Just Be You
It just wasn’t fair.
Her whole life she had been picked on for something being wrong with her, and now she was almost an adult and still hadn’t gotten her cutie mark. Before it was that she was picked on for being too tall or too short, then when everypony caught up to her with that, they made fun of her weight. When that insult wasn’t enough, they found out that she was an orphan. There was always something wrong, She wasn’t the right size, the right shape, the right color, the right race, the right type……
She couldn’t take it anymore. She had always been the nameless mare without a past, so why should she stay in Ponyville? Her friends had moved further away from her when they earned their cutie marks and her sister had left long ago. She was left with no one to rely on, no one to turn to. She had to leave.
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Her day had started out great. She didn’t have to go to work today so she was free to do what she wanted to do. For her, this meant flying freely in the clouds and working on her stunts. She usually had something that would bring her down, but today she woke up without a care in the world.
She spent all morning flying through the clouds, soaring with the birds, feeling the clouds as she flew near them. She remembered her first time she flew. Her sister had been trying so hard to help her and when it finally happened it was like she had one tickets to their favorite show. After some time she landed in a clearing near a lake where she would spend some time swimming. When she was underwater it was like she was in a whole nother world. The feeling of swimming under the water felt like she was gracefully dancing in the air. To her life was perfect again, even for just a moment, she was free again.
When she was finished, she collected her belongings and headed to the village for her daily errands. Her first stop was Sugarcube corner where the ever-eccentric pink party pony worked. She could always count on her to brighten her day, even when everything seems terrible. On her way there she passed by the mail mare and got a letter. She stayed for a while there reading her book, but that's when the sky seemed to darken.
She knew without a doubt who was behind her but didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that he was there. He was the one constant in her life. He was the only thing she wished would never come back. He was a chubby stallion with a blue coat and scissors for his cutie mark. He had been in the same school as she was since they had been foals. And he always made sure to leave some time in the day to bully her.
He had harassed her, slandered her, and even assaulted her on the occasion. he was often the starter of the teasing and bullying and often got other ponies to do it, some of which continued bullying her to this day. Once he decided to show her what his cutie mark meant by holding her down after school and cutting her mane so short that it took the rest of the school year to grow it back.
With all that he did, you can imagine her surprise when he said “Will you go on a date with me?”
Of all the things he could've said, of all the things he could have done, this was the last thing she expected. She turned to face him to see if he was joking. He avoided her stare by hiding his face behind his mane but his blush convinced her to at least hear him out.
“I know what I’ve done to you. And I know I could never repay for all the things I’ve done. But I want to try. Will you please come to the lake tonight?”
She stared at him as though he had gone insane, but in the heat of the moment she nodded her head slightly. It was only after he had rushed away that she realized what she had done. She grabbed her book and the rest of her lunch and headed home.
When she got back to her cloud-home, she plopped on the bed and tried to weigh out her options. She knew all that he had done and could never forgive him or the others for all of the humiliation they caused, but she had said yes, and she never broke her word, even if it was given to someone like him.
She got up from her bed and got a dress from her closet. Even if it was a date with him, it was her first and she decided to look presentable. When she finished preparing herself, she flew to the lake.
The first thing she noticed was how beautiful the lake looked at night, especially when the moon was as full as it was, lighting up the night. The second thing she noticed was that he wasn’t in sight. Thinking that he was late, she decided to wait by a clearing. After waiting for some time she decided that he most of stood her up, but then he appeared. And he wasn’t alone.
She saw three of the main four who had berated her throughout her life. She wanted to run away or start yelling or do something, but all she could do is wonder ‘Where is the last one?’
It was then that she felt a someone grab her from behind. A few moments later she came back to her senses.
“What are you doing?!”
She heard a snicker from the pony behind her.
“I can’t believe she actually came here. I thought she would just chicken out” He said with a sneer
She struggled to get out of his grip, but when she noticed he wouldn’t let she started to become frantic and started kicking her hooves.
“What are you doing! Let me go!”
“What? I thought you liked playing tough.”
They all laughed with him. no, not with him, at her. She then noticed a glint coming from an object in one of their hooves. Upon a closer inspection she saw it was a knife. She felt her mouth become dry and found that she could no longer speak. The blue-coated carrier of the blade noticed her stare.
“I see you’ve noticed my toy. You see, when I was younger I got into this nasty habit of cutting up toys that I didn’t particularly like. I’m afraid its a habit I’ve never exactly gotten rid of” he said as he moved closer to her. “It’s such a shame that I don’t really my toy either. She was dressed so nicely when I got her and everything”
He then grabbed her dress and drove the knife through its side, almost cutting her leg as he did it. Still too afraid to talk or move, she heard a click and saw a flash of light. When she looked to her right she saw one of the others had a camera in their hooves.
“You know, I should put this in my scrapbook under my ‘Cherished Memories’ section. Why not take a few more so I can make sure I can relive every moment.”
She watched as the knife tore more holes in her dress as the mare took more pictures beside her while all the others laughed. After what had seemed like hours later, they gave up and started to leave. As they left she heard the other mare say “Oh, would you look at her face in that one! She looks so ridiculous! I think I might just make a few copies and give them to some of my friends.”
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It was several hours later before she could even get up. She had ran out of tears long ago and had just laid there until the moon had reached its highpoint. The sky had become overcast and it looked like it might rain.
Throughout that time she could only relive all of the terrible moments in her life, but the one she remembered the most was just before her best friends and sister left. She had just messed up pretty bad during class causing everyone to be punished. When they were finally allowed to leave, she had started to turn a corner when she bumped into one of her fellow classmates in which she had a crush on. She didn’t know what to do and almost ran but then he turned around, petrifying her. What he said next was the what she had always considered the worst event of her life. He, wh had been the kindest stallion in the whole class, turned to her and started screaming vulgarities at her, calling her an idiot, and then said one thing she would always remember. “No one likes you. All you ever due is bring misfortune to everyone you meet. You should just go away and screw up someone else’s life for once instead of destroying all of our lives with your existence.”
Those words continued to echo in her ear. As she got up, as she walked down the path, as she stumbled through the village, as she flew to her cloud, and as she laid in her bed. All she could hear were those few words. It was then that she decided that maybe he was right. Maybe they were all right. Maybe she was just as dull and unnecessary as they believed. She had never done anything of importance for anyone. She hadn’t even done anything important enough to get her cutie mark. If she was so unimportant, then who would care if she left. No one liked her, and those who notice her just make fun of her. She had no reason to stay. She was nobody, and nobody should stay where they aren’t liked.
With that final thought, she got back up and began packing the bare necessities that she would need. She went outside, noting that it was starting to clear up and get brighter. She flew back down and started to head to the path that would lead her to Whitetail Woods. She noticed that no one was outside that early. ‘Just perfect,’ she thought ‘why should anyone come out to say goodbye to Nobody anyways.’ She had almost reached the woods when she saw a shadow pass over her. When she looked up she noticed the mailmare staring back at her.
It was then that the mailmare came down to talk to her. The first thing that she noticed was the mailmare’s eyes. When she caught her looking she said “Are you wondering why my eyes look this way?” She had never really looked at the gray pegasus before so when she noticed this she was taken a bit aback.
“You see, I was born this way. When I was just a filly I would always be teased because of them. They would always call me Derpy because of them or some other insulting name. When someone meet me they would always look at my eyes, and not me. They would act like I was an idiot or something, and for the longest time, i would believe them. It wasn’t long before my mum noticed though. It was then that she gave me a letter that her mother gave to her when she was a filly and was being picked on. After reading it, I stopped criticizing myself, and soon others started to as well. It wasn’t long before other ponies would see me and see who I am, not what I am. They didn’t hate me anymore, instead I became everyone’s friend. And to continue being their friend and making new ones, I became a mailmare so I could meet everyone. All of that would have never happened had it not been for that letter. I was flying over and I noticed that you were so much sadder than you were yesterday, and I thought to myself, ‘Hey, why should anyone frown. Everyone is special in their own way and should be able to be proud of themselves always.’ I may not have known what happened, but you don’t need to know somepony to help them out. My mum said that whenever I see anypony else who seemed down, I should try to help them, and I think that the letter should be passed on to you.”
With that, the mailmare handed her the said letter and started to leave. When the mare opened the letter, she saw a poem.
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About a week later the citizens of Ponyville started to notice a mare who would be handing people flowers when they seemed down, lending a hoof when they needed help, and skipping around town like it was no pony's business. They could see her helping the school teacher with the students when they were being especially rowdy. She would often be performing stunts for the town, much like a previous mare with a rainbow mane would. She started to talk to these two other mares more often. They could be seen at Sugarcube Corner of heading towards an old clubhouse to do Celestia-knows-what. A few days later they saw her and her friends talking to a group of ponies, two mares and two stallions. During this conversation, she never lost her smile, and eventually they handed over a few pieces of paper and apologized for something. They were later seen talking with her and some other ponies more often. Eventually, her sister returned from the Wonderbolts to hang out with who she said was the “best little sister in the universe.”
She saw the gray mare all the time and would often be helping her distribute the mail. She tried to return the letter to her, but was told to keep it. From that day on she would always have the letter with her, showing it to anyone who ever looked like they had a bad day. She knew that no day could be perfect, but that didn’t mean that she would ever fade into the background again, nor would she let anyone else. If you ever went to Ponyville, it was said that you would often hear the villagers say to you that you should never give up, never give in, and be all that you can be.
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Just Be You
You don't have to be perfect
For someone to see you
Why be like the rest,
When you can just be you?
I don’t need to be the strongest
Or to look the best
I don’t have to be assertive
Nor do I need to impress
I don’t need to be the fastest
Just to get ahead
Why should I just keep crying
And live my life in dread?
Of never being seen,
Of never being heard
I can just live my life
instead of being hurt
From what I hear about me
Or of what I might see
I shouldn’t have to worry
About not being me
If you just give me a chance
To show you who I am
Instead of being forced
Into living a life as a sham
I may not look special
So you’ll just have to look close
I am not like all the rest
I will not just be a ghost
Of what they want from me
Of what they think I should be
We should all have the chance
To make our own destiny
Our life is our choice
So just take my hand
So i can help you out
So you can make a stand
You don’t have to be a shadow
Just leave behind the rest
You need to let yourself grow
And do what you do best
Don’t let others make you
You can do that on you own
You can be so much more
And let yourself be known
Just try to let yourself live
Try to carry on
Lift yourself from the cave
And look beyond the dawn
You don't have to be perfect
For someone to see you
Why be like the rest,
When you can just be you?