//------------------------------// // Chapter Two- Scars // Story: Lazy Eye for Fluttershy // by azile0 //------------------------------// Derpy’s story “I was barely a mare,” Derpy Hooves said to her audience. Rarity and Rainbow Dash had joined Fluttershy on the couch as the gray pegasus told her story. “I fell in love with a magnificent stallion named Flappy Jack.” She paused, and her face furrowed into a frown. Thinking about him always hurt. Physically. The crescent shaped scar on her right temple throbbed with a deep, steady pounding. “Flappy was a racehorse. He was the fastest earth pony I knew, and we traveled all over Equestria to run in his derbies. One day, in a town called San Foalcisco, we were staying in a fancy hotel. Flappy had just won the big race of the year, and we were celebrating.” Derpy looked down and blushed. “I became pregnant with Dinky that day.” “Anyway, as I became larger and larger, Flappy seemed to become less interested in me. When we spent time together he would always seem distracted. I thought he was getting bored, but one day I walked in on him injecting himself with this clear liquid- Flappy had been doping. At first it was just to ‘keep my edge’, he said. But he became more and more obsessed with his steroids. Dinky was a few weeks old when he began hitting me.” The gray pegasus held a hoof up to her temple and displayed the scar. “At first, he pushed me around. He would shove me out of the way, or just jostle me into the wall for no reason other than to attack me. Pushes became slaps. I would hide Dinky in the back room when he would come into the hotel room sopping drunk after losing his latest race. He was in a horrible downward spiral and took out his frustration on us.” “About six years ago, he came home with a cumbersome metal shoe. He usually preferred softer fabric or even wood, but today was special. He was bleary-eyed and staggering with his drunkenness, but he was still able to win one last race.” She closed her eyes as the scene replayed in her mind. The smell of booze was thick as Flappy Jack flung Derpy out of the way, knocking her over. He threw open the door to the room Dinky was cowering in, the metal doorknob making a hole in the white plaster wall. His voice was rough and slurred when he bellowed, “Ge’ ou’ ‘ere, yew stinky liddle shhiiit!” Dinky started crying, and his ears pricked up. He began walking, homing in on the sound. Derpy was on her feet again and flew at the drunken stallion. He heard her frantic wingbeats, and flipped around, hoof raised. She couldn’t move out of the way in time, and brought that hoof down, smashing that metal shoe into her skull. Derpy’s body went lip, and was flung aside. She hit the wall with a wet crunch and slid down to the ground. Blood seeped from an open gash on her temple. Dinky screamed from her hiding place, and leaped out to protect her mother. Flappy Jack rounded on her, mouth frothing with rage. “This is all your fault! You are such a bad girl!” He lunged for Dinky, but the tiny foal jumped out of the way. The red earth pony crashed into the wall, bellowing in rage and thrashing his hooves around blindly as he fell to the ground and was unable to stand again. Dinky dashed over to her mother and frantically began shaking the unconscious pegasus. “Mommy!” she cried, “Mommy, get up! Get up, mommy!” But to no avail. She closed her eyes and began to cry, her hot tears splashing onto Derpy’s bloody face. Flappy Jack got to his feet behind her, and approached with heavy footsteps. Dinky screeched in panic, and her horn glowed. A purple light surrounded mother and daughter, and with a loud ‘CRACK!’ they vanished. Flappy Jack slammed his hooves down on the spot where they had been a moment ago. He expressed his rage in a low growl that built to a drunken roar, collapsing to the ground in exhaustion when he was done. Dinky and Derpy appeared in the middle of a crowded theater, interrupting the performance that was going on. Startled ponies screamed in alarm, and the cast leaped back in confusion. There was general confusion as nopony knew quite was going on. When one of the actors noticed Derpy was bleeding- profusely- he called for help. The gray pegasus and her daughter were whisked away to the hospital. The terrified Dinky couldn’t offer any clues as to why she had appeared in the middle of a performance clinging to her injured mother. She refused to let go of her mother’s hoof, even while the doctors were treating Derpy’s severe concussion. The unicorn just clenched her eyes shut and gripped on to the pegasus’s limb tighter. The smell of disinfecting alcohol stung Derpy’s nose as the world became visible again. Her vision was blurry and unsteady. She couldn’t move her limbs and had trouble breathing. There was an odd warmth on her chest, and after considerable effort was able to look down and see the blurry, unfocused shape Dinky, curled up under the blankets with her. The pegasus’ mouth stretched and distorted itself into a wavy line that was her best attempt at a smile. Tears fell down her cheeks and made wet marks on Dinky’s mane, but the foal was sleeping peacefully. Derpy rested her hoof on her daughter’s warm flank, and fell back asleep. The pegasus dipped in and out of consciousness. Each time, her vision was a little sharper. But she became aware of the fact that her right eye didn’t behave right. It wouldn’t go where she wanted it to- it moved on its own volition. Dinky- being the sweet girl she was- assured her mom that it looked perfectly alright. But Derpy saw in the mirror that it looked grotesque and lifeless, mostly looking down and rolling to either side when she moved her head. Doctor Oddlove came in to see her the day of her discharge. “Miss Hooves,” he began, “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your eyesight has been permanently crippled. The scans reveal extensive damage to the nerves not only in your brain and spine, but the eye itself. You will be able to control it better with time, but it shall always be a difficulty to control. I truly am sorry.” Derpy had cried a lot during her stay at the hospital, but now she decided to be strong for Dinky. She set what she hoped what a brave face, and said in a slurred tone, “Thanksh fur all yur hulp while ah was hurr, Doctor. Meansh a lot to ush.” Oddlove nodded, and exited the room. Derpy and Dinky were left alone. The pegasus quietly sat in her bed and performed eye exercises, attempting to lock both eyes on a fixed point in the room and keep them there for as long as possible. She couldn’t achieve the first part of the test. Dinky gripped her hooves tightly, and the purple unicorn’s big eyes glistened with tears. “Don’t worry, mommy,” she said in a shaky tone, “I’ll always love you, even if you have silly eyes.” That shouldn’t have made her laugh, but the gray pegasus giggled anyway, hugging her daughter closer. “I’ll always love you too, even if your horn looks goofy.” Dinky playfully laughed and pushed her mother away. “My horn is NOT goofy!” the unicorn said with mock indignation. For hours, the two ponies laughed, talked and joked until Doctor Oddlove returned. “It’s time, Miss Hooves. You can go now.” Hiccuping with rapidly dissipating laughter, Derpy stood on shaky legs and with the help of Oddlove and Dinky, walked out of the room and down the hall. And there, in the lobby, was Flappy Jack. He looked like hell. His mane was disheveled and limp, his eyes were red and bleary. Dark sags hung below them, saying that he hadn’t slept in a while. He stood, his face brightening up when he saw Derpy. His face froze when he saw his wife’s head bandage and her right eye, which was staring at the ground while the left stared back at him. Dinky whimpered and hid behind his mother. “Doctor Oddlove,” Derpy said in a low, pained voice. The stallion doctor leaned closer to hear, “I want you to call the police and have my husband arrested. He’s the one who put me here.” Oddlove’s face remained calm as he straightened up and caught hospital security’s eye. He got their attention with a brief wave, then pointed at the red earth pony. The burly tan stallion wearing a blue jacket that read ‘SECURITY’ nodded, and approached Flappy Jack. Panicked, the stallion tried to flee. He had already been hitting the drink, so he ended up just falling over. Security had shackles around his hooves before he could get back up. Derpy and Dinky watched while Flappy Jack was dragged out of their lives. The pegasus turned to Doctor Oddlove, and kissed him on the cheek. The brown stallion smiled and nuzzled Derpy’s cheek. “I hope everything works out for you two,” the doctor said. “Thank you.” Derpy said, pressing her flank against Dinky. “I do too.” “We wandered for a while, unable to hold any work with my eye,” Derpy said to her audience, “Eventually, we ended up on a train to Canterlot. It was there that I met Princess Celestia.” The pegasus’ face misted over with happiness as she recalled the memory. “She was on the way back to her palace after visiting Ponyville. She liked taking the train to meet with her subjects. I told her my story, and she was shocked and ashamed that one of her people would do something like what Flappy Jack had done to me. She couldn’t heal me, but she did the best thing she could have: She gave me a job. You can probably guess what it was- Royal mailpony.” Derpy’s face flushed with pride. “I carried royal letters, packages and even had the chance to act as scribe for one of Celestia’s royal meetings. Those were great days. Dinky and I lived in the palace, attended royal schools, ate fantastic foods.. I think that’s where I healed, emotionally as well as physically. For a while, I was afraid of everything. Shadows, stallions, rustling paper.. I dropped dozens of parcels because I was startled. Celestia and the other royals were patient with me. Their kindness and generosity eventually calmed me down, and when I was finally back to my old self, I left. Celestia understood that court life wasn’t for me or for Dinky. We retired here, and through Celestia’s influence I was able to get a job as the town mailpony. Dinky likes going to school here better, she didn’t get along with those snooty noble fillies. And me, I like having genuine friends like you girls.” “And that’s it,” she concluded with a wave of her hoof. “I’ve been living here for a few years now and I’ve never made any real friends. I talk with the parents of Dinky’s friends sometimes but that’s about it. I am so glad to have found you all.” Fluttershy and Rarity stood from the couch, walked over to the gray pegasus and hugged her. The mares had been crying during Derpy’s story. The mailpony found herself crying too, but they were tears of joy as she hesitantly raised her hooves to embrace the girls. Rainbow Dash remained on the couch, but the hostile expression she had been wearing earlier had softened somewhat. Derpy made eye contact with the cyan pegasus, who jerked her head towards a side room and mouthed something. Derpy gave a short nod as the mares hugging her detached themselves. “Gosh, Derpy,” Fluttershy murmured, “I don’t even know what to say, I-” the gray pegasus cut her off, “Fluttershy, you don’t need to say anything. Just listening like you did helped more than any words ever could. If you girls don’t mind, I need to use the filly’s room.” Rainbow Dash had already slunk away, and as Fluttershy and Rarity began talking she slipped into the dark room as well. It was too dark to see her, but Derpy could hear Rainbow Dash’s breathing. It was slow, controlled. The daredevil pony was holding back a considerable amount of anger. Derpy broke the silence. “You have feelings for Fluttershy too, don’t you?” Ranbow Dash’s reply was bland, anguished. “Yes.” the mare’s voice was choked up as she said, “Since the day I met her. I just can’t say it to her face.” Derpy was in an uncomfortable position. She wanted to help the pegasus, but that would mean giving up Fluttershy. She was unwilling to do that. “Rainbow Dash..” she began, but the other pony cut her off. “I know, you don’t want to give her up. So, I propose a challenge. Whoever Fluttershy chooses, that’s it. That’s the end. The other person has to leave them be.” Derpy’s eyes had adjusted to the low light, and saw Rainbow Dash’s dim outline in the gloom. The cyan pegasus had her hoof raised towards the mailpony. Derpy slowly reached up and shook Dash’s hoof. “Agreed,” the gray pegasus said, “But I won’t hold back.” “I was about to say the same thing.” Rainbow Dash growled.