//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Never Look Down, Never Look Back // Story: Harmony and Courage: Running Parallel // by SSJRandomMaster //------------------------------// Chapter 12: Never Look Down, Never Look Back --------------- Twilight Sparkle knew it shouldn't have been a surprise. Azure Courage just didn't seem to be the kind of pony to learn without some pain intertwined into the experience. And he had always struck her as the dense type. Yet, the fact that he would so casually ask somepony who was blind to compete in a physically demanding competition like that was nothing short of insensitive and idiotic. "Y-you've got to be kidding, Azure!" Twilight began to wonder if this was precisely how the colt felt after he dealt with Trixie's impossibly huge ego. "Didn't you hear a word I just said?" "Didn't you want proof?" Azure asked dryly, apparently having caught a second wind due to Rainbow's interference. "It is a little much, but--" "A little much?" The studious pony intervened. "This is a full-on competition! As if what you were doing here wasn't bad enough--" "Twilight." The mare halted, turning to Silver. He couldn't see her, yet he appeared to be looking right at her through his pale, lifeless-looking eyes. "O-oh, sorry, what is it, Silver?" Twilight didn't know why, but she felt uncertain and awkward looking him in the eyes. "Let me compete." There wasn't any evidence he was unsure. The mare felt herself become utterly speechless. Didn't Silver care at all what he was doing was dangerous, especially for him? He couldn't see, so how was he to see the stuff he had to do? "You wanted proof, right? If I should get hurt, you can yell at Azure all you want, but if I manage to make it through the race, I want you to drop the subject." "S-Silver...!" She wasn't going to back down. There was no way she was going to let this happen so easily. "I'll sit this one out," Rainbow said, and all heads turned to look at her. "So you can have more of a chance to prove your point." Twilight felt as though she'd been dropped straight on her head. What happened? Did she somehow use a spell that messed with everyone's minds? What was she missing? "I'll join in, too," Applejack announced, looking up. "Should be interestin'..." Applejack, too?! What'd I miss?! The purple pony's mind raced. Did it have something to do with Silver's cutie mark? What was going on here?! "Well, I guess it's settled then," Azure said. "We've got about two hours left, so I guess we'd better be ready..." "Wait--wait a minute," Twilight was too shocked by what had just happened in the past minute to process what had just happened. In the short time it took for Rainbow to fetch that flier, Azure had invited Silver, who was completely blind, to the competition, Silver accepted; Rainbow actually stayed out of the competition; and Applejack wanted in, too...? "I wouldn' worry 'bout it, Twilight..." Startled from her thoughts by the farmer mare, the purple pony jumped slightly. "O-oh, Applejack, I didn't know you were still here..." "Listen up, sugarcube, I think it's safe to say that Az and Silver both know what they're doing," The orange mare said. "I'm gonna keep an eye on 'em, so you don't gotta worry. But I don't think that'll be needed." "How can you be so sure?" Twilight asked. "I can tell when somepony's lyin' through their teeth, Twi," Applejack responded, "And neither one seem to be lyin' about what Silver can do. Up until that last jump, Silver was actually doin' good." The purple mare could guess that Applejack was being honest. It wasn't the first time that the farmer had offered her reassurance when she was in doubt. "Alright...but I don't like it..." --------------- Silver had retrieved his sunglasses from the Boutique shortly after the group had left to prepare, more or less, for the upcoming triathalon. Azure would likely either be warming up or meditating, whichever he felt was more necessary to do. The blind colt didn't quite get how meditation would help out in a physically demanding competition, but whatever Azure did for his training seemed to work. As for why he was now wearing his shades? Only the ponies at the Boutique at the time and Twilight actually knew he was blind, and the group had agreed to keep his blindness under wraps until after the event, regardless of the conclusion. Silver decided to explore Ponyville, turning down the purple mare's offers of assistance. If Azure hadn't attempted to stand up for him again and sparked another argument, the dark blue pony felt he'd have never managed to slip away. He used his magic to send out his soundwaves, creating a mental map of where he was. It wasn't too uncommon for him to do this. He knew it'd be more useful for him to do this on the track so he knew what he was getting into, but the blind pony wanted to go in just as his condition stated: he would go in with just as much knowledge as Azure and Applejack would likely have of the track; no knowledge whatsoever. The pony continued to walk about, realizing he'd walked into a forested area. As he sat down and prepared to send out his sound waves actively for a brief moment, his ears picked up a sound, a soft, feminine voice. If it could be called that: it was a rhythmic sound, almost like a song of sorts. "That voice..." Silver mumbled to himself. "It's...beautiful..." Since he was young, Silver didn't have sight to rely on. He couldn't even see the ground he was walking on, nor could he see the reference books he'd used. Before he learned Braille, and even before he'd met Azure, his parents and other friends would always have to read to him. Even then, the colt had never liked the extra pity that came with being born blind. He'd always relied on sound. It was his talent to use sound-based magic. It was how he'd coped with being blind. Since he'd met Azure, it had felt like his whole world had opened up. He'd made mental maps of every single place in Canterlot, and he would continuously free-gallop alongside his friend with sight. It felt...liberating, almost like his lack of sight didn't matter. Now that he'd heard this beautiful voice, Silver Espada began to quickly move along, following his ears. His sonar spell went off, allowing him to scan the area. The foilage seemed to lessen, but his spell detected something else. He could sense birds gently fluttering in the direction he was heading, and as he drew closer to the song, he could make out more of them, seeming to gather around them. He slowed a very slow trot as he realized he was very close to the sound and began to piece things together. Feminine voice...small animals...forest... Silver thought to himself. Fluttershy...? --------------- Snap. The definite sound of a twig breaking nearby shook all sense of rhythm from the mare's nerves. Images of what had happened with the Shadow Ghouls on that night suddenly refused to leave her mind. The song broke off in her mouth, and, terrified, she began to call out. "W-w-who's...there?" she questioned, sounding and looking scared. "Don't be scared," The voice was relatively new, but she'd definitely heard it earlier today. She turned to see a blue colt with shades and a very familiar white mane. "It's me, Silver." Seeing that it was just the blind pony calmed down the pegasus's nerves, but it did raise some questions. "Oh, S-Silver..." Fluttershy sighed in relief, "W-what are you doing here? I thought you were--" "I was trying to map out the town, but I guess Azure's bad sense of direction is contagious..." Silver was clearly the kind of pony to make light of an otherwise debilitating condition. The yellow mare found herself wondering if she'd ever understand it. "I wound up in the forest. I decided to keep mapping things out, and then I heard this sound I'd never heard before and tried to find it..." Fluttershy felt herself blush just a little, and didn't bother to try to withhold herself from doing it, given Silver couldn't see the effect his words had had on her. "Y-you heard me...singing...?" The yellow mare had sung to the animals on some occasions, but it seemed to come more with the job than something she actually needed to do. Very rarely did she have to sing an animal to sleep, but she excelled at that when it was required. She couldn't get how good Silver's ears were, even given he'd avoided Azure's surprise attack. "Yes, I did..." Silver began. "It was beautiful..." Fluttershy instinctively turned away from him as her blush intensified, hiding her face behind her pink mane. It wasn't like he could see it, but the fact he was so upfront about it and the fact he'd heard her singing to the animals, and called it...that... "I know we just met and all, Fluttershy," Silver continued, with only a slight bashful tone in his voice, "but can I ask you a favor?" "W-what kind of favor?" asked the yellow mare, turning back to him, her blush refusing to completely go away. "Could you...sing that song again?" The blind colt asked. Fluttershy had only been flattered like this once before, when Azure had given her his headband way back when she'd managed to stand up to a dragon on her own. Usually, she sang more to herself or animals. She'd never had to sing to another pony before, least of all having a colt request she sing to him. "A-are you sure...?" She was in utter disbelief, and every visual cue on her body showed it. "D-don't you need to get ready for that t-triathalon?" Silver plopped down on his rump. Though Fluttershy knew he was only wearing the dark glasses to conceal his pale eyes, the mare suddenly felt as though he were looking straight at her, even though his eyes were non-functioning. "I've got time..." --------------- "Hey, Twilight, over heeeere!" The purple mare snapped her head around to see Pinkie and the others (except Applejack, and for some reason, Fluttershy hadn't shown up yet either) gathered in the stands. Twilight, along with Spike, began to make their way to the group, having been greeted by the hyperactive party pony. "So Silver's dead-set on doing this?" Spike asked as they found their seat. Ever since she'd returned to the library following the second argument with Azure, Twilight had been worrying almost constantly about what would happen during the triathalon. "Yes, Spike, but..." Twilight responded. "I can not say I am fond of this myself, Twilight," Rarity began, looking down to the field where Azure and Applejack, along with other ponies, were either waiting patiently or warming up. Both the unicorn colt and earth pony mare were bothering to warm up along with a few others, while the remainder of the ponies in line stood almost completely still. "but it should not be a surprise that somepony who grew up with Azure should have some of his tendencies..." "Still, shouldn't there be some limitations? Even if he does have sonar magic..." The purple mare still had her doubts. Azure had spent most of the argument explaining exactly what Silver's cutie mark meant. It stood to reason that the colt would know his friend's talent, but Twilight still couldn't wrap her head around a blind pony doing the same stunts that the headband-wearing male was capable of. "I say we just wait and see," Rainbow was, surprisingly, opting to sit in her seat. "Az may seem crazy sometimes, but he hasn't made a really bad call so far..." Twilight felt herself blink. That sounded suspisciously like praise. "Say, where's Fluttershy at?" Spike asked, looking around. "Now that you mention it," Rarity responded, looking out over the heads of the spectators, "you'd think Silver would have been one of the first ponies to show up given how much he wanted to compete..." Twilight inhaled, fully ready to praise Silver for coming to his senses, but Pinkie gave a loud gasp. "Look! There they are!" She cheered, motioning to a place not too far behind the other competitors. Down that path, Silver, still wearing his sunglasses, was walking alongside Fluttershy, the latter of whom seemed almost too adjusted to his presence. Twilight blinked, in slight disbelief over what she was witnessing. The others exchanged confused glances as Silver and Fluttershy parted ways with a simple exchange of words, though the mare couldn't decipher what it was. "Ooh, Fluttershy, over here!" said Pinkie, standing up and waving to her as the shades-wearing pony went to join Applejack and Azure at the start line. The pegasus looked up towards them, and made her way over to them. The studious pony could feel the awkwardness in the air when the meek female reached them. "Um...Fluttershy?" asked Twilight, feeling as though she had to know. "Were you...with Silver, all this time?" Now that the question was out there, the weight of the awkward felt a little more intense. When the mare questioned flinched and blushed a little, it didn't feel any less awkward. Especially since the others, save for Pinkie, were looking at her with some intent of getting an answer. "Um...y-yes..." the meek mare finally responded. Twilight felt herself blink, and she exchanged looks with the others. They either looked amused or mildly concerned, and the purple mare found herself wondering exactly what the blind pony had been up to after he left the boutique... --------------- Azure Courage continued to warm up. Up until recently, he'd been wondering where Silver was. While he wasn't into serious competition, he'd have to do this here, at least for his blind friend's sake, just in case something did happen to go wrong. That, and now that Applejack was competing, the cyan colt had a funny feeling he needed to stay vigilant in the first place. Not thinking too much of why Fluttershy had arrived with the blind pony in tow, Azure continued to stretch. "You two ready?" the dark blue colt asked, getting his attention as well as Applejack's. Both turned to regard him, having halted warming up upon his arrival. "You bet," This was Applejack, taking a moment to adjust the hat. Recalling the fact the hat had managed to stay on her head while Trixie had hogtied her, Azure looked over to Silver. "I know you're wearing the shades to hide your eyes, but how do you plan to keep them on your face?" asked the cyan colt. The addressed equine adjusted his shades with one hoof. "Not a problem," he said, "Here, take a look." He turned his head, revealing a black elastic band going around it, making the shades function more like goggles than glasses. "I asked Rarity to do this so they wouldn't come off so easily." Azure couldn't see a design flaw, and Applejack didn't appear to find fault with it either. "Well, let's hope it works," The cyan colt turned toward the starting line. "Now we'd better take our marks, this whole thing's about to start without us." --------------- A male earth pony stepped out in front of the racers. The pony appeared to be taking the role of an announcer. He had a slicked-back mane and tail, both two-toned a deep blue and a light yellow. His body was the same color as wheat, a golden-brown sort of hue. The pony's dark green eyes looked around the racers, and then turned to address the crowd. Twilight squirmed just a little in anticipation, knowing that the triathalon was about to begin. "Welcome, everypony, to the first ever Ponyville Triathalon!" The announcer said, to which the crowd gave the obligatory cheer. "Today, the competitors will start with a simple 10-kilometer run," Twilight felt herself cringe at the fact such a distance could be considered "simple". "followed by a 5-kilo swim through fast-moving rapids!" The purple mare only winced further as a single thought coursed through her, silently vowing to voice it as soon as the announcer was ready to start. "After a ten-minute break, the racers will have to scale that mountain to make it to the finish!" The announcer motioned to the distant rock formation, and the studious pony almost let her mouth hang agape long enough to catch a fly in it. That thing had to be about sixty meters high! Yet, her primary concern for Silver's racing, aside from the fact he shouldn't be able to see where he was going, was something more basic than anything else. "Does anypony think Silver can swim?" Twilight asked quietly so nopony else except for her friends could hear. The others, even Pinkie, winced just a little at the question, but said nothing. The announcer raised a hoof slightly as he turned back to the racers, twenty in total counting Applejack, Azure, and Silver. "Alright, racers, on your mark..." The group of ponies, mostly earth ponies, though there were a couple of unicorns in there aside from Azure, took more ideal racing pose. "Get set..." The earth pony raised his hoof higher, some of the more athletic ponies tensing up at this. "Go!" The twenty racers quickly took off, thundering down the track, going down the first leg of the race. Silver seemed to be falling behind at first, which in Twilight's mind made some sense; he would logically need to in order to not bump into the other competitors. However, the blind pony began to pick up speed, surpassing some of the stragglers and reaching about eighth. Azure and Applejack had taken off at a decent speed, winding up almost tied for fourth. Of course, within a minute or two, the racers began to leave Twilight's field of vision. Rainbow and Fluttershy started hovering, but even they apparently lost sight of the three of them. "Man, this stinks," Rainbow sulked. "Can't see them anymore from here!" "We could always wait for them at the finish," Fluttershy pointed out, as some of the other spectators got up from their seats to do just that. A lightbulb went off in Twilight's head. She thought she'd never get to use it after her move to Ponyville, but she had something the group could use for live spectating. "I have a hot air balloon we can use to watch from above!" The purple unicorn said. "Twilight, do you think it can hold all of us?" Spike asked. The baby dragon did raise a good point: typically it only carried the two of them when it was used. "I'm good with flyin'..." The blue pegasus said, flapping her wings. "I-if weight will be an issue, I'll fly too..." The meek mare added. "Well, I guess it should be able to hold all of us..." --------------- Azure Courage thundered down, keeping one eye out for Silver since he'd fallen behind early on. While understandable, if Silver got hurt, Twilight would really let him have it, so he had to at least keep his blind friend's position in mind while trying to pull ahead. Some of the weaker ponies had already started falling off after about three minutes in, and now the crowd of twenty had narrowed to fifteen. The cyan colt could feel his legs starting to hurt, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He looked over to his side, just in time to see Applejack pulling ahead. The orange farmer mare cast a quick look back to him, flashed a small smile, and immediately began to pull further ahead. While the colt was busy recovering from that, on his opposite, a familiar white mane and tail began pulling past. "Ugh, c'mon!" Azure grumbled, urging himself silently to go forward. --------------- The throng of racers continued to pound through the running portion, more stragglers running completely out of stamina and pretty much falling out of the race. By the time the running portion had ended, there were only twelve left of the original twenty, though the five who fell behind were starting to try to catch up. Surveying the situation from above in her hot air balloon along with the others, Twilight searched the course, trying to find her friends. She began to look around, eventually catching sight of them close to the river. "They're about to start the swimming portion!" said Twilight, pointing to the gurgling river below. They were to swim five kilometers through that. From the height the group was currently at, none of them could make out exactly how the river was moving, but the remaining racers all began to go into the water, and began swimming. --------------- Applejack did not dare stop moving in the water, even for a moment. The water was moving fast, and if she were to go underwater for even a moment, her hat would likely be swept downstream, and she couldn't have that. Azure didn't seem like the kind of pony to be a strong swimmer, and as she checked behind her to check, she could see the colt struggling just a little with the rapids, but he was still managing to gain on her somehow. Some of the ponies tested the water, and were just a little iffy on going in. As she continued her brief survey, a sudden feeling of alarm went up inside of her. Silver seemed to be missing, and she couldn't see him at the other bank. She knew he wasn't too far behind Azure, and in fact he had actually managed to pass him at one point. The swim didn't take too much longer for Applejack, and she was able to get to the other side, the foot of the mountain not too far ahead. Azure followed not too long after, behind a lean, tan-furred earth pony who seemed to be incredibly adept at swimming. "Az, Silver ain't anywhere!" Applejack called out to him as he got his footing on the shore. Azure immediately snapped his head around, searching for the blind pony. "Ah, manure," Azure immediately put one of his soaked hooves to the bridge of his nose in agitation, looking ready to dive back into the raging waters. "Don't tell me he got swept away!" The headband-wearing colt took a few steps forward, and crouched low, clearly about to jump back in, when suddenly, he blinked. "What's that, moving below the surf--" The fact he sounded slightly nervous wasn't lost on Applejack straight away, but the thought that he was nervous at all didn't even register with the farmer mare when a familiar, dark blue colt broke the surface, Azure instinctively ducking down further as the figure soared over his head. "S-Silver?!" Applejack stuttered. "Were you divin' in that river?" The fact he was able to swim was impressive in itself given his condition, but being underwater while doing it. "Remember, I specialize in sound magic, but it wouldn't have done me much good above water. I can't swim unless I dive down." Silver responded. "You wouldn't believe how long it took me to get it right." "I didn't even know you could swim!" Azure called out, pretty much confirming that there were some things about his blind friend that even he didn't realize. "And here I thought you of all ponies wouldn't underestimate me, Azure..." The blind colt clearly wasn't hurt by the comment; it was clear he was trying to sound it for comedic purposes. Applejack gave a sigh of relief. "Guess we'd better move on to the foot of the mountain for the climbin' portion of the race." she interjected. "Got about ten minutes' rest before we can start again..." And with that, along with the others that had made it past the swimming portion, Applejack, Azure, and Silver went to the so-called "rest area" at the foot of the mountain, waiting for the race to start again formally. The farmer knew she could have used the rest, and though Silver and Azure didn't seem it, she could tell there was fatigue under each of their outer shells. The ten minute break would definitely benefit the ponies that made it through the previous events. "Huh, looks like it's down to us plus six others," Azure noted aloud. "Nine climbers..." He appeared to be scaling the mountain. The blind pony stepped a few steps forward. "I'm going to see what I can map out of the mountain before we have to continue," Silver said. Applejack didn't really see it as cheating, given that the other runners appeared to be sizing up the rocky surface. Azure said nothing in response, but he gave a short nod. "Do what ya need to," the farmer mare said, adjusting her hat. The blind pony walked toward the foot of the mountain, and began looking up towards the mountain, no doubt about to use that magic of his to do his job. The hoofsteps of another pony could be heard, and the orange pony looked up to see Azure, who looked back without flinching. "Hey, Applejack, what exactly made you want to enter this triathalon anyway?" Azure asked. "I mean, you saw Silver out there, and I'd think you'd know if either of us were lying...and I've never seen you as the competitive type..." The farmer pony inhaled somewhat. She knew she was a terrible liar; even if she was lying to none but herself, it would still come through. Her body would literally not let her do that. "Well, part of it was so I could keep an eye on Silver so Twi wouldn' worry so much..." Applejack responded. She blinked, and felt herself hesitate a little, but didn't see any harm in telling him why else. "And...I never really got to thankin' ya." Azure blinked, obviously confused. "Thank me...for what?" "D'ya...remember what happened last applebuck season?" the farmer mare responded, feeling only slightly sheepish at having to bring it up. A light passed through the colt's brown eyes, and for a few moments, his eye contact faltered. "Well, I remember what happened when you more or less agreed to accept help..." the cyan unicorn responded, sounding just as awkward as it felt to bring it up. But there was no taking it back now. She had remembered Rainbow Dash, quite openly telling her that when she and the others had arrived, they had seen her crashed out on the colt's neck, much to her embarassment. If Apple Bloom had ever heard of that-- "Oh, yeah..." Applejack reached up, rubbing her neck somewhat. "Sorry about that." "Not that it bothered me," Azure interjected, "I'm just glad I was able to reason with you before you ended up getting hurt or something..." "Still, I felt that I needed to repay you somehow," She wondered why she was acting this way because of his favor. Twilight had attempted to do the same thing herself, and though it had crossed her mind to do so, she'd never really gotten a chance to thank her for her effort, other than when the others were on the farm and-- "There's no need for that," The unicorn continued. "I helped you because you needed it." He took a step forward. "I don't need anything in return. If you ever get in trouble or need help, I'll be there. Remember that." His voice sounded sincere. At the very least, Azure didn't seem to be lying when he said that. And the way he said it, or the way he worded it, whichever way, made Applejack's heart suddenly skip a few beats. Her face heated up, and she was aware she started blushing. "Well, uh..." And now she felt awkward again, more so than when she heard she'd fallen on him in that position. "I'm going to...stretch my legs before time's up..." She turned away, hoping that the colt didn't see her blush, leaving Azure Courage very confused. --------------- Silver Espada had been scanning the path ahead, trying to determine faster routes. Nopony seemed to be questioning it, considering they didn't know he was blind. He had most of the upslope of the mountain panned out, and was just about to turn away, when his sonar spell picked up something just out of range. Huh? the blind pony thought to himself, looking upward. He tried to take a few steps forward, trying to see if he could extend his range a bit more upward. He focused his magic into his horn, and was just about to try again... "Silver, it's been about nine minutes," Azure interrupted. "Better take your place. The race is about to re-start." "Oh, right," said Silver, the question of what was up that far on the mountain still bugging him. However, he decided to let it drop as he went back to the starting position. It was probably nothing, the dark blue colt thought to himself, still just a little uneasy because of that. --------------- Above, Twilight and the others were surveying the race, which was about to start. Twilight counted about twenty-five seconds until the race started up again, and apparently, the announcer had been on the move since the race began, seeing as how he was just walking up in front of the remaining racers. The other ones had been more or less dealt with, saved from exhaustion and possible drowning. "It seems Silver is handling himself quite nicely," Rarity commented. The balloon had held the ponies just fine, with Dash hovering not too far from the basket. "Alright, so far he's been able to swim and run without much difficulty," Twilight responded. "But there's still the mountain climb to go." The silence was deafening in the basket, but the purple mare still wasn't convinced. However, the fact Silver swam alone was definitely impressive enough. "Alright, it looks like you nine ponies are still in this!" the announcer called out as the time ticked away until the final event started. "The others have been taken back to Ponyville to rest, so don't worry about them. In a few short seconds, you nine will climb up this mountain. The first one that makes it is the winner! Don't worry if you fall; if you can get back up, you can probably try again!" The remaining seconds ticked away as the announcer stepped off to one side to allow the ponies to go thundering past him when the time came. "5...4...3...2...1..." the pony counted off the remaining seconds. With a thunderous stomp, he cried out, "Resume!" With that, the nine ponies began their charge straight to the foot of the mountain, and hooves met rock as the ponies thundered up the mountain. From what Twilight could see, the slope was a little steeper than when she and all her friends scaled up one side of the mountain to try and get to the dragon quickly a while back. The remaining ponies, however, seemed to be able to handle it, which was understandable given they survived the previous two events. The purple mare looked down over the edge of the basket, as did the others, watching the nine struggle to keep their footing while maintaining a steady pace. Twilight was studying Silver intently, watching out for hazards... --------------- Silver's lack of sight had enhanced his hearing most of all, which had always worked to his benefit, though his other three remaining senses weren't anything to be looked down on either. He could feel the rock trembling under his hooves, and he could feel his body fighting to maintain traction. Azure and Applejack definitely had more of an edge on him at present, but he was still leading a few of the other ponies, so he wasn't doing too bad. The slope of the mountain was at least 45 degrees, judging by the feel, but the blind pony reasoned it could be slightly more than that. He sent out another sonar wave, and a chill resonated within him as he received the same feeling he'd had when at the foot of the mountain. There was a loose patch not too far off from the top of the mountain, and the colt felt his breath hitch when he realized each pony's hooves were shaking up the foundation of the mountain, which in turn was rattling the loose rocks above even further. It was only a matter of time before-- The sonar spell, along with Silver's more-than-average sense of touch, picked up a shift in the rocks below. He slowed down just a little, keeping pace. He looked up, past Azure and Applejack, who were now tied for first. Immediately, the blind colt realized what was about to happen. "Oh, no!" he yelled, immediately picking up the pace. --------------- Azure Courage was determined to pull ahead of Applejack, in the second half of the climb heading to the top of the mountain. The two had been almost neck and neck for this last part. Though Silver was left behind, he knew that Silver had proven enough of his capability that it wouldn't really matter if he won it. "Azure! Applejack!" Silver yelled, his voice sounding more concerned than normal. Azure stopped first, and Applejack skidded to a halt a few feet up from where he was. "Rock slide!" As if on cue, the ground immediately at his feet began to tremble. Azure chanced to look up, and saw some small rocks beginning to rain down from the peak. Immediately, the colt was overcome with deja vu, and as the other ponies took notice of the falling rocks, pandemonium broke out on the mountain side. Those further down immediately turned tail and broke for the base of the mountain. Those further up immediately dove for cover as the rocks rained down. Silver, Azure, and Applejack, now further ahead of the pack, were in a precarious position, and the rocks seemed to be gradually getting bigger as the rockslide increased. "Why didn't anypony think to make sure this wasn't an avalanche zone?!" Azure called out over the pounding of rocks. "No time to get worked up over it now," Applejack called out to him, barely audible over the rubble, "Just stay on your hooves and keep movin'!" Precisely three seconds later, he heard the feminine grunt and whipped around to see the farmer in a most precarious position. From what the pony could assess, she'd apparently slipped on the latest landing she'd done, and was now in a state of shock as a granite blob was heading for her head-on-- Before he even realized it, he was directly in front of the earth pony, facing it at an angle perpendicular to her, and took the rock dead-on in the side. He didn't even realize he'd used a gravity spell to slow the rock so it wouldn't just completely obliterate the side. Pain resonated from the impact, but the unicorn didn't feel anything more seriously hurt other than the fact he definitely got the wind knocked straight out of him. He hit the ground, trying to assess further damage. The rock that had been about to hit Applejack had lost its remaining momentum. Not even caring if it was against the rules by this point, Azure quickly forced the rock to roll off to one side, safely down one side of the mountain. He panted slightly, trying to get back to his hooves. The shaking had calmed down a bit, but rocks were still falling. "Az!" Applejack had finally recovered from her lapse, and helped him the rest of the way up. "Are you okay?!" "I'm good," the cyan colt groaned, definitely having felt better. "Only hurts to breathe..." "Look out!" This was Rainbow Dash's voice, clearly audible and getting louder. Azure looked up, and gasped when he saw the biggest boulder of all heading his way. Instinctively, he began to focus magic into his horn, knowing full well he wouldn't have the time to shoot a blast big enough to attack it. A loud noise suddenly filled Azure's ears, low in pitch yet enough to have him reaching for his ears with his hooves. A few moments later, the boulder shattered into pebbles, which fell almost perfectly around them in a dusty rain of sorts. "Are you okay?" Silver asked. The cyan colt looked up, though one of his eyes instinctively half-closed from the pain, to see his blind friend, seemingly unhurt from the rockslide, looking down to them. The shades still seemed attached to his head, hiding his pale eyes. "Silver, did you--what kind of spell was that?" The cyan colt began to wonder if this was how Twilight felt whenever she heard of a new spell. "You weren't the only one trying out offensive spells," Silver responded. "Though I can't use my sonar spell while doing it, well, I basically increase the frequency of the sound when I fire it. It leaves me completely blind, but it works." "Like an opera glass..." Azure mumbled to himself. "Well, racers," the three ponies looked up to see the announcer, peering out from the top of the mountain with a megaphone in hoof. "The rockslide was a rather...unfortunate accident, but the race is still on..." "Oh you've got to be--" The cyan colt straightened up, but pain shot through his injured side and he fell again. "Ugh...I don't think I'll be able to finish this race..." "Az," Applejack said simply, looking to him carefully. "don't push it." Azure felt himself blink, and wondered what exactly had gotten into his farmer friend. "If ya don't think ya can finish, just don't." The orange mare said, turning back forward. "Silver, you still up?" "Yeah, looks like it's just you and me..." Silver's horn briefly sparked, indicating to Azure he was likely re-activating his passive sonar spell. Before Azure could say anything in his defense, the two ponies began to charge to the top of the mountain, rapidly closing the distance. --------------- Rainbow flew up to Twilight, a smug expression on her face. "Did you see that, Twilight?" the blue pegasus gloated, apparently doing Azure's job. "Silver actually saved 'em..." The purple mare was stunned by all that she'd seen happen. While she couldn't hear them, it was obvious Silver had been able to "see" the rock slide coming before Azure or Applejack did. Then, Azure actually leapt in front of Applejack using what little time he had to prevent the rock from destroying him using his magic. Then the blind pony had managed to shatter the rock with his own magic. And now, it was just the blind unicorn and the apple farming earth pony, into the closing moments of the race. "It's gonna be close!" Spike called out, looking sorely tempted to lean over the edge of the basket. A pony crossed the finish line, but Twilight blinked and missed it. However, the expressions of her friends told her all she needed to know about the outcome. The unicorn knew now that she had been wrong all along about Silver, judging from what had went on below, as well as the announcer's cry. "The winner of the first ever Ponyville Triathalon is Silver Espada!" The crowd that had since gathered below gave thunderous cheers of approval. Azure, who had more or less walked his way up the rest of the mountain despite the obvious pain he was in, arrived just in time to see the ceremony. "Alright, I think we can start landing now..." Twilight's horn began to light up in its usual magenta color as she prepared the balloon to land. "...there's just one thing I'd like to say before we get done here," Silver announced, reaching one hoof up to his face as he stood in the center of the "finish area". A moment later, the shades were off his head and the colt opened his eyes to the audience. The sound of a hundred ponies gasping was the sound of utter shock. The ponies all gawked much as others might have when they first found out. The milky blue eyes of the blind colt "met" with the crowd, and a smile broke out on his face. "Yeah, I'm blind," Silver bluntly stated, turning around so they all could hear him. "No big deal..." The crowd cheered even louder, while the announcer found himself momentarily at a loss for words. And as the crowd's noise reached peak levels, the purple mare found herself unable to withhold a smile. Silver had legitimately earned his victory today, in more ways than one, and the studious pony felt she had learned something from all this... ---------------- Dear Princess Celestia: Today I got to meet an old friend of Azure's, Silver Espada. It turns out, he's completely unable to see, and relies on sonar magic of sorts to get by. I had my doubts about his ability being close to Azure's when I saw the two up to their old tricks (from what I gathered from the colt himself and the others), but after his performance at the triathalon, not only being able to keep up with Azure and Applejack, but being able to swim and even save them when needed...I was completely wrong. Just because your friend is disabled doesn't mean they need to be treated as such. Silver's lived his whole life being blind, but it clearly hasn't affected his ability to live. They can still be dependable ponies when you need them the most! Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle ---------------- The rest of the day passed without much further incidents. There wasn't enough time for a big party, but Pinkie particularly insisted on it anyway. The sun was starting to set, and soon it would once again be night. The two colts, the headband wearing Azure Courage, and the blind Silver Espada were on their way to the train station after the mares got to say their goodbyes. "You sure have some great friends," said Silver. "Yeah," Azure responded with a small nod, "Though they can be a hoofful sometimes." And draw the wrong conclusions... "Hey, sorry about the arguments with Twilight," the blind colt said, turning to him, his shades still with the custom fit from earlier. "Never seen somepony react like that to me being blind..." "It wasn't that you were blind, Silver," the cyan unicorn responded, "It was the fact you were blind and doing the same stuff they know me to do. Anyway, she and I argue...a lot, but we're still friends..." It was easy enough for him to admit. She didn't seem to have any real issues with him unless he was up to something dangerous. "Yeah, they are all one-of-a-kind..." the blind pony observed. After silence reigned for a few seconds, Silver turned to him, looking as though he were gazing straight at him. "So which one do you plan to date?" Azure stumbled, the weight of Silver's words causing him to lose all motor skills for about five straight seconds, during which he eventually fell over. The blind pony raised an eyebrow to this reaction, having heard the whole thing. "W-what are you talking about, Silver?!" the cyan colt asked, getting back to his feet, caught completely off-guard by the question. "We're just friends! I don't plan on asking any of them out!" "So you're saying you don't have feelings for any of them?" Against his will, memories began returning. When he'd first met Applejack, he could have sworn she had been about to--and then she'd fallen on him when she was that tired...and then of course, there was Twilight hugging him out of nowhere after Trixie had split town-- "N...no..." "You're a horrible liar, Azure..." Silver said, picking up the pace. "What makes you so sure?" Azure picked up the pace, the two colts almost to the train station now. "Well, I have a few reasons for that..." the dark blue colt responded. "First of all, I specialize in sound magic, and I have sensitive ears on top of it. I could hear your heartbeat speed up just a little when you said no." "Wait, you heard my heart beating?" He hadn't even been aware his heart had sped up when he had those recurring thoughts. "It's something I taught myself to do recently," Silver said. "Ok, so you've also learned to be a living stethoscope which can let you see what others really feel," The cyan unicorn responded, now feeling uncomfortable. "Any other reasons?" "I can't say how different they are around you since I wasn't alone with any one of them without you around, but a pony's heart doesn't lie." "Now you're sounding like Rarity..." "Well, she's right," Silver said. "For instance, when Twilight was arguing with her, I noticed her heart wasn't into it. When Virid and Crimson or other ponies argue, their heart rates alter just a little bit. Her heart rate was slightly different..." "Wait, whoa, you think Twilight likes me?" It was infinitely harder for Azure to ignore the hug she'd given him after the whole thing with the ursa. "T-that's just...no...we're just friends..." "Well, maybe I'm wrong on that," Silver continued, and once again silence reigned. By the time the blind pony spoke again, the two were up on the platform, waiting for the train that would take the visitor home. "But then, tell me, why'd you flirt with Applejack." Azure heard the sound of glass shattering and he wasn't sure if it had come from him or if he'd lost control of his magic momentarily and broke a window nearby. His jaw nearly hit the ground and he stumbled again. "Okay, I wasn't flirting with her!" the colt protested, at a louder volume than he wanted. When other ponies turned to look, Azure flinched slightly, but continued anyway. "I was just trying to let her know I'd give her help if she ever needed it..." "Words are powerful, Azure," Silver said, turning to him directly. "What you say and how you say it can have a big impact on somepony. You might not have meant it that way, but Applejack certainly thought you did..." "Wha--?" "Her heart rate jumped up..." "We were racing," Azure bluntly stated. "Of course it was abnormal." "Whatever you need to tell yourself, Azure," said Silver in response. The cyan colt was just about to argue again, when the train's horn blasted his thought process away. The blind pony, in response, immediately began walking to the platform, Azure following. "Azure, life has a funny way of throwing you curve balls. Take my word for it." Silver said, removing his shades with a levitation spell and turning to him. They revealed the same non-functioning eyes that the others had found so intriguing. "From what I heard from Crimson, you didn't even come here looking for friends, and though six of the seven happened to be mares, you have new friends now all the same. Maybe you don't think of them that way, but did you ever think they thought that way about you?" The memory of the awkward moments he'd had up until then refused to leave his mind. Twilight's hug, Applejack's blushing back at the foot of the mountain, Rainbow Dash...Fluttershy... Azure was struck silent. Was he really that oblivious? Could Silver...? "It's up to you if you want to believe it or not," Silver said as the train came to a stop, replacing his shades as he turned to prepare to board. "At least take the time to notice how they act when they're around you..." "Hey, what about you?" The cyan colt asked, suddenly curious. The blind pony stopped. "Have you found anypony like that since I left?" Silver slowly turned, his pale eyes once more concealed by his shades. "Maybe..." The dark blue male unicorn smiled, walking into the train. Azure followed his friend until Silver took a seat inside, and stood outside the window while Silver appeared to look at him through the pane. "Well, aside from the argument and the rock slide," Azure said, breaking into a grin. "It was fun, Silver, glad you came along." "Heh," Silver said. "Yeah, it was. Maybe next time we'll see what other trouble we can get into." The two old friends shared another laugh, capping off the visit as the train's horn blared again. Azure remained at the station to see the train retreat into the sunset, and as soon as he lost sight of the train, he began to go back home. With a sigh, he began considering his blind friend's parting words. Could Silver be right...? I mean, sure, they're mares, I'm a colt...but did I say too much without realizing it? A blush unconsciously coated his cheeks. And...do Twilight and Applejack...? And Fluttershy too...? Rainbow...? Have I really...? Azure Courage trotted his way home, his head full of uncertainty, doubt, and embarrassment as he considered what exactly he might have sown... Now that he'd known them for longer than a month, could all his friends really have feelings for him after getting to know him...? The colt hadn't even considered the possibilty, but now that Silver had pointed it out, he found himself unsure...