//------------------------------// // Looking closer. // Story: A blind perspective // by Light Heart101 //------------------------------// Fluttershy spent the next two days spending time with her friends. On the first day she spent the morning with Applejack in Sweet apple acres listening to her talk about the last 10 family reunions. Then Fluttershy spent time with Pinkie Pie at a party. Pinkie found it interesting how Fluttershy could whisper where all the kids were hiding during hide and seek. When Pinkie Pie asked her about it Fluttershy said that she listened to the giggling. That night Fluttershy listened to her friends talk about the upcoming test that they were planning at school. She was worried when she didn't hear from Discord at all that day; she could still remember their fight from the other day. The next day Rainbow Dash decided to take Fluttershy to a trail for a picnic. Fluttershy asked Dash if she had a book the she would like to read to her. If she wasn't blind she would have seen a large grin spread across Dash's face. They settled in a nice clear area outside of town. After enjoying a few sandwiches Fluttershy listened to Dash as she read 'Daring Do and the Magic compass'. As Daring Do was backed against the brick wall surrounded by diamond dogs Rainbow Dash heard a familiar voice from above her. "Hey Dash! I was wondering if you'd like to have a quick race with us?" Dash turned to see Soarin and Fleetfoot in the sky waving at her. Dash bit her lip. "I'd love to, but I've got to..." Fluttershy reached over to find Dash's shoulder. "It's alright. You can race with Soarin and his friend. Just please don't forget about me." Dash's eyes widened. "Okay, I know how you knew Soarin was here because of his voice, but how did you know about Fleetfoot being here?" Fluttershy grinned. "I hear two sets of wings flapping right now." Dash gave Fluttershy a impressed look before taking off. As Fluttershy was waiting for Dash to come back she heard another pony walking up the trail. She turned to his general direction. She could tell that he wasn't in a rush. She caught a slight sniff of fresh wood shavings, paint, and oil. Fluttershy turned to his general direction. "Is there any construction going on over here?" "No? I haven't seen any around here. Why would you ask?" The pony said with a confused voice. Fluttershy blushed as she realized that her guess was wrong. "I'm sorry. I thought you were a construction worker." The voice paused for a second before speaking. "Oh! You have bandages over your... Sorry. I'm Light Heart. I'm the resident toy maker." Fluttershy listened ask he walked closer. "Oh! I've never met you before." Light stood a few feet away from her. "I don't think you ever bought any toys from me before, so that would explain it. Uh, how did you get here?" Fluttershy shrugged. "Rainbow Dash brought me here. She should be back soon." She heard Light chuckle. "I know her a bit better than I know you. We have a long standing prank war. She's in the lead. So, are the bandages permanent or..." As she tried blocking the idea from her head she heard a sudden change in Lights voice. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I'm so sorry!" Fluttershy gave him a soft smile. "It's okay. I'm just trying not to think about it too much." Fluttershy heard Light starting to walk away. "I'll just go now. I'm sorry for bothering you." He sounded upset for bringing it up. Fluttershy quickly spoke up before he got far away. "Uh, would you mind reading for me until Dash comes back?" She heard him stop in his tracks. "Um, I guess?" She listened to him sit down a few feet away from her. She didn't hear him pick up the book so she assumed he knew magic. She listened as he read from the book. "I'm guessing you left off here. Ahem. Daring Do watched in horror as the diamond dogs blocked every option of escape. With the low ceiling blocking any hope of flying she readied herself for the fight awaiting her. Collar Bone grinned as a smooth voice came from his mouth. "Well, Daring Do. It seems like the odds have been stacked against you." Daring gave a sly grin, not wanting to show any sign of weakness. "Well if you brought more dogs then we'd have a fair fight." Collar Bone gave a soft chuckle. "As much as I'd 'love' to send my men to fight you; I have a new pet I'd like you to meet." Daring watched as a giant spider crawled through the doorway. Its flexible legs allowed it to make it through with ease. As drool dripped down it's mouth all Daring could do was scream. Fear gripped her heart as she saw her fears magnified by a thousand. As she backed away whimpering the dogs laughed at her. The spider drew closer to her as she held her breath, praying that it would go away. As the spider raised a leg towards her an explosion blew the door off the hinges. All of the dogs turned to the door in shock. An... Wait! What? Uh... An alicorn with blue hair and a yellow coat made his way through the smoke. Oh boy! As the dogs stood in disbelief the alicorn spoke up. Uh... "Well, I came to this town to deliver a birthday gift for a good friend and I while I'm coming home I hear this. I doubt you're baking a cake for the kid, so I'm giving you one chance. Walk away." Eh, he he. Um. I think I'll stop here. I'll have to remember to get one of these books later." Fluttershy gave a confused look. "Why, what's wrong?" She heard him stuttering. "W-w-well... Oh! Dash is coming back. Quick put these on and tilt your head forward." Fluttershy felt the book land in her lap and a pair of glasses placed on her face. She listened as Rainbow Dash landed in front of them. "Very funny Light Heart." She heard Light chuckle. "Don't interrupt! Things were just getting interesting. Keep reading!" She heard Dash and Light walk to each other as Dash chuckled. "I don't think that prank counts." "It could have been worse. I could have had you play hide and seek with her. I know where the line is and I don't cross it." "Fair enough." Fluttershy listened as they gave each other a hoof bump before Light Heart walked away while they were talking. "Well, I hope Fluttershy gets better. I'll catch you later." As she heard Light walking away Dash grabbed the book from Fluttershy's lap. "Hey! Light Heart. The pony on the cover looks just like..." "Bye!" Light hollered as he ran away. Dash shrugged as she continued reading. "So, do you think he has met Daring Do?" Fluttershy grinned. "Most likely." =============================================================================== Later that day Fluttershy was walking through the hallway of the castle with Starlight. They were playing a strange game. Fluttershy was opening each door and trying to tell which room it was. While they were doing that Fluttershy was asking Starlight about her relationship with her dad. After a while Starlight decided to talk to her. "Um, Fluttershy, do you mind if we talk?" Fluttershy nodded. "I think the next room is the library." Starlight watched as Fluttershy slowly made her way through the door and onto a chair. Starlight sighed as she took a seat next to her. "Fluttershy, I've been talking to the others about what you've been doing these last few days. I'm glad that you are trying to move through this, but I have the feeling that you are trying to run away from the idea of being blind." As Starlight waited for a response Fluttershy took a few deep breaths. "That's not what I'm doing. I am a afraid that I'll end up losing my animal sanctuary because of this, but you wouldn't believe what I have been able to experience. Yesterday morning while I was listening to Applejack I smelled the sweet apples she was collecting. I could give you a rough guess on how many apples she collected that morning. I learned so much more about her family then I thought there was to know. Then I went to the party with Pinkie. It was scary at first with all of the loud noises, but I learned to focus on the ones I want to hear. I smelled the cupcakes and the cake. I'm pretty sure that Pinkie gave a gasp when I asked for a cupcake. I listened to the bright laughter of the kids as they were playing. When I got home last night I listened to the rain storm. It sounded like a thousand ducks dancing on the lake. It didn't feel like I was just listening to it, but I felt like I was a part of it. Even this morning I got to listen to the birds as they sang their songs. I know this is hard to understand, but I'm seeing the world in a whole new light and I'm learning so much more about you and the others now that I'm more focused on what you all are saying. I'm learning so much about myself, and how strong I really am. I'm worried that I'll be blind, but I'm not dreading the idea anymore." Starlight was amazed by Fluttershy. She thought that any pony in her position would be fearing the idea of being blind, but Fluttershy not only learned to cope with it, but she learned to thrive. Starlight placed a hoof on her shoulder. "I don't know what to say." "Neither do I." Fluttershy didn't know how, but somehow Twilight sneaked in without her noticing. Her confusion increased as she heard more steps heading to her. She was shocked as several hooves wrapped around her. Fluttershy soon realized that it could only be her friends there. She started crying knowing the sacrifices they made for her. She knew that these were the best friends one could have; friends that would drop everything to help her. Starlight watched as the only words that could come from Fluttershy's mouth were "Thank you". After a while Fluttershy realized that she didn't feel any claws. As they finished their hug Fluttershy tried wiping tears that were soaked by the bandages. "Thank you girls. I couldn't face this without you. By the way where is Spike at?" Applejack spoke up. "He wanted to come, but he promised to join the others for guys night." Dash turned towards her. "But I though they canceled that?" Applejack just shrugged. "I'm guessing that they changed their mind." Fluttershy's ears perked up when she heard that. She turned to Applejack's direction. "Can you take me there?" ======================================================================= The guys were in full swing. They were fighting the dreaded King of the Madeup kingdom. Discord fired two arrows at the spiral tower of phantom force, destroying them. Spike cast a spell of Mary Sue Might on Big Mac as he readied his battle ax. Big Mac charged to the king barely dodging the dark bolt that was fired at him. Just as Big Mac was ready to slice this fiend to oblivion a door was opened out of nowhere. Spike was the first to groan. "Reality check!" Discord sighed as he turned to the door. "Seriously Applebloom! You don't just walk in when we are in the zone..." His words were cut off when he saw Fluttershy at the doorway. Discord slowly walked to the door. "Uh... Take five everybody." The guards and king all huddled in a corner and started playing cards. Spike turned to Big Mac. "Do you want to figure out what's going on?" Mac shook his head. "Nope!" Spike looked at them for a second before making his mind up. "Me neither." Discord walked through the door and lost his Elfish getup. They both stood in silence before Discord spoke up. "So, I guess disappearing is a bad idea. I think you already knew that I was standing here." Fluttershy nodded. "Yes. You are the only guy I know who smells like everything. I thought you canceled guys night." Discord shrugged. "They talked me into it. They said it'd help me with... whatever." Discord bit his lip as he was waiting for her to yell at her again. "Listen. I'm not to good with the whole round two thing, so can we just pretended we had this argument..." Before Discord could continue Fluttershy rapped her hooves around him. He was shocked when he heard what she said. "I'm sorry! You were doing everything you could for me and I just wanted more. You were trying to keep me from hurting myself and I couldn't see it. I was so mad, but you kept caring. Can you please forgive me?" Discord saw that her bandages were soaked in tears. As she was crying in his lap he returned her hug. "Always. Always for you." As a tear started rolling his cheek he noticed Twilight and the others peeking inside. Discord snapped his fingers and the doors shut by themselves. He did leave a sign that said "Crying in progress. Do Not Disturb!". Fluttershy and Discord could hear Twilight whisper to the others. "I think we should leave them here. Discord can take her home." Applejack's voice could be heard. "Well, I'm guessing my brother's going to have to end guys night early." Discord and Fluttershy spent the rest of the night talking about how Fluttershy was adapting to her new vision. They both knew that they wouldn't forget the fight they had, but they would always remember to forgive each other and themselves.