Mother May I?
Derpy brushed the stick of charcoal across the page, tracing the imagined outline of a glittering lake. She was curled up on the floor of her living room, relishing this brief chance to indulge in her hobbies. A few feet away, Dinky sat in front of the crackling fire, one of her cherished books held in her front hooves. Her lips moved around the words she read, trying each one for size.
The fire cast flickering shadows on the walls of the room, turning the garish orange wallpaper into a window through which figures danced and swayed to the beat of an inaudible song. The shade of the coal scuttle became a boat rocking on choppy seas beneath the crimson lightning storm shining through Derpy's wine glass. A second log caught alight and the scene split in two, painting it on opposite sides of the wall, overlapping in parts.
Derpy swept the charcoal about and the rapidly-vanishing blank space on the paper revealed a sky flecked with bright stars and a tremendous full moon.
Dinky started nodding her head to each syllable she mouthed. Derpy recognised it as a sign that she was having difficulty with a word.
"Spell it out for me, Dinky," she said.
Dinky pulled the book closer to her face and placed a hoof on the page, running it from left to right along the offending word. "B-E-H-A-V-I-O-U-R."
"Behaviour. You know that one, Dinky. 'Be on your best behaviour.'"
"I'm always on my best behaviour," said Dinky.
Derpy smiled and reached out for her wine. Suddenly, her vision doubled and her fumbling hoof knocked against the glass, sending its contents spilling across the cream-coloured carpet. She cursed loudly before she could stop herself. She put both her hooves to her mouth and looked at Dinky, who stared back, wide-eyed, book forgotten.
"I'm sorry, Dinky. I said a bad word. Don't you say things like that, even if I do sometimes."
Dinky still looked scared. "Mommy, your eyes have gone all funny."
Derpy moved a hoof to her right eye, covering it and reducing the number of Dinkies she was seeing to just the one. Her remaining eye focused on the young unicorn, whose face was filled with concern.
"I'm fine, Dinky. Come sit over here for a minute."
She patted the floor in front of her. Dinky obediently closed her book, put it neatly on the bookshelf and knelt down in front of Derpy. She was such a good filly. Derpy hated to see her upset. It was better to explain this to her now than have her worry. She uncovered her eye again, which treacherously scrutinised the curtains while the other watched Dinky.
"It's called 'strabismus' or a 'lazy eye'. It just doesn't look in the right direction sometimes, so I find it hard to know how far away things are. I have problems reading, too. I've been getting it on and off recently but the doctors are treating it and hopefully I'll be all better soon, so don't worry."
"Does it hurt?"
"No," she lied.
---
Derpy had some free time between the end of her morning shift and the time she had to pick Dinky up from school. She had decided to supplement her income with some part-time work at Boxy Brown's moving company. A mailmare's salary didn't go far for a single mother anymore.
Her friend Raindrops was rattling off a stream of off-colour jokes as they loaded the cart, hovering high in the air. Derpy closed her eyes and laughed wildly. When she opened them again, her vision swam. She had a brief moment of disorientation and dropped her box heavily onto the back of the cart, tilting the whole vehicle backwards. The hauliers strapped to the front cried out as they struggled to bring it level again, but it was too late. Some of the cargo started to slide along the wooden planks towards the back.
Raindrops threw herself at the boxes and beat her wings as hard as she could, but more and more weight slid down against her.
"Derpy!" she cried. "The ramp! Close the ramp!"
Derpy grabbed the ramp and slammed it shut over the back of the cart. She reached for the latch but, without depth perception, she fell short by less than an inch. She didn't get another chance to try it before Raindrops' hindquarters struck the ramp, knocking it open again and wrenching it out of Derpy's grip. The two watched in horror as the cargo spilled out into empty air and tumbled, end over end, to the waiting ground below.
Boxy fixed them with an icy glare and all Derpy could do was grin apologetically.
---
The insurance had covered the damage and Boxy decided to let the incident go, but Derpy couldn't go back to work for him for fear that it would happen again. She had gone home that evening and cried in frustration, cursing her affliction, her stupidity, her uselessness.
Yes, it hurt sometimes.
"No, it doesn't hurt. It's just a bit of a nuisance."
"How did it happen?" asked Dinky.
"Well, in this case it's hereditary. That means that lots of people in our family get it. My aunt Daisy in Canterlot has it and my grandfather had it. It's possible that you'll get it too, so that's why it's so important that we catch it early. You know when you go for your check-up and Nurse Redheart shines the light in your eyes?"
Dinky nodded.
"That's her checking for a lazy eye."
"I don't like going to the doctor," Dinky said absently.
Derpy stamped her hoof sharply on the floor. "Well, you have to!"
She regretted it immediately as Dinky flinched at the sudden outburst. She shrank back and tried to relax.
"I'm sorry, Dinky. I just don't want you having the same problems I do."
---
The sun shone from its afternoon peak over Ponyville as Derpy swooped down towards the main street and the brightly-coloured post office. Her morning run had been particularly strenuous today, with nearly double the number of magazines for houses than usual. Their covers had been adorned by a beautiful yellow pegasus with a pink mane who Derpy was sure she recognised but couldn't put her hoof on a name.
Her muscles were tense and sore and she yawned widely. As she did, her right eye refocused on a distant mountain peak while her left remained straight. Derpy reared back from her descent onto the post office roof, unsure how close it could be. Panicking, she banked right into her blind spot and one of her wings clipped the town hall's flagpole, driving it painfully into her flank. Her other barely held her aloft for a moment before she dipped gracelessly onto the busy street below.
She hit the ground hard and tumbled head over heels before slamming face-first into the dirt. Groaning, she raised her head. Through duplicitous sight, she became aware of the crowd that had gathered. A few concerned ponies squatted in front of her, telling her not to move and checking her for injury. A number of onlookers held back, whispering to each other. As they caught sight of her eyes, the whispers intensified and a few pointed hooves at her. Far at the back, some pony she couldn't see laughed out loud...
---
Derpy was aware of the reputation for clumsiness that stunt had earned her. It was true that she was a bit awkward, but rumour had exaggerated it beyond recognition. Since then, any offers she gave to friends to help with tasks were politely refused as if she was going to break things as soon as she got near them. That wasn't the life she wanted for her daughter.
Derpy held still as Dinky walked around her, looking into her mother's mismatched eyes and tilting her head quizzically when the right eye refused to follow her motions. Eventually, Dinky sat back down.
"Mommy, if I had strubsmuz..."
"Strabismus."
"If I had strabismus, would you still love me?"
Derpy was taken aback. "Of course I'd still love you, Dinky. Nothing could make me stop loving you."
The tiny filly got to all fours again and trotted over to Derpy. She wrapped her front hooves around her mother's neck and hugged her tightly.
"Me too."
Derpy smiled and hugged her back. They held the embrace for a long time before Derpy gently detached the filly's grip on her.
"Go get your book."
Dinky retrieved the book from the shelf and returned to Derpy, who was now lying on her side with a wing extended. Dinky nestled herself under the soft feathers and placed the book in front of her.
"OK," said Derpy. "Let's read this together. I'll help you with any big words and you help me if I lose my place. Deal?"
"Deal."
In the fireplace, a log rolled over and dropped into the heart of the flames. The twin silhouettes became one again, clear and crisp.
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Very sweet. I'd give it five stars, but I can't rate right now for some reason.
glad to see I'm not the only one that assumed derpy's problem is only a case of Lazy Eye (i'm still working on the story for that)
I really enjoyed reading this piece! Keep up the great work, I look for more from you!
Very nicely written, liked it a lot, would you consider doing a sequel/continuation of this?
217337
Yeah, for some reason when you are inside the story, you can't rate it. Try going to the description or the author's personal page, that always works for me.
This brought some tears to my own eyes.
Great job.
I have lazy eye :P I greatly connect with Derpy for that reason. Beautiful story- I can't say much else. I gave it a 5 star rating after looking for a 6th star for a few minutes xD
D'awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
I am not sure who I should thank for featuring this, but thank you. This is the first work that I have read in a little while that really made me smile. The writing style is excellent, descriptions are masterfully handled, and you can feel the emotion in the piece. I have said this before and I will say it again, wonderful work, please keep it up!
4.bp.blogspot.com/-yVy9kNKQ3r0/Tn4hyAGCHNI/AAAAAAAAAKw/1AlSB5jxumA/s1600/manly+tears+discord3.png
No tears were shed, but this was a great story
Five stars without question
I like this Derpy better than canon Derpy
It's official.
Fanon Derpy is the best Derpy.
And Derpy is the best Pony.
Ergo, therefore, and thus, by that logic,
Fanon Derpy is the best Pony!
Have some stars!
Very nice. I like the Fluttershy reference you made in there, though the title of the episode escapes me at the moment.
very well done
i loved it all
keep it coming boss
that is all
kthanxbai
I always thought Derpy had a glass eye.
Derpy always makes me sad, good job sir. I hate stories that just assume she's a dumb clutz, I like ones that go deeper.
I liked this
5 stars
I'm sorry, I can't seem to rate or comment right now, as I'm leaking brain lubricant from my eyes, and thus can't see very well...
~ Moonstone, Minstrel of Equestria
218334 yes indeed they were my friend they were indeed...
star nazi say "five star for you!"
and well done really liked how you portrayed derpy 
Well i sure liked this story.
This wasn't as "moving" as 'The Ballad of Derpy Hooves," but it was still beautiful. Five stars.
So cute!
218483
The one with the magazine covers with Fluttershy on them? "Green Isn't Your Color".
This was beautiful. Just amazing, especially for how short it was. 5/5, you deserve more though.
All I can say is, "D'AWWW"
I thought this story was very cute. Its simplicity was astounding, and the fact that the story went deeper than "Derpy ist ein dumb klutz" brought zero tears to my eyes, because I'm a monster and can't cry at sad or touching moments. I had to use freaking eye drops!
218325 You took the words right out of my mouth.
That was cute and well-written. I can hear the dialogue in Derpy's canon voice without her coming off sounding dumb.
Cute, sweet and effective. Nice short.
I kind of like that you didn't go all out on this. It has a sort of softness to its story that's admirable. When so many stories seem to tear at the heart strings so barbarically, it's nice to see a story that, for the most part, knows how to utilize a softer touch in plucking them.
D'aaawwwwww!!1 Sooo good XD
And there was much sad D'awwww.
Bravo.
Great little slice of life. Sweet and believable, with wisdom and a keen eye. This is no ham-handed cliche, this is real life in effigy. In other words, art. Well done!
I loved how you were able to refer to a couple of the episodes.
it wasnt the fact that you made derpy NOT seem like a klutzy idiot that astonished me. it was your vocabulary!
seriously, those are some pretty descriptive words. 
like it overall, so 5 stars. 
218572 Wow, never heard that before. I like it.
Beautiful story. Just beautiful.
All of my poni. Take it all! And all of my stars!
The levels of D'aaaw are of the charts.
Honestly, I thought Lazy Eye was a myth... learn something new everyday.
ALL MAH STARS.
Well that was a great reading.
I loved your narration, very detailed.
5 out of 5, no doubt.
218334
i.qkme.me/3565ys.jpg
d'awwww
Hmm. What there is is well written, but to me its feels unfinished. Also, I assume that at this point Derpy hasn't suffered from the condition for very long yet since she mentions doctors are still looking into it, but at the same time the flashbacks do suggest she has had to live with it for a while now already.
I like this. It's a good reason. Not just 'oh lolol, she is dum cuz she got cross-eyes, muffins!'. You sir, are getting four stars from me.
D'AAAWW
Please, for the love of Celestia get this on EqD! This needs to be submitted! These kinds of heart warming stories are the best... 5 stars good sir. 5 stars.
Twas nice. But it wasn't sad, in the end.
that was very sweet, a very enjoyable read. 5 stars for you!
Aww, that's so sweet. Very nicely written story.
Very sweet, not sad, but very sweet. Excellent job, my bro
Very sweet, not sad, but very sweet. Excellent job, my bro