• Published 6th Nov 2014
  • 1,332 Views, 30 Comments

A Silver Lining for Derpy - Teyeson Bee



Her whole childhood, Derpy had been ridiculed because of her deformity. Dark clouds had surrounded her. All she needed was a Silver Lining. For even the smallest bit of light can snuff out the dark.

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Silver's Story

Derpy had gone without crying for over two years. She never knew that one meeting with one person could change that record in a few minutes. She had never cried like that in her life. Even after her mother died, she never cried as hard as she did then. All those years of pain and suffering were finally released in two years' worth of tears. And as Derpy cried with her head resting on Silver Lining's shoulder, in all the mayhem, she couldn't help but feel, well, lighter. It was as if a huge weight was being lifted off of her with each wave of tears. All those years, she thought that crying would just get in the way and show weakness, but releasing all those tears made her feel stronger.

After what seemed like 10 minutes, Derpy's crying died down into whimpers and sniffles. Silver, whose shoulder was soaked in the process, broke the hug and looked at the red-faced Derpy. "Better?" he asked calmly.

Derpy wiped the tears from her eyes as she spoke. "Surprisingly, yeah. You were right. It <sniffle> does feel good to cry. But I still don't understand something. How are you so happy all the time? I mean, you've been through just as much emotional scarring as I have, and yet, you're not even the tiniest bit depressed. How can you be happy?" Silver smiled. He never really explained it before, but if anyone needed to hear it, it was Derpy.

"Well," he said, "first let me clear something up. I'm not always happy. I still get sad, angry, scared, I mean after all, I'm still human. But Derpy, there is a BIG difference between being happy and being joyful." Derpy looked at him confused. "Happy is just another usual emotion. It comes and goes easily and sometimes it only lasts a short time. Joy, on the other hand, is much more lasting! A person can have the worst things happen to them in life, but still be joyful. Joy isn't something that can fully be seen on the outside. It's an inner emotion. Something that stays with you once you have it. It's the feeling that no matter what you go through in your life, good or bad, you always know that something good will come out of it, and it's important not to focus only on the bad, but realize that some good can come of it."

"Easy for you to say," Derpy said as she continued to dry her eyes. "How would you know about being depressed?"

"Because I've been there," Silver responded. "Do you think I've always been this joyful or optimistic? Joy isn't something that you're born with. You have to find it for yourself, and my childhood was NOT a joyful one. I definitely wasn't able to find joy from my parents. Heck, I wasn't even supposed to be born."

"What do you mean?" Derpy asked.

"When my mom was pregnant with me," Silver explained, "I looked too weak to even last a full minute outside of the womb. The doctors said that I would die right away, so my parents weren't expecting a child. But after I was born and they saw that I was healthy as a horse, my mother gave me the name Silver Lining because I restored her hope. I guess she also got the name from the ray of light that appeared in the hospital room after I was born."

"That's...a miracle!" Derpy said with awe.

"Yea, but that was just the beginning of a hard life for me," Silver said. "I mentioned before that my dad was an alcoholic right?" Derpy nodded. "Every night I would listen to my parents argue. There wasn't a week that went by that I didn't hear at least one big argument from them. I became more and more depressed because my dad was never around or sober enough to be with me, and my mom was too busy with her work. If it weren't for Miss Caringheart, I would've been lost completely in depression."

"Who's Miss Caringheart?" Derpy asked.

"She was my third grade teacher," Silver responded. "She was the one who took a liking to me and noticed my depression. She took me under her wing, and became like a second mother to me. She lived right next door to me, so every time my parents would get into a huge argument, I would sneak out and visit her. I remember crying in her arms as she hugged me tight. She would tell me it wasn't my fault and that everything was going to be fine. I was able to find a little bit of happiness after visiting her. Then, came that fateful day when my dad got arrested. I-" Silver stopped to wipe his eyes, as tears started to form. "-I felt so lost after he left. My mom sunk into a deep depression and started to pay less attention to me. I was in the seventh grade at the time, and I still didn't understand. Why did he have to go? Why did it have to happen to MY family? The kids at school called my dad a drunk and that he deserved to go to prison. They teased me for being the son of a drunken idiot. I never felt so alone or sad before in my life. One day, I thought about taking a gun from my dad's drawer, and finishing myself right there."

By this point, Silver was crying himself. Derpy couldn't help but tear up a little as well. She never realized how much pain he went through. "What happened," she asked as Silver wiped his eyes.

"Miss Caringheart happened," Silver replied with a smile. "On the day I had decided to take my life, I stopped by her house to say good-bye. I remember it so well. She...she wrapped me in a hug, and started to cry. I had never seen her cry before. I didn't know how to react. The only thing I could think to do was, well, cry with her. So that's what I did. We must've cried for half an hour before she spoke to me, and what she said, I will never ever forget. She looked me right in the eyes and said, 'Silver, you're not a waste of life. You have so much potential to make this world a better place. You have a gift for making others feel better about themselves, but to unlock this gift, you have to stop focusing on the bad, and look for the good. After all, every cloud as a silver lining.' She taught me that there is good that can come out of even the worst of events. She's the one who helped me find joy in my life, as well as look on the bright side of things. It was after that meeting that I went home and comforted my mom. I told her everything I had learned and encouraged her to do the same. To my surprise, she took the advice to heart and promised to try harder in looking for the good. It was at that point that I realized my true talent was making people feel good and to help them in looking for their own silver lining. That's when this appeared." He held up his hand to reveal his cutie mark; a sun peeking out from behind a gray cloud.

"Wait a minute," Derpy interrupted. "You didn't get your cutie mark until seventh grade?"

"Kinda late, I know," Silver chuckled, "but it didn't matter how late I got it. I was just happy to finally find my purpose. After that, I met with Miss Caringheart every day to talk and get tips on being joyful. After she moved, I continued on the journey by myself. I went around showing my joyful attitude and helping others who needed cheering up. Then, after my mom died, I was saddened for a while, but I didn't let it get to me. I realized that I would see my mom again someday, and that was the silver lining. During the end of my junior year, I had notice that my arm was aching a lot. At first I thought it was just cramping, but after it continued for over an hour, I went to the doctor and discovered I had bone cancer. It was a lot to take in, and I even went through a short depression, but then I realized that the cancer may have been killing me, but I would be seeing my mother sooner than I thought. That was when I truly figured out the power joy had and it broke me out of my depression. I decided to move to Cloudsdale because, well one, my mom was born there, and two, because I had a feeling that maybe I would be needed there too. And that's where we are today."

Derpy stood there with her mouth ajar. Silver had been through so much. When she met him, she thought that his perky attitude was just something that he was born with. Now she saw that it was just the opposite. There was living proof that there was another out there who understood what she was going through and even more, and was able to find joy in life.

"You make it sound so easy," Derpy said softly. "Finding good in the bad, getting joy from pain. It sounds wonderful, but why don't I have any joy?"

"Derpy," Silver said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "You HAVE joy. I've noticed it. You've just been so caught up in thinking of the bad in your life, that you've misplaced it. I want you to try something. Instead of focusing on the bad, I want you to think of one good thing in your life. What is one good thing that is going on in your life right now?" Derpy thought hard. She knew her bad stuff. Having a disability, being harassed for it, having no parents, having no friends. There had to be something that was good about her life. Anything at all.

Suddenly, something DID pop up in her head.

"You..." she whispered.

"What was that," Silver asked.

"You!" Derpy said louder. "I met you! I was literally on the verge of taking my own life on the day you came into class. I was going to go home and kill myself, but then...you stood up for me. You put something within my heart that I hadn't felt in a long time. You put hope in me. Hope for someone who would treat me like a human being. To see beyond the eyes and see into my heart."

"Derpy," Silver smiled, "do you want to be joyful again?"

Derpy didn't even hesitate. "Yes!" she said as tears started to form again. "I want to be joyful. I want my bubbly attitude back! I want what you have Silver! But...how? How do I do it?"

"You've already taken the first step," Silver responded. "Stepping out of denial. You are already on your way, Derpy! Throughout the week, I will teach you all of my methods in fighting depression and being joyful in the worst of times. I'll train you in everything I know. Derpy," Silver looked into her eyes with confidence. "You will be bubbly again!" Tears filled Derpy's eyes as she started to laugh and cry at the same time. She never felt more comforted in her life as she did at that moment.

"Alright," she said as she wiped her eyes. "But Silver, there's something I really want to know?" Silver looked up at her. "Why? I mean, why would you go to all of this trouble to help me?"

"Because," Silver said with a smile, "that's what friends are for."

Derpy's mind stopped. She...had a friend? She had never given it the thought that Silver was her friend, but she guessed that it was true. Derpy had a friend! Derpy's heart went into overdrive as a speck of joy started to grow bigger and bigger.

"Ok," she replied. "Can I ask you one more thing?" Silver nodded. "Can...can I have another hug?"

Silver smiled and nodded as he pulled Derpy into his arm. Derpy started to cry again as she said, "Thank you," over and over. Silver just rubbed her back and smiled. As they sat there in a hug, all that could be said was that life would not be the same for either of them.


The first day of training, Derpy arrived at Silver's house right after school. Silver invited her in and they enjoyed a plate of muffins before starting.

"Ok Derpy," Silver started. "From what I've gathered, your depression stems from your deformity and the bullying, correct?" Derpy nodded. "Then the first step is to make good out of the deformity. You see the eyes as a curse, and you find your clumsiness as an embarrassment. This is natural, but you can't let that notion take control. The key is to like yourself for who you are. Don't run away, but embrace! If you accept yourself and your deformity, others will see that you do and follow."

"Embrace, huh?" Derpy noted. "I guess I can try it."

"Good," Silver smiled. "Now for the core problem; the bullying. Bullies harass others for many reasons. They are hiding their own flaws, they want to look cool, or whatever the reason. The point is that we can't allow the bullies to gain power of this. It's always good to have a retort."

"I've tried that already," Derpy sighed. "I tried insulting her, but she had a better retort."

"That's where you went wrong," Silver pointed out. "Bullies are expecting you to come back with frustration or sadness. That's what gives them power. But here's something you probably wouldn't think to do. Retort with kindness." Derpy looked at him, her head tilting slightly in confusion. "I know it sounds weird," Silver chuckled, "but trust me. The bullies aren't expecting you to compliment them, so try that. Be kind to them, and they'll cringe knowing that they don't deserve it."

"Oh!" Derpy gasped. "Like a 'Kill them with Kindness' thing?"

"Exactly!" Silver responded. "And if you need something else, there's another surefire way to throw them off. Make fun of yourself."

"Wait...what?" Derpy asked. "Make fun of...myself?"

"Here me out," Silver said. "Bullies are looking to laugh at you and exploit your weaknesses. But if you exploit your own weaknesses and laugh WITH them, they won't have anything to go off of. They will get bored after a while, and leave you alone."

"Actually," Derpy thought, "in a weird way, that kinda makes sense."

"I have even adapted a catchphrase to go with making fun of myself," Silver smiled. "I just throw my hands in the air and say, 'I just don't know what went wrong!' Works every time. And now, I'm going to pass that phrase to you. I give you my full blessings in using that phrase."

"I just don't know what went wrong," Derpy giggled. "It IS quite catchy."

"Alright Derpy," Silver said, "Are you ready to try it?" Derpy nodded as the trials began. The first exercise was Derpy finding reasons why she likes her eyes. It took her a few minutes, but she finally said that she likes the eye color as well as the fact that they have a cute look to them. The next test was Silver pretending to be Rain and insulting Derpy. Her job was to come up with a retort by either showing kindness or making fun of herself. While getting off to a rocky start, throughout the week, Derpy started to show promise. She started to get more and more confident with every lesson. She soon stopped hesitating so much and just spoke clearly. She came up with new ways to make fun of herself, including her new catchphrase, "I just don't know what went wrong." Derpy could definitely start feeling the changes inside of her. It was as if the depression was being smothered by the confidence and hope that she was starting to get. Pretty soon, she was completing each session with a smile, and it was at that point that Silver knew the time had come.

"You're ready." he said as they finished their last session. It was time for Derpy to face the world again.