Sight

by Hot Dog Jones

Just Act Casual

I loved dreams.

In a way, dreams were the biggest part of my life. Some ponies say dreams are a gateway to an outer world, a place where anything can happen. But that’s not why I liked dreams.

Dreams were my gateway to the actual world.

Yes, I could see in my dreams. Well, actually, I could imagine in my dreams. I had no knowledge of what the world actually looked like, so in turn, I had to imagine it. And what an imagination I had.

I was in the Canterlot Music Hall, the very same place I was two nights ago. The vast hall seemed to expand for miles, the broad red curtains on the stage parted and to the sides. And I was looking down on a cheering, apparently abstract audience, guitar in my hooves.

I sat on a stool in the middle of the stage, my ears being filled with the cheers of ponies. I gave a casual wave, smiling at the crowd. Their yelling and stamping turned into a chant. “Play-a-song! Play-a-song!”

Smiling and placing my guitar across my lap, I thought of a good song to play. Before I could even get my train of thought going, a filly in the audience yells a certain song title. The thousands of ponies yell in agreement, clopping hooves and yelling in joy.

I started to sweat. I had never even heard of that song, much less knew how it went. How was I supposed to play it for this crowd?

I opened my mouth to speak, but suddenly, a line of text appeared in my vision. I peered at it, none of the other ponies seeming to take notice of it.

It was a chord above a song lyric.

Praying this was some sort of miracle and not a trick, I played the chord and began to sing.

“Boy, never settle down,

Don’t stay in the same places

Too long

You’ll find that

You’ll be fine

If you never tie yourself

To nothing

‘cause when life

Becomes a tendency

You’re dependent

It’s time to move along

Sail to another place

Where no one knows your face

And there’s no

Risk of loving

No

Mmm, mmm mmm

Mmm, mm mm mmm

Boy, if you knew what’s best

For you you’d address your need to

Be accepted

By others who don’t care

‘Bout nothin’ but their

Own sense

of pride

‘Cause too many people live

Dying to be heard

But never

Get the message

Try listening instead

To the words unsaid

That often

Seem to hide

Ooh, ooh ooh

Ooh, oh oh ooh

Oh, oh oh, oh, ooh

Keep

Moving on

Moving on

Moving on

Oh, oh, ooh oh oh oh

Boy, never settle down

Don’t stay in the same places

Too long.”

The crowd erupted into cheers, and I sighed in relief. I had played the right song.

At that moment, in the midst of the crowd’s applause, all the ponies disappeared. The entire audience vanished, and instead, one pony was placed right in front of me.

She was a light purple unicorn.

More text appeared in my vision, this time not a song, but only three words. I looked at them in surprise, pondering whether I should say them or not.

Before I could say anything, Twilight spoke instead. “You said you had something to tell me, Daylight?” she said with a smile.

“I-I.. I lo-“

***

“Wah!” I yelled as I awoke. My breathing was heavy, and my body was covered in sweat.

What was that?!

I didn’t just dream about that.. Did I?

“Ooooh, no no, oh Celestia no,” I muttered to myself, hooves on my head in frustration. “I am not. No I’m not. That won’t happen, so stop thinking it will. She would never..” I stopped myself, realizing what I had said. “Ugh, no! You don’t love her!”

“Don’t love who, little bro?” It was Turntable, being her teasing self again, standing right outside my door. “Your marefrieeeeeeeend?” She broke into a fit of giggles.

I groaned, picking up my pillow and throwing it at her. I heard her catch it, and she threw it straight back at me, colliding it with my face. I heard her voice once again. “Heh, you’ll have to be faster than that if you wanna impress girls, Day.” And with that final comment, the soft clop of her hooves accompanied her down the hallway.

With my sister gone, I continued my self berating as I got ready. “Don’t worry about it, you’ll just get your stuff, go to school, avoid her all day, then spend the rest of the day looking for a job. Nice and easy. And you’re not in love.”

***

Putting on my most casual looking smile (which wasn’t very casual in my nervous mood,) I walked through the streets to school. It was a quiet morning in Canterlot. I could hear ponies enjoying conversations over morning coffee at the corner cafés, and I felt Celestia’s sun on my face as it wafted over the castle and onto the streets.

Yes, it was a perfect day. As I drew nearer to the Canterlot Magic Academy, I had good feelings for my future. Yep, I was moving out, getting a job, and I was most definitely not in-

“Hey, Daylight!”

“Love!” I yelled, jumping back in surprise.

I knew it was the lavender colored braniac Twilight Sparkle. How could it have not been? She was the only one who talked to me anyway. And Luna, that voice..

“Uh, what was that?” she said with a chuckle.

I smiled nervously. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. Just, uh.. talking to.. my, uh.. Uh.. self. Yeah. Talking to myself.” I scratched my head with a free hoof, noticing I had started to sweat.

Twilight could only smile at me. “Well, don’t do that too much. Ponies might think you’re crazy,” she said, her chuckle turning into a laugh. I tried to casually laugh with her, but inside, my heart sank. First thing you say to the filly you already sound like a damn fool. Way to go, Daylight.

“Hey, I’m free until class starts, you wanna grab a coffee?” she offered, still smiling.

I continued to stumble over my words. “Uh.. Y-yeah, sure! Sounds great!” I grinned. Things were getting better. I had finally not seemed like an idiot in front of her.

But.. Why was that my goal? Why was I feeling this way for Twilight? Sure, she was nice and everything, but.. Why? I didn’t even know what she looked like, really. I just knew she..

Talked to me..

“Hey sleepyhead, wake up, we’re here!”

My train of thought was stopped by Twilight’s voice.

***

“So what’s new?” asked Twilight before taking a sip of her coffee.

I laughed to myself. “A lot.”

“Well, fill me in!” she chirped.

Please don’t say that. “Well, um.. Where to start?” I joked. “I got in an argument with my mom, and, well.. I’m moving out.”

The unicorn gasped. “Seriously? You’re moving out at sixteen?! Wow.”

“I can hardly believe it myself..” I paused, my unseeing eyes staring straight into my coffee.

“Day, are you.. alright?” Twilight said, looking at me sincerely.

“Yeah,” I said with a sigh, “I’m fine. Why?”

She shifted around a bit. “You seem kinda.. off today. Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?” She moved her free hoof on top of mine, trying to comfort me- Little did she know, it was only making matters worse.

I tried to hide my blushing and stuttered, “I- uh- Yeah, I’m fine.. Just under a bit of stress lately.”

She moved her hoof back and grinned. “Hey, I know! You should come hang out with me. Maybe we can even go up to the castle to see the princess.”

“The princess? You mean Princess Celestia?!”

“Yeah, she’d totally love you!”

“The princess would.. love me?”

Twilight laughed. “Sure! I mean, what’s not to like?”

I looked to the floor and mumbled, “..everything.”

“What was that?” she remarked with a raised eyebrow.

I sighed again. “It’s nothing..”

She gave me a look. “Daylight, are you okay? You don’t seem like yourself today.”

As much as I wanted to tell her the truth and be done with it, I had to lie. What would she think if I told her? “I- ..I’m fine. Just, uh.. I’ve got to get to class, and stuff..”

“Class already? It’s still really early.”

“I.. like to be early sometimes,” I lied once again, hoping to get away from her before I embarrassed myself.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Ooookay then, if you’re sure.”

I gulped down the rest of my bitter coffee and grabbed my guitar, preparing to leave. As I was leaving, Twilight called out, “Hey, you’re still coming to the castle with me today, right?” I shrugged and scratched my head. “Pleaaaaase? For me?”

Oh dear Celestia, she pulled out the ‘for me.’ Before I could think of an answer, my mouth just blurted out, “Sure.”

Luna’s moon-rock collection, Day, you idiot.

***

The bell rang once again. “Okay, everyone,” Melody said happily, “Class is over for the day. Have fun!”

Having fun was the last thing on my mind though. The first thing I had to do was find a job, and then a house. Then I could worry about everything else in my life.. Like that damn purple unicorn.

Twilight’s image hadn’t left my mind since the dream. And even then, it was just my imagination, right? I was worried about a dream. A silly dream. This was all just something I would get over, right? A phase or something.

But what if it wasn’t?

I didn’t know.. I couldn’t have known. I had never felt this way about anypony before, and yet it was all so strange.. I didn’t even know what she looked like. I just knew she was a purple unicorn. That’s all I knew. If she was as beautiful as her personality was, then that purple unicorn was the most stunning creature alive.

But I was getting ahead of myself. I had a habit of doing that. I had a habit of a lot of things. But falling in love wasn’t one of them. Celestia, making friends wasn’t one of them either.

I had to admit, I was scared. For everything. But being scared wasn’t helping- especially when I had a task to focus on.

Oh wait. I told Twilight I’d go to the castle, didn’t I?

Damn.

I moved my cane and did a u-turn, heading straight for the library. I knew that’s where the bookworm would be, with her natural love for books and reading. I could hear the slight bustle of ponies, hanging around in the halls and heading to different places and classes.

The chatter decreased as I neared the school library. Instead it was the soft clop of hooves on hardwood floor, and the shuffling of pages, books and quills. The area had a distinct sound of its own, a casual silence which had the power to not only calm me, but slightly scare me with the loss of my surroundings. Hearing was the only thing I really had, after all.

So, naturally, the filly’s speaking scared me.

“Hi,” she whispered from behind me, making me jump. I turned towards her, and she chuckled. “Hehe, sorry, Day.. Ready to go?”

I nodded, adding a little “sure.” She started walking away, and I followed the clop of her hoofsteps through the silent library.

***

“Seriously, Twi, are you sure this is the castle? We’ve been walking for like, hours.”

“It’s a big place, alright? I’m just a bit.. lost.”

“How can you be lost? You live here!” I checked my watch once again, noticing it was getting late. At this rate, I would never be there, and I would never be home, so I shrugged and kept following.

Twilight sighed. “I just don’t normally go to this part of the castle. I’ve been here before, I think it’s just this way.. Aha!” She ran off and I struggled to keep behind her, running into a fair amount of things on the way.

Running out of breath, I struggled to get out, “Hey.. huff… Twi.. Where.. huff… are we going?”

She came to a stop. “Not going. We’re here.” She looked up and smiled. “The Starswirl the Bearded wing.”

“The Starswirl the Bearded wing?” I said, my breath steadily coming back, “Why are we here?”

Twilight made no response, but just went straight to looking through the many shelves of spells, mumbling to herself. “Let’s see.. H.. H..”

I shrugged it off. She was always looking for new books or spells or whatever, so who was I to stop her? Who knows, maybe it’s for a reason. “Repeating my question, why are we here? I thought we were going to the main chamber.”

“Change of plans. This was too important, so I contacted the princess to meet us here as soon as I got the idea.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What idea?”

But before I can get an answer, I hear another voice. “I thought I saw you enter the castle, Twilight Sparkle.”

I recognize the soft, regal voice and immediately bow, arising a laugh from the Princess. “Please, Daylight, stand. You have all the right to, after all that Twilight has told me of you.”

I stood, and it was my turn to laugh. “You mean, Twilight talks about me? To you?”

“Oh, yes. All the time,” Celestia said. “At first it was ‘that blind pony,’ then ‘Daylight,’ and then she just insisted on bringing you to the castle, so, here we stand.” You could nearly feel Twilight’s blush.

Chuckling to myself, I waited in silence for what the princess had left to say. She spoke nothing but, “come with me.” I followed her into the royal corridors once again, Twilight behind, too busy looking for her spell to notice us leave.

Celestia walked by my side, not saying anything, just looking forward. Her hoofsteps gave a sound of confidence, but were still light and dainty. It was like a symphony with only percussion.

She helped me through the corridors, telling me where to turn, giving me a description of where we were every time we entered a new room. I could tell she really cared about my well being, even though she had never even met me. It gave me a new level of respect for her, knowing she really loved those of her kingdom.

Celestia took a sudden stop, and I stopped with her. She took a deep breath, surveying her regal halls, yet she seemed dissatisfied. It was though something was bugging her, something she was conflicted about.

Confirming my thoughts, she spoke. “Daylight, you truly are a brave pony, you know that?”

I blinked, pondering the Princess’ statement. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, just.. Think about all you’ve been through. All you’ve done. I find it truly inspiring- A colt born blind, yet he still chooses to go to magic school and learn a difficult instrument, going through his life day by day. I’m amazed.”

I scratched at the back of my head with a spare hoof. “I-I don’t know, Princess. I never really thought of it as a big deal. I mean, it’s just life, you know? Besides, I’ve gotten help from your star student and whatnot,” I replied with a smile.

“Yes, you have received help from Twilight. You two seem to be very infatuated with each other, no?” Celestia questioned, cracking a grin.

“Yeah, I mean, uh- no, just- I- don’t know,” I mumbled, tripping over my words.

The Princess laughed. “Well, I suppose I shall just let things happen as they come, right?” What’d she mean by that?

“Speaking of the unicorn,” she continued, “Twilight tells me you’re searching for a job. I’m aware you play guitar- have you considered busking?”

I took a step back. “Street performing? Me? No, I can’t.. Besides, Twilight would look down on me for it. It’s just so dishonorable..”

She was grinning again. That was a bad sign. “Yes, because you care so much about Twilight’s insight.. I’ll set you up for a license. You may use it if you wish.”

Well.

What the Princess says, goes.

Ulp.

---

AN: It's finally here. Sorry it took so long, guys, multiple issues with school and health and stuff were happening. This was supposed to be released a few days ago, but I had issues contacting my pre-reader as well, so, now here we are. Hope you guys enjoy, 5th chapter is on its way.

-HDJ

Comments

[Tunit122]

this made my day
Thank you

[a3V]

> You could nearly feel Twilight’s blush.

I assume that was supposed to be "I"?

[Obalie]

FINALLY!

[Hot Dog Jones]

1251535
Days are my favorite thing to make glad you enjoyed it

1252485
I imagined that in more of a descriptive context to the listener/reader, since this is being told after-the-fact, but I suppose it could go either way.

1256567
Yeah, the making of this chapter tore away at my soul. If you require an explanation, you can find it here.