Eyes of the Beholder

by Blees

Coming Home Again

"I can't tell yah how much help yah were today, Derpy."

She blushed. "It was nothing, Applejack."

"Nonsense, sugarcube. Ah thought it would take all day tah clean up after our family reunion, but not only did yah get it done in an afternoon, yah didn't break any of mah good dishes!"

"You've got Twilight to thank for that. Anyway, I'm home. Cya, Applejack!"

Applejack waved as she trotted away. "Bye, Derpy! Come over for lunch sometime!"

Beaming with satisfaction, Derpy sauntered into the kitchen. "Dinky, I'm home. I've had the most amazing day today. I helped Rainbow Dash move the clouds without causing a single thunderstorm, then I went to..."

She stopped herself short. Where was Dinky? It was after school, so she should be home. In fact, she always came running down the stairs to greet her. Confused, Derpy started up the stairs. "Honey? Are you home?"

She approached the door to Dinky's room. "Is everything alright?" Inside, Dinky was sitting on her bed, facing away from the door. "Dinky, talk to me. What's going on?"

"What's going on?" Dinky replied angrily. "What's going on is that you changed!"

"I know, and it's working out great. Don't you think so?"

Dinky turned around, giving her mother a cold stare. "You let everyone else tell you who to be. They made you believe that something was wrong, but they're wrong!"

"I...But.." Derpy was taken aback. "Dinky, this is what I wanted."

"What you wanted is for ponies to like you." She turned away from her mom again. "But this isn't the way to do it."

"But I don't know another way." Derpy joined her daughter on the bed. "Honey, this is the only way I know how."

"That's a lie! Carrot Top likes you. She likes you because you're friendly and you let her help you."

Derpy wrapped a leg around her daughter's shoulder. "Come here, Dinky. Not everypony is like Carrot Top. Not everyone likes to help me."

Dinky looked up at her mom. "Do you give them a chance? Do you let them see you for who you are?"

"I've been showing them my clumsy self. That's why I have to fix my eyes."

"You don't have to change for people to like you. They'll like you just the way you are. You just have to let them meet the real you."

The pair sat on the bed, Dinky being consoled and Derpy deep in thought. After a moment, Derpy rose from the bed. "Come with me, Dinky."

"Huh? Where are we going, mom?"

"You'll see. Trust me."

Dinky hesitantly followed her mother downstairs and out into town. They walked together in silence. As they passed by the shops, Dinky noticed that the previously shuttered windows and doors were now open and inviting. Some ponies were even waving hello, but Derpy was uncharacteristically serious, and did not wave back. Through the town square, they eventually arrived at the library. "Mom, what are we doing here?"

"This is where this all started. I'd like you to see something."

She knocked on the door. Twilight opened the door with a smile. "Oh, Derpy, I'm glad you're here. Please, come in!" Twilight ran over to her desk and levitated a quill and paper. "Now, I just have a brief survey about the side effects of the spell. First, how many elephants..."

"Twilight, we have to talk."

"Um...OK." She set the paper and quill down. "Is it about Dinky here?"

"No, it's about me." Derpy stepped up to Twilight, but Dinky stayed in the doorway, intimidated by Twilight's attitude. "Can...can you undo the spell?"

Dinky and Twilight both gasped. Twilight was the first to respond. "Really? I thought this is what you wanted."

"It was. At least, it was before." She motioned to Dinky to join her. "But Dinky here showed me that there are other ways to be happy, and I don't have to change to make people like me."

"Oh, mom!" Dinky ran into the library and wrapped herself around her mom's legs. "I knew you'd understand!"

"Well," stated Twilight, "A counterspell should be simple enough. Is there anything else you want to do while you're able to see straight?"

She thought for a moment. "Two things. Firstly, let's go outside. I don't want to smash into your doorframe on the way out."

Twilight chuckled. "That makes sense. What's the second thing?"

"Do you think I could write a letter to Celestia about the magic of friendship?"

"I think so. Spike!"

Derpy shook her head. "No, I want to write the letter. I still remember how to write, being the post pony and all, but it's been so long since I've been able to see the paper well enough."

"All right," said Twilight with a smile. "I'll be outside when you're done. Just seal it and Spike will send it off. And Derpy?"

"Yes?"

"I'm proud to be your friend."

As Twilight walked outside, Derpy turned her attention to the paper in front of her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Princess Celestia,

I've had trouble making friends. I thought I had to change to get ponies to like me. And it worked for a while, but in the end, I learned that you don't have to change to make friends. All you need to do is be yourself.

It doesn't matter if your eyes are crossed, or if you're a blank flank, or if you live in the Everfree Forest. Everypony can have friends. It just took me this long to realize it. Now I understand what the magic of friendship truly is.

Your humbe, cross-eyed subject,

Ditzy "Derpy Hooves" Doo

Author's Note:

And so ends my first fiction. It ends with a letter to Celestia because the entire thing should be playing out like an episode of the show. I hope you like my take on Derpy's story.

Look for my next story to get updated. It'll be much longer.

Comments

[La Barata]

Wow.

What a selfish little shit Dinky turned into in this one.

[Blees]

3406391
That's a...different way of looking at it, but I guess that's true.

[La Barata]

3408166 Here she is, her mom's managed to finally get medical treatment for a disability (And let's face it, the way it was portrayed here, it WAS a disability), and here she's going "Noooo! I liked you better before! You're just changing to make other people like you!"

"Nooo! I liked you better in the wheelchair! You just got spinal surgery because it would make people like you more! Go jump off a bridge and wreck it again!"

[Blees]

3408186
Are you sure it was portrayed as a disability? The only time it was ever described as such was part 2, when Twilight was making a correlation between Derpy's condition and a real disease that affects animals. That's it.
There are plenty of stories of deaf people who don't want to get cochlear implants (which would allow them to hear) because they are who they are: deaf and proud. Sure, it's fixable, but that's who they are. If you want to take this as "Don't fix your abnormalities because we like you broken," then I guess that's your analysis. I'd hope you'd see it as: "You don't have to change to make friends."
But cynics will be cynics.

[La Barata]

3408599 Well, yes. It is portrayed as a disability. You show it severely impacting her ability to function as normal.

This isn't like 'not getting a cochlear implant because they're proud of who they are'. This is like someone getting a cochlear implant, going 'Oh, wow! This is amazing! I can do so many things! I love this!' and then going home and being guilted into getting it removed because 'she's changing so people will like her'.

[Blees]

3408618
I'm glad that you are sticking with your analysis. It shows that you have read my piece, and you have gathered your opinion.
I leave you with your opinion, as my discussion does not seem able to change your mind. I wish you best of luck, and I hope you will read my next story, which I think will have significantly less whiny kids and more explosions.

[Inferno demon Dash]

There you go Derpy, be who YOU are, which is best pony. I love it, it's very simple and sweet, you done an amazing job, I enjoyed this

[ConteAmarula]

La Barata is right. Dinky is extremely selfish and the whole ending is...well... flat out ridiculous. This wasn't about ponies liking her it was about being able to live a life where she wasn't damaging property, about not having to rely so much on others, and not making her friends lives harder simply for being her friend. It was 100% for her own reasons and had nothing to do with wanting to be liked. She already was liked by a few ponies and your own dialogue and situations made it very clear that she wanted her eyes fixed to solve the problems I previously listed.

Are you sure it was portrayed as a disability?

Yes! You showed her very clearly being affected in a way that made it difficult for her to function in life.
disability
noun
1.
a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities.

You showed how her crossed eyes limited her activities. And not once did you show that she was made fun of, or hated because of her eyes. You showed she was disliked because of her clumsiness which I cant blame the ponies of Ponyville for. If someone causes damage to you and your personal belongings you aren't really going to want them around, even if they are a nice.

There are plenty of stories of deaf people who don't want to get cochlear implants

First off, this is two totally different situations. An inability to hear is rather a simple disability to live with in comparison to a visual one. Not that I would want to live with a hearing disability or be able to handle it as well as others but it is doable and a lot easier than trying to live with a visual impairment. Second, most deaf people were born deaf, or at least were deaf for most of their life, so the idea of suddenly being able to hear can be a scary thought. What to expect? What if it doesn't meet my expectations? What if I was happier being deaf? In Derpy's case, she can see, she just cant see well. The deaf person is used to not hearing while someone like Derpy is in a situation where it isn't really something she can get used to as is made clear by your own story.

You keep using disabilities as if they are akin to someone having a big nose, or hair that's the wrong colour. A disability seriously effects a persons life and wanting to be "fixed" isn't them saying they are ashamed of themselves. Its them saying they have a hard life but there is something they can do about. They are taking control.

Your conclusion is forced and ridiculous. You clearly showed that Derpy was happier, not because ponies were liking her, but because she wasn't making her friends lives harder, and she would be able to function better. If Derpy had crossed eyes, could see well, but was made fun of for it. Then sure, your story would work better. But through your own words you made it clear she had a serious disability that was detrimental to her well being both mentally and physically, and that it was affecting her friends which upset her.

"You don't have to change to make friends."

She had friends already who cared about her. She changed for herself and her own happiness. You forced her back for your own warped sense of right.

Good day, sir.