“What do you mean, I can’t go home?” Rez asked, taken slightly aback by the heedlessness of his own question. For all he knew, ponyville could have been wiped off the map, or overrun by monsters, or maybe some other emergency was happening.
Rez heard soft hoofsteps as he assumed Zecora was going about her business or organizing something, but she was actually turning towards him. She then spoke up, “Reasons for you being unable to leave are not something I can tell, but instead I must insist that you stay here for a spell.” She rhymed again, which induced Rez to sigh. He was getting tired of that.
“I’d love to, but I’m pretty sure my Mom will be wondering where I am. I told her I’d be back, so I really need to get going…” Rez summoned his walking stick and started to search for the door, but his path was then blocked by Zecora.
“I cannot allow you to leave, for should you go now your family would surely grieve. Many creatures of all sizes wait outside, so by this rule you should abide.” Zecora said firmly. When Rez tried to go around her again, he felt himself being gently pushed back by her hooves. She was resolute about him staying inside so, seeing no other option, he complied and sat on his haunches where he stood.
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For what felt like hours Rez sat, just waiting and contemplating to himself. If there are so many creatures outside, why did Zecora build her house out here in the first place? was the first peculiar thought to cross his mind. …then again, she does seem a bit.. off. She rhymes, for one, and this place just feels creepy. he answered himself, not bothering to look around, since that would do him no good.
I swear, if I ever get back to ponyville, I’m going to do something about my blindness… he thought idly to himself.
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After several hours really had passed, Rez began to feel weary. He guessed it was night, as things within Zecora’s home seemed to be cooling off. It was very subtle, but without his eyes distracting him, Rez’s other senses were always in overdrive to relay information about his whereabouts.
Zecora had been active this entire time, occasionally shuffling by Rez and throwing things about, some glass objects clattering on wooden surfaces and some sort of liquid bubbling and toiling, with scattered hoofsteps rushing about. Whatever Zecora was working on, she was certainly in a hurry to get it done.
Curiosity got the best of Rez, and he found himself asking, “What are you doing, anyhow? You sound busy, but I would like to know.” He turned his head to the side as she spoke, “This is not something of your concern, but it could soon be a lesson to learn.”
He was really starting to get tired of how cryptic she was getting.
“Ugh… fine, I’ll just wait here then, bored and becoming less attentive by the moment.” he said dully, returning his ‘attention’ to the nothingness that lay ahead. He casually picked at the floor with his hooves, before discovering that the floor was a very grainy wood, only cut from special trees that grew in the griffon kingdom. He had read about this kind of wood and how firm and unbreakable it was, and an idea sprang from his head. He focused on a small patch of the floor in front of him, and concentrated on the grains. His horn began to glow, as did the patch of wood. He explored every detail and inch of the wood with his magic, drawing up a mental image, until…
It appeared in front of him.
He could not believe what he was seeing. First off, he was actually SEEING! A huge grin shot across his face, threatening to split it in two, but then he began to concentrate further. He increased the amount of magic he had poured into the spot, and a color came into view. It was a very dark color and almost seemed out-of-place in the empty void that consisted of the rest of his vision. It was a very momentous occasion for him, so he didn’t even pay hardly any mind to the applications he could use this new spell for. He shifted his new viewport around the room, seeing bright colors and shapes of objects that he could once only feel.
A new feeling of excitement welled up inside him as he felt like he would explode from the sheer elation, and then he ‘looked’ out the window and saw…
A sunset.
It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, even though he hadn’t seen much, but the pure joy in his heart caused tears of pure delight to stream down his face as he caught a glimpse of the wondrous oranges and reds that the sun cast over the land as it bid farewell until the next day.
Rez stared at it until it had all but disappeared, watching as it slowly crept behind the horizon. Rez stared until he felt his horn straining to keep his vision lit, so he let the spell dissipate for the moment, and drifted back into darkness. His heart fell as his lovely view dissolved before him, casting his eyes once again upon the infinite blackness that came with being blind.
Man, being blind sucks… Rez sulked.
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After a long time of experimenting with the spell, Rez finally got the idea to use it to look at Zecora, whoever she was.
As he turned his ‘gaze,’ he noticed several things. One, Zecora was an oddly striped pony. What did they call those kinds of ponies again..? he wondered, before shaking off the thought. The second thing he noticed was that Zecora was staring at him in a weird way, as though she was shocked to see something. He looked around himself, half expecting to see some sort of monster, but then he saw his reflection in the mirror.
Where once blank eyes had rested in his head, there were now eyes with enlarging pupils.
This struck him in the face like a hammer, because he was told that his eyes were one solid color, which his Mom used to call ‘green.’ The small black spots in his eyes, as he quickly discovered, would grow or shrink based off of how much vision he granted himself through magic.
He quickly began to develop a headache as his mind told him he was using too much magic, so he shut down his ‘vision’ for the time being. “Wow.” was all he could say. He was so absolutely in awe of himself and his newfound ability that he didn’t even notice that his flank began to tingle…
An image appeared of a photo with an eye in it, which had a large red X strewn across it. In the middle of the X was a hole with a small green outline. Rez couldn’t see it, but Zecora was smiling affectionately as a bright flash announced the arrival of his cutie mark.
It was likely a moment she would remember for a long time.
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Rez experimented more with his new sight capabilities, before he felt his strength leaving him. He briefly wondered why Zecora hadn’t bothered him the entire time, but his tiredness overtook his thoughts as he sought out a bed to sleep in. He sleepily found his way around the room, occasionally using his sight spell to find a bed. Once he had found one, a king-sized bed to be exact, he laid down on one side and was sleeping soundly within minutes.
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“Hi-Rez, it’s time to get up,” a sweet voice rang in his ears, which he immediately recognized. It was his mother!
He bolted up in bed and looked around the room, immediately seeing his mother. He didn’t recall being able to see, but he didn’t care. He was glad to be back with his mother. He embraced her lovingly and felt like he never wanted to let go…
Until his father strode into the room.
Immediately, Rez let go of his mother and reeled back, surprised to see his living Dad, in the flesh, up and kicking. Tears of happiness found their way down his face as he moved to pull his Dad into a hug, but then he felt himself falling. He looked up and saw his parents laughing at him as he descended into a sheer black pit, falling, falling, falling…
WHUMP. Rez woke up immediately, flailing a bit, and then quickly realizing he had rolled onto the floor. He was sad for a moment, realizing he was not actually with his parents, until the memories from the previous day had been recalled and a smile shot across his face once more.
Well, at least I can see now, he thought happily to himself, standing and remembering he was in Zecora’s house. Now that he had his sight for the sightless spell, he would surely be able to find his way home. However, there was only one thought that troubled him…
How am I going to get out of the forest?