rainbow said, looking out the window into the sunny day.
"Yeah, Rainbow Dash?" Derpy responded, turning her head to her.
"Thanks for carrying my dead weight," Rainbow said, turning to Derpy with a smile and a bit of a tear in her eye.
Derpy nodded happily and rolled over to rest. Rainbow Dash turned back to the window and settled into her bed. As she closed her eyes, she thought about the events of the last few days and let her mind wander until they came to think about a letter she would write to the princess. The promise she had made when she learned something about friendship.
'Dear Princess Celestia,' she began in her head. 'I learned over the last few days that just because someone is slow or clumsy doesn't make them a bad person. In fact, they can be the best friends that you ever make. And you never know, the slowest and clumsiest of ponies could wind up being the ones that really come through for you when you're down and out.'
Rainbow Dash looked back to Derpy who was curled up in her blanket sleepily. Her tired eyes then looked back out the window to the deep blue sky. As a smile ran across her face once more, she drifted off to a peaceful sleep.
