//------------------------------// // Don't Look At Me // Story: Sight // by Hot Dog Jones //------------------------------// I ran through the streets of Canterlot, stumbling over my cane every few steps. A small voice in my head kept telling me I should go back, but my conscience couldn’t overpower my feelings. I had lived with that woman for ten years. For that ten years, she was the nicest, happiest mare I knew. And then she had to screw everything up. I could only guess how many eyes stared at me on my way to Canterlot Magic Academy. But I didn’t care. I had to get there, I had to see her, and I had to tell her what was going on. I had to tell somepony. And I had to tell somepony who cared. At least, I thought she cared. She seemed sincere when she talked to me, and treated me as an equal. An equal. Most ponies either picked on me or pitied me, but Twilight Sparkle? She made it seem as if it were nothing. But was it nothing after all? Was it always? It never seemed so to other ponies. I sighed and tried to wipe the thoughts from my head as I stood at the enormous front doors of CMA. Students were still wandering the halls, taking late classes and using extra time to study. It felt silly to me, using your spare time to study magic. At least, it was for me personally. I knew my special talent was guitar, so what use would studying magic do? Sure, I could learn something cool, but what would be the use? I don’t have the time and money for that. Or at least, my family doesn’t.. I entered the library and tried to take my thoughts off of home. Instead, now I was wondering why I came here. Of any place I could have gone, I went to the school library to see Twilight Sparkle, the school egghead. Somehow, she seemed like.. more than that, though. I was never really sure. She actually respected me. And she was actually nice to me. But now my question was, why? She never really had friends herself, and I’m sure she was more interested in her books than she was in me. So.. why? “Hey, Daylight!” Oh ponyfeathers why am I here. I stepped up to the desk. “Uh, hey, Twilight,” I stammered, giving a light smile. “You ready to go then?” Twilight said happily. I paused. “I thought you had to work or something.” “No, I had someone cover for me, seeing as I was getting a visit from a certain pony,” Twilight remarked with a laugh. I chuckled nervously and followed the sound of her hoofsteps. “So.. Where exactly are we going, then?” “Just to a little coffee shop in town. You drink coffee, right?” I scratched the back of my head with a free hoof. “Uh, not really.. I’ve only had it once or twice. I could never really afford it.” “Everyone who can afford Canterlot Magic School can probably afford the occasional cup of coffee, wouldn’t you say?” She laughed. Celestia, I love that laugh. I shrugged and gave another nervous chuckle. What I said was half true. Yes, I’ve had coffee, and yes, I’ve had the money for it at times, but I’ve never really liked the taste. Then why was I buying it now? Before I could object, Twilight was at the counter. “Hey there, Pony Joe. Two coffees, please,” she said, placing some bits on the bar with a clink. Pony Joe accepted the currency and went to work pouring our drinks. “Hey, do you want me to help pay for that, or-“ “No way, Day. I invited you, after all. Besides, you might not be able to afford it,” she teased. “Two coffees,” grunted Pony Joe as he placed the two cups in front of us. Twilight gave a quick thank you and picked up one of the cups with her magic, sipping it slowly. I did likewise, tasting the first sip of the bitter drink I hadn’t had for years. Twilight started moving again and I followed, eventually sitting down at a table. “So what’s up with that, anyway?” she said, setting down her coffee. I gave her an inquisitive look. “What’s up with what?” “The whole ‘not affording it’ thing.” “Oh,” I muttered, “That. Well, it could end up being a bit of a long story.” “I’ve got time,” she said, I’m sure with a playful smirk on her face. That was Twilight, alright. “Okay, okay.. But just warning you, it’s a tear-jerker.” “Try me,” she laughed. *** Let me start off by saying that I’ve been blind my whole life. I’ve never seen anything. At all. I can only really piece together what ponies look like, let alone faces. I don’t know what colors are, I’ll never be able to see famous works of art or popular architecture- My life is sort of empty in that way. My family was good for filling in the holes in my existence, though. I loved music, and I still do. The first music I ever heard was my sister, Turntable, singing. She has a beautiful voice, and she loved to sing to me. That is, until things changed.. When I had finally grown to age 10, my parents gave me a guitar for my birthday. Of course, I was ecstatic, and learned how to play it right away. I taught myself basic chords and eventually worked up to more complicated things. My parents never spared the money for a teacher, even though they could. But that was fine with me. I’d rather have my family’s money spent on something useful. But just a year after, everything changed. Not for the better, either.. Everything got a whole lot worse. My mother decided to leave. None of us knew why. She didn’t leave a note, or tell us anything; she just took her things and left. After that, my life was much more difficult.. My mother was a main provider for the family. She worked as an architect- something she studied long and hard for, and brought in a lot of money. We trusted on her to put our food on the table. Then she left, and my father had no idea what to do. He never went through school. He was an earth pony, so he couldn’t be hired for a flying or magic job. He was in a dead end, and had nothing left to hold onto.. Then, weeks later, he.. *** I broke into sobs and thrust my head onto the table, letting my tears flow down my face. “You know, you don’t have to finish if you-“ Twilight said, but I interrupted her. “No, no, it’s okay. Just.. give me a minute.” I wiped my tears, and continued with the story. *** He killed himself. He left us a note, saying he couldn’t exist without our mother, and that he hoped for the best for us. We inherited the house and all of his belongings, but we couldn’t stay in the house we were in. It was too big and expensive. So me and my 19 year old sister bought a new house, a small place where we live now. It’s not much, but it’s still home. Turntable took several jobs on to provide for us, and I begged in the streets with my guitar. It was always barely enough to keep me in magic school along with providing for us. I’ve hated my mother ever since she left. If it weren’t for her, my dad wouldn’t have died, and we would still be together.. We would still be happy. But now, everything just ended up wrong.. *** I ended the horrid story. It was terrible to say, but for some reason, it felt good to get off my chest. I had never told anypony about my life before, and I never expected it would be Twilight Sparkle I would first tell it to. Twilight didn’t say anything. I decided to break the silence myself, with something I didn’t really want to announce. Things are harder to forget if you talk about them. “That’s not the end..” “It’s not?” the bookworm said in surprise. “There’s something else..” I said, taking a pause in my speaking. “My mother.. Just came back today. I was so mad and frustrated, I ran straight to the library. And now I have no idea what to do.” I rested my head on the table once more, covering it with my hooves. “I never asked for this. I never expected it..” I heard Twilight get up from her seat, I’m sure still gazing at me. She sighed briefly before whispering at me, “Come with me.” I got up from my cushion and followed her hoofsteps, leaving my coffee- I wasn’t going to drink it anyway. We stepped out of the café onto the streets of Canterlot. It was getting late, and ponies were scurrying home to their families and a hot meal.. but it seems Twilight Sparkle had every other idea in the world than going home. She pulled me into a corner, out of earshot from passersby, and whispered to me, “Listen. I’m going to show you something extremely secret, but I’m going to trust you won’t tell anypony.” “Why would you trust me? You hardly just met me,” I said in surprise. “Because, well, who are you going to tell?” she said coyly. Well, she has a point there.. She grabbed me by the hoof and pulled me away from the corner, back into the city streets. “Now come on, we’ve only got a bit of a trip to the north.” “..But the north is where the castle is,” I inquired. She laughed. “Exactly. Now let’s get going.” Twilight continued walking, and I followed behind, thinking. Heh, Twilight sure is a strange pony. I mean, seriously, she pulls me out for a coffee, then drags me to- Hey, wait a minute. She held my hoof. A smile went across my face. *** “Twilight, can’t you just-“ “No.” “C’mon, just a hint?” “I’ll tell you when we get there! Now hurry up, it’s almost night as it is.” Twilight had dragged me off of the city streets and into a large building, but I couldn’t quite tell what it was. The only things I knew where it had lots of rooms, and too many stairs to count.. My hooves are killing me. I had pestered Twilight for a hint as to where we were, but she said she would tell when we were “actually there,” as she put it.. She was nice, but stubborn as a mule. One of her quirks, I guess. And Celestia knows she had a lot of them. “Alright, stop,” she said to me, sitting me down on a chair. “We’re here.” “We’re where, Twi?” “We’re in the Canterlot Musical Hall.” I stood up suddenly, almost pushing the chair completely over. “The Canterlot Music Hall? THE Canterlot Music Hall?! The place where every famous pony musician, from Johnny Colt to Marilyn Maneroe has performed?” She laughed at my excitement. “Yep, you’re on the very stage they all stood on.” I glared at her. “I’m on the stage?! Sweet Celestia’s hairpiece, this is amazing! How did you ever get let in here?” My heart skipped a beat as I trotted across the hollow stage, feeling the same ground that my idols had stood on. Twilight paused, and put a hoof on my shoulder to stop me. “That’s the thing..” I paused as well. I knew whatever she said next, it was important. “Daylight, you can’t tell anypony this, okay?” I nodded, awaiting whatever piece of news she had to give me. “..Have you heard those rumors around school that I work under the princess?” I nodded again. “Yeah.. What about them?” She let out a nervous chuckle before continuing. “Well, they’re sort of.. true.” I stared at her, wide eyed. “Wow.. So you really do work under Celestia.. Do you like, live in the castle and everything?” “Yeah,” she said, her voice changing tone, “It’s not really that big a deal or anything, I-“ “Not that big a deal?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “That seems like a pretty big deal to me.” She sighed, and there was a silence. I put my head down and looked at the ground I could never see. The ground that all my heroes, along with Celestia herself, had trampled on. And now the ground me and Twilight had trampled on.. I looked back up to Twilight, ending the silence. “Is it amazing?” “Is what amazing?” “Studying under the princess, living in the castle, having all the access to this,” I said into the hall, letting my voice echo through the walls. Twilight sighed once again. “..Not as much as you would think, Day.” I took my unseeing gaze from the hall to Twilight, acknowledging her as she talked. “See, it’s a restricting life. I’m not allowed to do anything outside the castle grounds, I hardly ever see the town at all, unless I’m at school, so.. This, what we’re doing now,” she said, her voice taking on a warm feel, “It’s nice. It really is.” I smiled, and I’m sure Twilight was smiling too. Celestia, I bet she has a beautiful smile.. But how can she not be beautiful? She’s so nice, and ponyfeathers, she works under the princess herself.. “Oohhhh, horseapples.” “What is it, Twilight?” Another voice shouted out through the hall, but not the sweet voice of Twilight Sparkle. “Horseapples is right, twerps.” Oh, shit! It’s- “That’s right, no need to applaud, it’s just me, your favorite pony, Tough Stuff,” the black coated pony said, drawing closer to us from the side stage door. Twilight was the first to speak up. “What do you want from us?” He chuckled that sinister chuckle of his, chilling me to my bones. “Oh, nothing,” he said in a sing song voice, toying with us, “Just a little birdie told me you and your coltfriend here went this way, so I thought I’d check it out.” I stepped towards him, trying to fend him off. “Look, Tough Stuff. We don’t need any of your crap right now.” I poked him with a hoof, showing I wasn’t afraid to fight. “Just stay away from us, there’s no need to go being a jerk.” He pushed my hoof away, once again laughing and playing with his prized switchblade. I gave him the meanest look I could, when he suddenly stopped. He glared at me, flashing his invisible to me, but still existent, magenta eyes. “Or is there?” He flipped open the blade, making an audible “swipe.” Oh no.. Oh dear sweet Celestia, no! He must have seen the horrified look on my face. “Hehe, what’s a’ matter, blindy? Afraid of a little knife?” Tough Stuff knew of my fear of knives. I don’t know how, but he did. And it was terrifying. The image of my father, wrists covered in blood, came back to my mind. I froze, not saying anything, but just glaring, mouth open in shock, in Tough Stuff’s direction. In the knife’s direction. “Day, are you-“ Twilight said, but my fear interrupted her for me. “DON’T LOOK AT ME!” I yelled, pushing her away and running for the door. I shoved it open and ran through the street, my eyes and face covered in tears. I heard Twilight yelling my name behind me, but I didn’t dare turn back. I couldn’t turn back. Every time I heard that steel.. I’m so useless. *** My father was a good pony. Never hurt anyone, always did his part to help the community.. He was a stallion worthy of praise. He looked after his children while his wife went away to work, making sure the golden voiced angel and the poor blind colt didn’t go anywhere. It was too bad he couldn’t be here now. I was in a Canterlot alleyway, sobbing my eyes out. It had almost touched me. It could have cut me. Could have killed me. “Daylight? Is that you?” a familiar voice belonging to a purple unicorn said. I looked away from her, burying my face in my hooves. “A-are you okay?” I felt her rest one of her hooves on my head, comforting me. I stayed silent, letting Twilight speak once again. “It’s okay, he didn’t hurt me or anything. He’s just a bully, that’s all-“ “It’s not him,” my voice finally rang through the alley. Twi pulled back in surprise. “Then what is it?” “It’s the..” My voice tapered off, but I willed it back. “I-it’s the k-knife,” I sniffed, trying to hide my tears. “I…” I didn’t have anything more to say. I just dug my face back into my waiting arms. “Oh.. Do you have aichmophobia?” I gave Twilight a puzzled look. “Uh.. Fear of knives,” she chuckled. It was another Sparkle quirk, and it made me smile. I figured I could tell her, I mean.. It was Twilight. I had already told her quite a lot. When I was eleven years old.. *** My father was out of money and out of luck. His wife had left him, his child was blind, and he had nowhere to go. Nowhere to go but death’s door. He went into his room, barricaded the door, and stayed in there for the entire day. It wasn’t clear what happened until we broke it down later that day.. My father was on the ground- cold, dead, and covered in blood. I felt his fur, still covered in dried fluids, and cried at his limp figure for hours. It was the worst day of my life. When the police came, they found no evidence except two things. A note and a knife.