Derpy is shocked when Cheerilee pays her a visit and asks her to speak to her class about her disability. A little hurt, Derpy is not sure whether or not she can really pull the visit off.
When Derpy is asked to talk to the students of Cheerilee's class about her disability, will things work out, or will the gray pegasus get tongue-tied and embarrassed as she notices the pity others give her for being different? Will she be able to stand up for herself, or will her emotions unravel before her eyes?
~~~ Many thanks to WafflezOfEquestria (http://www.fimfiction.net/user/WafflezofEquestria) for the amazing cover! <3 I literally got this idea late one night and decided to roll with it. I have no idea if my mind was spouting gibberish. But critique is welcome, as long as it's constructive.
It was a bright, sunny afternoon in Ponyville– one of those days where the faint breeze whistling past your ears carried new hopes for the upcoming season, and the soft scent of the new spring foreshadowed the joyous days ahead. The small town was adjusting into the new season nicely after the Winter Wrap-Up that had taken place a few days prior. Butterflies flitted by and bunnies hopped through the sweet-smelling blossoms of the newly-grown flowers that had sprouted all around Ponyville. The skies were clear and blue, with not a cloud to be seen as a courtesy of the pegasi. It wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cold. The weather seemed ideal for doing absolutely anything.
It was indeed a perfect day.
A gray pegasus pony who had been sitting in her house, playing with her daughter, cast a glance outside and noticed the lovely weather. She turned to her child and smiled, her lopsided eyes brightening.
“It's quite a nice day today, isn't it, Dinky?” Derpy asked, turning around again to marvel at the seemingly flawless weather. “Don't you think we should go outside for a little bit?”
Dinky looked past her mother's shoulder to see outside the window. “I don't know, mom. I was really looking forward to showing you this new trick I've learned to do with my magic. I think I've finally got it!”
Derpy sighed. “Why didn't you show it to me earlier, before I suggested we go outside?”
“I... uh...” The purple unicorn filly trailed off. “I guess I forgot. But I wanted to show it to you today, and I don't want to lose my chance because we're going to go outside!”
Derpy's taut emotions softened as she looked at her daughter's hopeful face. She couldn't say no to her this time. She'd been having to say no a lot lately when it came to Dinky asking for something, and if she was only requesting something as simple as this, she might as well give in and let her daughter get her way.
“Alright, alright. Show me what you've got!”
Dinky's eyes widened and she grinned happily. “Really?” When her mother nodded, the little filly jumped up from where she was sitting on the rug of their living room and rushed off to grab something from her room. She returned shortly with two of her favorite stuffed animals– Sally Shortsocks and Doctor Bubblemuffin. Sally was a hippopotamus toy clothed in bright pink and white striped overalls, and Doctor was a giraffe toy sporting glasses and a white lab coat. Dinky set the two items in front of her, where Derpy could see them clearly. She adjusted their position many times to make sure it was perfect before she finally cleared her throat.
“And now, I present to you,” Dinky said in a very professional-sounding voice, “The Amazing Dinky and her two assistants, Sally and Doctor!”
Derpy giggled and clapped her hooves together, curious to see what her daughter was planning.
“Be prepared to be amazed as The Amazing Dinky does the impossible– switching the clothes on my two assistants! A feat such as this one can only be performed by the highest level magicians!” Dinky elaborated. “But no fear, my lovely audience. This is a trick The Amazing Dinky can perform with ease!” Dinky turned towards the subjects of her trick, prepared to cast the spell that would swap the clothes on her two stuffed animals. She ignited her horn, the magic glowing a soft blue. The two toys were lifted into the air, and they emanated a soft light that continually grew brighter as the spell progressed.
A loud knock sounded from across the room that caught both Derpy and Dinky off-guard. The stuffed animals immediately stopped glowing and fell to the ground as the light from Dinky's horn disintegrated. The momentary distraction had cut the cord on the unicorn's concentration, breaking the spell off. Dinky whined in disappointment at her failure to achieve her task, and Derpy gave her daughter a look of sympathy.
“Show me in a second, okay?” Derpy smiled at her daughter, trying to erase the crestfallen look that had grown on Dinky's small face. “I'll just be a moment.”
Derpy got up from where she was sitting on the floor and walked over to the door. She opened it hesitantly– she hadn't been expecting any visitors, but it easily could have been a mailmare– it was her day off and another pony would be taking her shift. The pony she saw at the door was in fact the last one she had been expecting.
“Oh, hello, Miss Cheerilee,” Derpy greeted. “I didn't know you were stopping by today.”
Cheerilee, the teacher at the local school about a mile away from Derpy's house, stood at the doorstep, a pleasant smile on her face. “Hello, Derpy. Sorry for the unexpected visit, but I just wanted to talk to you for a little bit.”
Derpy's face fell and she cast a glance at her daughter who was playing with her toys in the living room behind her. She lowered her voice as she spoke. “Is Dinky failing her tests again? I've been helping her study, and I think her grades have been going up–”
“–Oh, no, no. It's nothing like that. Dinky's been doing excellent in school lately,” Cheerilee interrupted. “I've actually come to talk about you.”
Derpy looked a little bit shocked. “Miss Cheerilee, you do know I'm a bit too old to go to your school right?”
Cheerilee laughed and shook her head. “No, Derpy, I wasn't talking about you enrolling to be in my class. I wanted you to come and be a guest speaker.”
The shocked look on Derpy's face grew as she registered what the teacher was talking about. “You... you want me to come and speak to your class? What about?”
The magenta pony smiled. “Well, you see, Derpy, our class is starting a unit in science about the body. We're learning about all sorts of things among cell structure, body systems, genetic mutations, and the like.”
“Well, where can I help with that? I did well in English when I went to school. I never really knew much about science,” Derpy said, an apologetic tone creeping into her voice. She wasn't quite sure what the other pony was getting at.
Cheerilee hesitated for a moment as she tried to word her next sentence. “Well, you see, I wanted you to come in a talk about your disability.”
It was silent for a moment as the gray pegasus took in what Cheerilee had said. She had assumed that the teacher was referring to her lazy eyes, so she tried to confirm her suspicions. “You mean my eyes?”
Cheerilee nodded quickly. “Well, yes. I mean, we are learning about genetic mutations, and really, that is what your lopsided eyes are. Well, you know what I mean. I think the students could really benefit from listening to you speak about them and telling them how lucky they are to have been born without any problems.”
Right as Cheerilee said it, she knew that it had come out the wrong way. Derpy immediately stiffened and Cheerilee rushed to apologize.
“I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. I just wanted the kids to hear you speak and all–”
Derpy held up a hoof to silence her. “No, no, it's okay, Miss Cheerilee. I know what you meant.” She paused for a moment. “Of course I'll come and speak to your class.”
Cheerilee sighed as a relieved smile spread across her face. “You will?” When Derpy nodded, she giggled slightly. “Thank you, Derpy. It really means a lot to me. I'm sure the fillies and colts will love having you there.”
Derpy returned the smile, but it was hesitant. Luckily, Cheerilee didn't catch the emotions behind Derpy's eyes– the hurt and pain. The teacher thanked her once more, gave her the details of the day she would come in, and left, leaving the gray pegasus feeling slightly defeated.
Derpy went back inside and shut her door, heading over to sit by Dinky again. Her daughter had been fiddling with her toys the whole time and hadn't noticed any of the conversation that had just taken place.
“I'll be coming into your class to speak on Friday,” Derpy announced, and Dinky's eyes lit up.
“Really?” She asked. “Oh, that's so cool! All my friends are going to love you!”
Derpy smiled, but it wasn't real or genuine. Fortunately, Dinky couldn't tell and she continued to play with her toys happily. She had completely forgotten about her magic trick at this point, and was simply content with making up stories for her stuffed animals like reality TV shows that Derpy would sometimes watch. The gray pegasus sighed and looked behind her shoulder and out the window, where the now not-so-perfect-day loomed and taunted her for getting caught in such an awful situation.
“Alright, class, settle down,” Cheerilee trilled, trying to calm the chatter that rushed through the classroom. It took a good few seconds and Cheerilee calling out to the fillies and colts once more to get the noise to die down completely, and there were still a few mutters of gossip that had been on the school yard a few moments before during lunch break.
“Did you see what Scootaloo was doing during lunch?” Diamond Tiara whispered to her friend, Silver Spoon. She made sure to say it extra loud so the orange filly who she was referring to would hear every word she was speaking. “She was pretending to be a great flyer like Rainbow Dash. How lame...”
“I know, right?” Silver Spoon giggled obnoxiously. “What a loser...”
Scootaloo, who was sitting behind them, in the last row near the back, whimpered and shrank down in her seat. The two bullies turned around to give her a taunting glare as they snickered and giggled obnoxiously. When Cheerilee called for attention once more, they finally turned around in their chairs to look back to the front of the class. It was silent for a moment before Cheerilee cleared her throat.
“Good morning, class!” The magenta pony twittered. “I trust that you all got a good night's sleep– I don't know where else all of that lovely energy came from! Now, let's take that excitement and put it away for now. After we take care of our morning duties–”
A few colts in the back of the classroom snickered.
“She said 'doody,'” one chuckled.
“Doody, doody, doody!” Another one sang, making funny faces as his friend across the classroom.
Cheerilee looked unamused and cleared her throat. The colts immediately silenced themselves and she continued.
“Now that you've gotten that out of your system, I'd like for you to all take out your planners and write down your homework that's on the board. I'll take attendance and we'll get started in a few minutes. We have a special guest here today, so I ask that you all give her your undivided attention when she comes inside.” With a nod to signal the class to get started, Cheerilee walked to her desk to mark down any absent students. After noting that everypony was present, she headed towards the classroom entrance where Derpy was waiting. Opening the door, she gave a sweet smile as she noticed the wall-eyed pegasus smelling some aromatic flowers growing along the wall of the schoolhouse. The gray pony immediately perked up when Cheerilee opened the door.
“Oh, Miss Ch– I mean, Cheerilee!” Derpy said. “I didn't realize you'd be coming out so soon.” She inched away from the flowers and stood up straight to face the teacher.
“Well, I didn't, either,” Cheerilee smiled. “It usually takes them much longer to calm down on a Friday morning!” When Derpy didn't say anything, Cheerilee awkwardly cleared her throat and continued. “Well, the fillies and colts are just writing down their homework, but why don't you come on inside? You can introduce yourself, and then you can take the lead and start your presentation. But,” she sang, “I'll be helping you out if you need it. I wouldn't want you to make a mistake. I know firsthand how embarrassing messing up in front of children is.”
Derpy tried hard to hold back a nasty remark, biting the inside of her cheek instead. Cheerilee was treating her like one of her students– no, worse! Like an infant! Instead, she gave a soft smile and replied, “I think I can handle myself.” There wasn't venom in the answer, but Derpy was using all of her strength to keep there from being any. Cheerilee inhaled deeply and pushed open the door, motioning for Derpy to come into the schoolhouse. Derpy flicked her tail and entered, the wide-eyed gazes of the students following her as she trailed towards the center of the classroom. Cheerilee came up next to her and smiled sweetly at the class.
“Alright, fillies and colts, please welcome our guest for today!” Cheerilee introduced Derpy ecstatically. The students clapped their hooves together hesitantly, not quite sure what a pegasus with lopsided eyes could teach them. A few whispers coursed through the classroom, and Derpy spotted her daughter, Dinky, looking like she was about to burst with pride as her mother stood in front of her peers. Little did Dinky know that some of the whispers were about her.
“How lame. I feel bad for Dinky.”
“Miss Cheerilee can't be serious, right?”
“I knew I should've played hooky today...”
Kids can be so judgmental, Derpy thought to herself. Thank Celestia Dinky doesn't notice it.
Cheerilee lightly tapped her hoof on the floor to silence the class. The noise dwindled considerably down, but Cheerilee didn't motion for Derpy to speak until the class was completely silent.
Derpy watched the bored students roll their eyes and look around the classroom. You can do this, the grey pegasus thought to herself. They're just children. “Good morning,” she began softly.
Cheerilee flicked her ear and shot a glance towards Derpy. Her smile vanished. “I don't think they can hear you, dear,” she said, nervousness creeping into her voice.
Derpy tried again. “Good... morning.”
“Louder, please,” Cheerilee chimed next to her.
“G- good morning...” Her voice came out like a squeak.
Cheerilee's tail flicked in annoyance, and a harsh whisper escaped her mouth. “Stand up straight, Derpy! And for Celestia's sake, please speak up!”
The nagging command yanked the nerves away from Derpy quicker than lightning. She inhaled sharply and stood up straight, her eyes challenging Cheerilee's for just a moment before she turned back to the class. She was using all her might now to hold back an explosion of yelling at the school teacher. “Good morning, class,” Derpy said, her voice ringing loud and clear. “I've come today to talk to you about genetic mutations.”
A few of the students' ears perked up. The science-lovers, no doubt, Derpy smiled to herself.
“Genetic mutations are permanent changes in DNA sequencing, as you probably learned from your teacher in the past few days. While I myself wasn't always familiar with the subject, I came in today to talk about my personal experiences with genetic mutations,” Derpy began. She had recited her speech a few times within the past few days before coming in, and the words flowed out mechanically, like they meant nothing to her. “If you didn't notice already, I have what is known as lazy eyes. I was born with them, yes, and they are considered, on a level, genetic mutations. I can't change them, but they make me who I am.”
Diamond Tiara sniggered in her seat. “If lame is who you are, then yeah!” A couple students laughed at this remark.
Cheerilee frowned. “Quiet, students. Let's show respect for our visitor.”
Derpy gulped and continued, her nervousness growing. She thought back to what Cheerilee had said to her.
“I think the students could really benefit from listening to you speak about them and telling them how lucky they are to have been born without any problems.”
Derpy braced herself for her next words. “You are all very fortunate to have been born without genetic mutations. Fully-functioning, healthy young ponies like yourselves are very capable of succeeding much in life.” Unable to find the right words to continue this thought, Derpy found herself going off on a tangent. “Please do understand that while other ponies aren't exactly like you, they still are capable of doing everything you can.” The pegasus paused and let her lopsided gaze fall upon the class. “My lazy eyes aren't something to be ashamed of. They're a part of me.”
Cheerilee gave a sickly-sweet smile and turned to the mare. “Derpy, my dear, you're getting a little off-topic now. Why don't you talk about something a little more... positive?”
Disregarding the teacher's comment, the gray pegasus went on. “It doesn't matter whether you're big, or small, or if you have a disability. It doesn't matter if you're a unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony. It doesn't matter if you're blue or gray or pink or green or yellow or any other color on the rainbow. What matters is that you are you,” Derpy smiled. “No one else can be you. There's only one you in this world, and whatever you do, you can't let yourself go.” She felt Cheerilee's hoof on her shoulder, trying to cease her words, but Derpy looked her straight in the eyes and continued her speech. “I'm no different than you or anyone else. I'm smart. I'm tough. I can be whoever I want to be. I work for the weather patrol. My lazy eyes don't stop me from that. I'm a mother. My lazy eyes don't stop me from that. I strive to be me. My lazy eyes don't stop me from that. Sure, I may have to work harder than everypony else, but that just makes me stronger, right? I've learned over the years through all the bullying and teasing that I have to be resilient. I have to be able to bounce back. So always remember, class. When somepony treats you different because of who you are,” she turned back to the fillies and colts, “don't let them look down on you. Show them that you are just as smart, just as talented, just as capable as they are. If you don't, you won't ever get anypony to respect you and love you for who you are.”
Derpy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure what else she should say, but the speech she had just given certainly wasn't what Cheerilee had intended for her class to hear. Turning to the teacher, Derpy saw shame in her eyes for the very first time. Cheerilee's prejudice had gotten the better of her, and she hadn't realized it until she had gone too far and hurt somepony else. The class was quiet as they watched the silent exchange between the two mares. Heaving a deep sigh, Cheerilee looked at Derpy apologetically. Her pride was still strong enough that she would not audibly apologize in front of the entire class, but a small “I'm sorry” escaped from her mouth. Derpy smiled sympathetically and nodded her forgiveness, turning back to the class to say her goodbyes.
“I know I was here for such a short time,” Derpy managed to say. “But I have to get home and do some baking tonight. It was a pleasure to present to all of you.” She dipped her head softly and exited the room swiftly through the front door. Without a formal goodbye, the lopsided-eyed mare was gone.
The class was silent for a moment before immediately erupting in chatter. Hooves raised up left and right, questions hanging in the air. Cheerilee called on Diamond Tiara, whose hoof was waving frantically to and fro.
“Miss Cheerilee,” Diamond Tiara began. “What was the point of that? That was so boring.”
Cheerilee frowned. “I really hope you were paying attention, Diamond Tiara,” she replied evenly. “Now class, I know you have a lot of questions, but... you have some classwork to do. Please open up your English textbooks to page two-hundred and forty-one and begin reading the short story titled 'Manners.'”
As the class fumbled through their saddlebags to pull out their books, one filly near the back of the classroom stood stock-still. Lost in her thoughts, her eyes were wide, still staring at the door where Derpy had left.
Derpy yawned heavily, the bags under her eyes evident. It had been another grueling day at work as a mailmare, and she’d promised Rainbow Dash that tomorrow she would help clear the sky. She figured that after that she’d be coming back to the weather patrol at least once a week, but she’d been on break for a while from the team because the ever-nearing spring holiday season had meant that many rabbit-related packages and cards were coming into Ponyville, and the post office was dwindling on employees. She grabbed the last couple envelopes and placed them in her saddlebag, straightening her mailmare hat as she took to the skies. It was nice to be able to get the final deliveries of the day done.
As she flew, Derpy couldn’t stop thinking about the events that had occurred in the past couple weeks. Though it seemed like yesterday, it had been almost a month since she’d spoken to the students of Cheerilee’s class. She was thankful that there hadn’t been much of an uproar that followed it. A few ponies had asked about it, but Derpy had simply brushed it off and changed the subject, grateful that most ponies complied and didn’t ask about it any further.
Cheerilee had come to her house the day after the presentation apologizing for everything that had happened. She explained that she hadn’t realized how much offense she had caused Derpy, and that it wasn’t like her to be that way. She was so used to being around children that she ended up treating Derpy like one, and she didn’t want to push her too much, as she was afraid that her eyes caused her more trouble than they really did. She confessed that she’d pitied Derpy, but that the simple pity evolved so rapidly that it had become a belief of incapability. Cheerilee also told her that she had been stressed out about the visit, and had wanted everything to go perfectly. She hadn’t realized how controlling she had gotten and how much stereotyping she was evoking until it was thrust right into her face. The many apologies that followed nearly drowned Derpy, and she knew that Cheerilee really was sorry. She forgave her and the two mares went out for lunch afterwards.
Everything’s fine, Derpy assured herself. So why am I still thinking about it?
She dipped her head to look down at a couple ponies on the streets, heading home from their work. A couple saw her and waved, and she smiled and waved back.
She suddenly realized why she was pining on the situation so much.
What if Cheerilee wasn’t the only pony who thought of me that way?
Derpy continued to wave at them, but her smile fell short. She didn’t want other ponies to pity her. She simply wanted respect and love from her peers. If she was going to have to prove to them that she was worth that, she would do it.
But how? That was the question. Derpy stored that thought in her mind for another time, promising to come back to it.
She had barely even noticed she was on her last delivery until she had arrived at the address. She looked up at the house, her heart skipping a beat. Looking back at the address, she checked to make sure it was written right, and that it had been addressed to the right pony. There was no mistaking it. She was in the right place.
Derpy Hooves found herself standing in front of her own home, the fireplace inside flickering softly and casting a glow on the building. She almost mechanically put the letter in the mailbox, but she stopped herself and walked inside, rushing upstairs and tossing the envelope onto her nightstand. She quickly got herself ready for bed. She was certain that after reading the contents of the letter, she would be heading straight to sleep.
It wasn’t long before she was back in her bedroom, flicking on her bedside lamp, sitting down on her bed, and opening up the envelope carefully so as not to rip the message inside. It certainly wasn’t a bill, she knew that, and the messy writing on the front puzzled her. Who could it be from? There was no return address, so it was certainly difficult to tell. Gently pulling the paper inside of the envelope out, she began to read.
Dear Derpy Hooves,
I know you don't really know me, but my name is Scootaloo. I'm in Dinky's class. Anyways, since Miss Cheerilee taught us how to write letters in class, I thought maybe I could write you one because I wanted to talk to you. I really liked your speech that you came and said to us last month. I know I should've written this letter sooner, but I was scared and didn't know what to say.
It really meant a lot to me when you talked about being yourself. I was very inspired by everything you said. You see, I'm kind of like you. I'm a pegasus who can't fly. Even though I know you can, I felt like everything you said the day you came in really applied to me too, because ponies bully me all the time for not being able to fly. When you said all the stuff you could do, I realized that maybe if I tried hard enough, I could fly. The doctors told me it's not impossible, but it isn't likely either. My wings are just too small to carry my weight. They told me I probably wouldn't ever be able to fly, but Rainbow Dash told me that Im just waiting for my gross-spurt or something like that. She said my wings are just charging up so that when I'm older they'll be bigger and stronger than everypony else's.
Ever since you came to my class, I've been practicing every day on my own. I'm doing exercises Rainbow Dash taught me. I almost asked Rainbow Dash to help me, but then I decided I wanted it to be a surprise! Wow, I can't wait to show her! She almost caught me practicing one time behind Carousel Boutique, but I hid as fast as I could! I decided that Applebloom and Sweetie Belle shouldn't know yet either, because I want it to be a surprise for everypony! I wanted to tell you though because I feel like you'd understand why I'm doing this. The one thing I remember you said that stuck to me the most was: “I may have to work harder than everypony else, but that just makes me stronger, right?” The day you came to my class, I almost didn't come. There are bullies at school who were really mean to me the day before, and I didn't want to come to school because I thought they were gonna be mean again. I was really scared. My mom said that I should go to school because today would be an easy day. We weren't learning much, but a pony was coming to speak to us in class. I cried a lot, but don't tell Applebloom and Sweetie Belle that. They'd think I was a chicken! So I toughed it out and came to school.
That morning I got bullied by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They are really mean and pick on me Applebloom and Sweetie Belle because we don't have our cutiemarks. It makes me really sad. I didn't cry, but I yelled at them for being meanies, and Miss Cheerilee got mad at me and Applebloom and Sweetie Belle-- even though we didn't do anything. I wanted to go home. But, I did what my mom told me and toughed it out. At lunchtime, I tried to practice flying again. I played "Wonderbolts" with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. It's this game where we all pretend to be Wonderbolts, and I was Rainbow Dash! Even though she's not a Wonderbolt, she's awesome enough to be one! So we played Wonderbolts and then Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon started making fun of me. They said I couldn't possibly be Rainbow Dash because I couldn't fly. This time I didn't say anything and lunch ended before I knew it. We went into the classroom and Miss Cheerilee introduced you. You started speaking and I didn't know what to think because you sounded sad. You sounded like you didn't want to be there. But then suddenly you sounded passionate about what you were saying. You talked about being yourself and standing up to bullies. I was so surprised by how you stood up for yourself. After you left I decided I had to do that too!
School ended and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon came up to me. They started bullying me but I told them to leave me alone. They wouldn't stop and I told them that I didn't care about what they said. I knew that I had great potential and that I'm me and they couldn't change that. I told them that I was stronger than them because I strived to be me. Oh gee, you should've seen the looks on their faces! Their loud mouths had never been that still their entire lives!
I'm not really sure what else to say other than thank you. I know Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon aren't done with me yet, but I am certain that they won't be bothering me for a while. Your words really helped me strive to be a better me. I hope you can come back soon!
Sincerely,
Scootaloo
Derpy lowered the letter from her face, tears forming in her eyes. Sniffling a little, she neatly placed the letter on her nightstand, flicked out her lamp, and lay down. She drifted off into sleep with a gentle smile on her face, one that not even Celestia's magic could erase.
