It was a clear and bright day in ponyville, and a certain cross-eyed pony was walking home from a long morning of delivering mail.
Her job was tough, she had to fly through town from before the rise of Celestia's sun, until she gave every single letter to every single pony in ponyville. But she wasn't displeased with her job. After all, she was free to go when she finished distributing the letters, and there wasn't that much mail to deliver in ponyville. On her busiest days, she would finish by 2 to 3 p.m., leaving her the whole afternoon to chill out.
So there she was, walking down the street, under the warm sun, when somepony shouted at her from across the street :
" Hey Derpy! You should really take some black glasses! So that nobody can see your eyes anymore! "
It was one of them again, those ponies that kept on mocking her because of her disability. It hurts, of course, but she knows that her eyes will never change, and that she have to live with them, no matter what others may think. She may not be proud of how her eyes are, but she would never want to change them. They are part of her after all.
A bit further down the road, another voice raise for her :
" Finished work already again Derpy? Damn, I wish I were cross-eyed like you so I could stop so early "
That kind of pony isn't that rare, the ones who are jealous of everything, the ones that think her eyes are the reason why she doesn't work until late. These are the kind of ponies who don't understand how hard it can be to live with a disability, and only see the way society help the handicap in their everyday life as a positive discrimination. Those ponies don't know how lucky they are to be born like everypony else, without a problem since their birth, but she understand them. After all, don't we say that grass is always greener on the other side?
As she continues her route towards her home, she arrived at the central place of ponyville. It was market day, and there was a lot of ponies here, greeting her every now and then :
" Hi Derpy, how are you? "
" Nice day isn't it Derpy? "
" Have a nice trip home Derpy! "
She happily answered to each and every one of them, but deep in her heart, she was bitter from all of this.
Walking through town is always hard for her, especially with all theses ponies around. She's always afraid that she'll do something wrong and be humiliated in front of everyone. But she's almost there, she can see her home at the end of the road. And when she was about to arrive, sighting in relief, a last pink pony jumped in front of her.
" Hi Derpy! I'm throwing a party this evening, wanna come? "
That was Pinkie Pie, the most cheerful, pinkest, and craziest pony around. She would always have a party planned for you when you meet her, whether it be today, tomorrow, or months later. She was really sweet, but she could also be pretty oblivious of her surroundings.
" I'll be there, see you later "
" Okie dokie lokie! see you at 6 p.m. ! "
She wanted to decline, but she already refused so many of Pinkie's invitations that she was afraid of making her mad. And you never want to make Pinkie Pie mad.
Finally, she was home, she threw herself and her worries on her bed, and stayed there for hours thinking of her day again, and again, and again. At some point, she was waken up from her drowsiness by a knock on her door.
She went to open, and what a surprise it was to see Twilight Sparkle standing in front of her.
" Hi, can I come in? "
" Sure, make yourself at home "
She still remembers the first time she met her. It was at the welcome party Pinkie Pie threw for Twilight, when she first arrived at ponyville. It was quite fun seeing her drink too much of Pinkie's special hot sauce, but she soon realized that the purple pony didn't appreciate them intruding in the library. Time has passed, and it's still surprising to know that the pony who once refused any kind of friendship became the princess of said friendship. But still, Twilight rarely socialize with ponies other than her 5 - or 6 - friends, and when she knocks at your door, it usually isn't for good news.
" Can I help you with something? "
" I believe I'm the one that can help you. Pinkie told me you were late for her party, and asked me to see you. Apparently you seem to have been a little down lately. "
Late? she was late? She looked at the clock : 7:00 p.m.
" I'm so sorry. I was caught up in my thoughts and didn't realize the time. I should get going then, I don't want to make her wait. "
" I think she can wait a little more Derpy, you do seem like there is something on your mind, and I'll do my best to help you with it. "
All of the stress the past days built up in her suddenly broke out, and she fell apart in tears.
" Why? why do you all call me Derpy! Is it because I have crossed-eyes that I have to be called such an offensive name? "
Twilight was surprised by her sudden outburst, but still tried to find the words to calm her down.
" I'm sorry I called you that. But not everypony use that name to be mean. Of course, there are some bullies that use it that way, but there are also ponies, like me, who use it because we never heard anypony call you something else. And finally, I'm sure there are ponies out there that use it because they find it cute. "
" You think? "
" I'm sure of it. You'll see, if you can go past those who are mean, you'll find dozen, hundred, maybe even thousands of ponies who like you for who you are.
" But do I really have to keep that name forever? "
" That's up to you to decide. But remember, it's not the meaning of a word that counts, it's what that word means to you. "
She wiped out the last of her tears and stood up with a smile.
" Thanks Twilight, I'm glad you came to see me. I'll go at Pinkie's party now. "
As she walked out, Twilight called her back.
" Wait! Tell me, what do you want me to call you? "
" Just call me Derpy, like everyone. "
" But I thought you found it offensive. "
" I did, but you made me realize something else : Derpy is my name, and nothing else. "
Author's Note
Thanks to everyone who read this.
I really appreciate constructive criticism, so please feel free to tell your thoughts in the comments, I'll do my best to read each and every one of them, like Derpy delivers mail to everypony ^^.
Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it x).
