This was originally an assignment I had for my creative writing class earlier in the year but I had recently read the original fanfic Bubbles, a heartbreaking and well-written story from young Derpy/Ditzy Doo's perspective and had it in mind the entire time, though since I was an insecure Pegasister, my class was none the wiser. Anyway, that, BaldDumboRat/PierceSmoulder's reading/fan voicing of Derpy, and a line in Andrew Stein's beautifully composed I'll Be Waiting (Derpy's Song...go check all that amazing fan content out after this please, just because they deserve it!) inspired me to write this around our goal of starting and ending a poem in the style of Charles Bukowski's poem, The Tragedy of the Leaves, so here is my attempt/tribute, and yes, she and Doctor Whooves were humanized at the time. I also have a slight headcanon that she is slightly older than the Mane Six (teenagers/barely twenty), so that's why the Doctor is mentioned/roughly appears to her as early 20's. Critiques welcome, though this was my first FiM fic/poem, so bear that in mind.
Disclaimer: If I even produced music for Friendship is Magic, I'd base a whole musical episode around Derpy, where she'd be the long-lost princess that EVERYPONY loves and celebrates, no exceptions. Bubbles belongs to the amazing anonymous author.
I awaken to dryness, scarlet dripping down my cheek
Coarse sand handicaps my sight, stomach drops, suddenly so weak
Mommy and I skip to the park and I run for my precious swings
One minute, giggling with glee, the next…I grew wings
Heights are never a problem; flying is amazing, not scary!
But this wasn't like magic, and I wasn't graceful like a fairy
It wasn't Mommy's fault; she lost her grip and pushed me too hard
Yet, there's that word again—what does it mean?—"Retard!"
Daddy says Mommy is just stressed; she loves me lots but is blinded by rage
With Green Eggs and Ham, I stuttered every word on the first page
I had just turned five and I sobbed so hard, I began to hiccup
Daddy sighs; something changed in Mommy: she had given up
Whenever I make one tiny mistake, her shoulders tense
Daddy treasures my "blissful innocence"
Sometimes bad thoughts enter my head
And I cry because things would be better if she were—
Through merciless grains and bitter tears, I stare,
Suddenly buckling under her permanent scowl and unnerving glare
We're all alone now and the words burn at the tip of my tongue, "Why?"
She leans down, smiles crookedly, says they had errands, zoomed off, bye-bye
Her nails swipe at my cheek, she's started to scream and shout
Though her mouth moves, all I hear is ringing as my eyes cross and I black out
A familiar voice breaks through and begins to resound
I lift my head sheepishly, flat against the grassy ground
A man in his early 20's breathes in relief but his eyes scream pity
Call me selfish but I hate frowns; they make no one look pretty
I ignore his ranting, the typical doctor script
I was distracted as usual and stupidly tripped
For a moment, I stare up at the sky's magnificent sunset hues
And lightly tear up; my father had long surpassed the whites and blues
As for my mother, try as Doc might with his fix-it oath,
His words fall hollow because the world had failed us both…
