//------------------------------// // Chapter 24: Realization Waterfall // Story: Harmony and Courage: Running Parallel // by SSJRandomMaster //------------------------------// Chapter 24: Realization Waterfall ------------------------------------------------ The days since the run-in with Applejack and Twilight began to blur together. Azure normally would have gotten more excited about Winter Wrap-Up, but due to his conundrum, he just couldn't find it in him. He couldn't even approach Twilight to offer her his usual support like he would have under normal circumstances when she and Applejack argued over the use of magic. It all worked out, however, so at least there was that. Winter gave way to spring in a timely manner--apparently for the first time in years--in Ponyville. However, Azure Courage couldn't get psyched for the ability to freely run about as he would normally. He still had a lot on his mind regarding his situation, and the fact the weather was warm again was the last thing on his mind. However, at least something had come of his increased overall isolation. He was able to think far more clearly about his situation. However, he still hadn't come to a satisfactory conclusion. Which was why he was now waiting at the train station, seeming to wait for something...or somepony. ------------------------------------------------ For what felt like the first time since this spring started, Azure Courage was outside. However, he wasn't out to train his body, nor was he out to see a friend. He had been aware of the hole he'd dug himself into with two mares, and ever since last winter, he'd been trying to dig himself out of it. The warm breeze, the nice temperature, the songs of birds tweeting around as they went about their business...all of that didn't matter to him. He was here at Ponyville's train station now, waiting for an old friend who had warned him things would get like this. With the only other option being consulting Rarity again, Azure decided to see what Silver had to say, as the colt that warned him things would get this bad. He couldn't enjoy the spring as he used to until he could find a way to wedge himself out of the hole. He took a deep breath of the spring air. The fresh scent of spring was still in the air; it had been two weeks since the Winter Wrap-Up. It was always a relaxing scent, and with all the stuff that had been called to his attention since last fall, Celestia knew he needed all the help he could get to relax. A train horn sounded off, breaking Azure's concentration and he released a sigh. "Finally," he observed aloud. "It's been a long time..." He stood up, shaking his legs a little bit to try and restore blood flow to them. He'd left his home and went straight to the train station, lest he run into somepony that knew him. The last thing he needed was another mare to add to his list. The train eventually stopped at the station, and the cyan colt began to search through the crowds filing out of it. He was looking for somepony that could reasonably be expected to get to Ponyville exclusively by train. "What'cha lookin' for?" Azure turned to his side. He only jumped just a little when he saw who it was. It was a familiar face, who had participated in the triathalon a few months ago, and saved Applejack and him with his magic while he was here. It was Silver Espada, Azure's friend from Canterlot. "Well, I was looking for you," Azure responded with a sigh, "Guess you heard my heartbeat again?" "Yeah," Silver said. "But I could barely recognize you from that alone." The two colts proceeded to head for Azure's home, continuing to exchange sentences as they went. "Well, hey, nice to see you again," Azure offered his hoof, and Silver found it effortlessly, meeting it with his own as though he had full eyesight. Which, given his pale irises, he did not have. Silver removed his sunglasses, his horn lighting up dark blue as he did so, setting the shades into his saddlebags, "Been a while...Didn't expect you to rely on Crimson to give me that letter, but hey, it all evens out..." Azure shifted his attention, trying to change the subject for a moment, "I'll explain that later. Why aren't you wearing your sunglasses?" "Pretty much the whole town knows I'm blind after the race, remember?" Silver asked, exposing his unseeing eyes. "No need to keep it hidden while I'm here." "I see...other than my letter, anything new back in Canterlot?" "Nothing really. You already know Virid and Crimson are in the Royal Guards. Other than that, the whole town's buzzing with the news of the upcoming Grand Galloping Gala." Azure's memories of the first few weeks of meeting his friends returned. And with that, inevitably, came the whole memory of what happened when Twilight came across tickets. She'd changed his fur color...and delivered a ticket to him. And, for some reason, they both talked about how they couldn't danc-- Darn it, not now! He didn't want to be thinking about her or Applejack straight away with Silver in earshot. "Would you believe the princess actually gave us all tickets last summer?" "Last summer?" Silver paused, "Talk about getting it done in advance..." Silence reigned for a few moments, and Azure took a few steady breaths to calm himself. It wasn't going to be long before his blind friend would ask why he'd done what he did to get his attention. Crimson was no doubt very busy as a Royal Guard, so delivering that letter to Silver couldn't have been easy for him. The fact he'd done it was a miracle in itself. "Alright, Azure, what's up?" Silver finally asked. "What happened since I was here?" Azure froze. It was time to come clean about the truth. And while he was at it, he'd have to fill his friend in on that dangerous colt... "Silver, I'll tell you everything when we get back to my house. Let me tell you, it gets really crazy..." ------------------------------------------------ "...and that's how everything went down since you last were here," Azure finished. "Jeez," observed Silver, having remained silent since Azure began his explanation. Never in his life did he imagine so much could happen in a such a small town in such a short time. The fact that Azure's personal problems were beginning to pile up was bad enough, but the fact there were those strange ghouls...no, summons, attacking the town and his friends... The blind colt let out a sigh. No doubt about it, Azure picked a heck of a town to move in. "Don't you think you should tell the princess about these attacks?" He chose to address the more serious problem first. "That's under control, don't worry about that," Azure responded. "I'm more worried about that other problem I mentioned." Silver rubbed at his mane. He'd never even considered that Azure's mare issue would have gotten to this point. Now that it had, he was somewhat at a loss. "How could you let it get this bad?" "How should I know?! By the time I finally figured out what was happening, the coffin was half shut!" Azure shouted back as bluntly as possible. Silver could hear it in his voice, probably better than all the mares he'd befriended combined. His voice was distorted, and it was clear he did not like this situation at all. He knew that Azure couldn't live with himself if he wound up hurting anypony else, but the fact he was in a love triangle was making it worse on him. "Okay, okay, Azure," Silver began, already coming up with a solution. "Take a deep breath." The sound of air moving slowly indicated that Azure had done so. "Sorry, Silver, it's just...I don't know what to do. I know I've got feelings for both of them, and I'm sure they both return those feelings. I've been trying to figure out for the last month what those feelings are and who those feelings are stronger for, but I keep running blanks..." Azure's heart beat violently in response to this, and once again he took a deep breath to compose himself. Through it all, Silver could only consider how lucky Azure was to have Rarity as a confidant in the winter months. If he hadn't, he'd either still be clueless, or the pony before him would be an entirely different colt. But talking it out alone wasn't solving anything. Silver knew what he had to do then and there. "I'm curious, what do you see in them, Azure?" Silver asked. "What do you mean?" Azure questioned in response. "What about them stands out to you?" The blind pony kept his voice level and clear the whole time. He was able to see without seeing, but he had to give Azure the perfect impression in order for it to sink in. It just so happened that way. "I mean, they seem like any other mare to me. Not that special..." Azure's heartbeat increased, and his breathing pattern changed. He was angry...which was what Silver wanted. He knew Azure enough to know that whenever he was worked into an absolute frenzy over something... "Are you kidding me?! There's absolutely nothing ordinary about either of them!" He tended to say more than needed. Well, in this case, it was what he needed to say, but couldn't. Probably a stress-induced mental block. "Applejack is a strong mare, probably the strongest you'll ever find; kind and loyal to her friends! She'll do anything to make sure she can help others no matter what the cost!" Azure paid absolutely no mind to what he was actually saying, lecturing Silver without any real structure to his raving. "Twilight may not seem like it at first glance, but she is a great mare to be around. She speaks her mind and isn't afraid to express herself. She holds on to her beliefs and nothing can make her falter, no matter what. She is one of the most talented mares I've ever seen in my life and she's not even the least bit overconfident about it. She actually apologized for her talent on a few occasions! She improves not so she can show off, but to use it when she has a reason to..." "There is absolutely nothing ordinary about either of them!" Azure was breathing heavily now. Silver, however, was undeterred by his friend's rage. That's what I wanted to see... "It's hard to say it when you're conflicted. But it's easy to defend them when another pony speaks ill of them." Silver said with a smile. Suddenly, Azure's "aura" changed. Something that had probably been disconnected this whole time in his mind must have finally clicked together. "Thanks, Silver..." ------------------------------------------------ I may not have discovered what my answer was, but the step I just took toward it was massive. I'll be able to answer both of them soon enough. Though Twilight was the only one that asked me that question... Azure thought to himself. Kinda wish he didn't have to insult them to prove a point, though... Azure's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. The colt swallowed. Ever since hurting Applejack and Twilight in the same day, he dreaded visitors. However, he wasn't called "Courage" for nothing. So, he steeled his nerves, and said the first thing that came to mind, "Well, Silver, there's somepony at my door. I'm going to go and answer it." "I don't need you to tell me why you're so edgy," Silver said. "I'd figured you weren't exactly receptive of visitors given you were alone at the train platform this time and you insisted on coming straight home before telling me anything." "Yeah, yeah, sure," Azure replied, opening the door. When his eyes initially failed to meet with anypony, Azure blinked. Then, he looked down. His eyes met with three fillies, one of which he knew very well as Apple Bloom. The other two, he recalled, she'd befriended due to the common factor that they hadn't yet received their cutie marks. If he recalled correctly, the orange pegasus was a sort of mini-Rainbow Dash, except for the ability to fly. Her mane, tail, and eyes had the same purplish color to them. While she wasn't related to Rainbow Dash in the least, she certainly viewed her as an older sister of sorts. And her face betrayed a look of utter...boredom? Azure didn't get that part at all. If he remembered right, this one was named Scootaloo. On the other hoof, the little unicorn didn't look bored at all. Like Apple Bloom, she seemed interested...in something, Azure was sure. She bore a resemblance to Rarity; if memory served, Azure recalled her as Rarity's younger sister, Sweetie Belle. Her coat matched her sisters, and he could have sworn Rarity styled her mane and tail, because they too had similar fancy curls. However, her mane and tail were two shades of purple: one moderate, one light. Her eyes were green. "Oh, wait. I remember now, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, right?" he finally asked, that last bit of memory returning to him. "Hey, Azure," Scootaloo immediately took charge. "Seen Rainbow Dash anywhere." "I haven't!" Silver called out from behind, sounding incredibly enthusiastic. Azure rolled his eyes, knowing that Silver was referencing his condition again. "I haven't," Azure answered. "Sorry. Been busy..." "Oh. Well, c'mon, Crusaders, let's--" Scootaloo attempted to walk away, back to a wooden cart attached to a...scooter, not too far from Azure's door. "Hold on a minute!" Apple Bloom cut her off, "I wanna hear how Az got his cutie mark!" Azure blinked. Was that why they weren't off crusading today? Because they were asking the others how... "He's gotta have a good story!" Sweetie Belle piped in. Scootaloo froze midstep, and finally sighed. "Fine, I'll listen," she said, turning around. "Alright, guess I'd better listen too," Silver quipped, saying no more than that. Apparently, he was probably saving the joke for later. Once the three fillies in attendance had settled down, Azure breathed out a sigh. "Let's see, where do I start..." Azure began. "It was a normal spring day in Canterlot. I was out with Virid and Blitz. Freegalloping had become part of our routine at that point, and..." ------------------------------------------------ The sun beat down on the three unicorns as they rushed through the streets of Canterlot, leaping past ponies and galloping up the sides of buildings. Crimson, using his speed spell, always seemed to have the edge, but Virid was almost always right behind him. By this point, both of his cousins had earned their cutie marks. Azure was lagging behind them a bit, trying to watch and learn. "Blitz, I'm gonna learn that speed spell of yours!" Virid called out after Blitz as he began to lose ground. "I think I'm the one with the talent for such spells, not you!" Blitz called back. The two continued to argue about each other's marks, both of them eventually promising to fight. Somehow, as Azure followed them, they were slowly beginning to climb, and it was all Azure could do to follow the leaders. At least, until he got up to the roof. Apparently, Crimson and Virid couldn't hold themselves from being competitive in this venture any longer. They'd apparently forgotten Azure was tagging along, and both immediately began to leave their younger cousin in the dust. Azure didn't get to see how they got down, but he watched them recede into the distance. So he was a young unicorn, caught on a roof, and had no idea how to get back down. "Virid, Blitz!" the younger Azure called out, sounding slightly scared. "How do I get down?! I can't get down like this!" The younger colt began to fall into despair for a moment as he couldn't think of a way to get down. It seemed like he'd be stuck up there until his cousins realized he was gone. Suddenly, he heard a loud "bang" in the distance, and saw something amazing. Though it hadn't been raining, and there wasn't exactly one called for in the forecast, a rainbow spontaneously stretched across the sky. To this day, Azure wasn't sure why, but something told him to move. It wasn't a coherent thought. It was more like an instinctual knowledge of how he should get down. Of course, his rational mind told him to stay still. However, he didn't intend on staying there all day. The colt began to call upon his freegalloping skills, and took a leap of faith. By some miracle, he'd landed on an awning for a shop. He bounced off said awning, and managed to redirect his course to another one, slightly lower than that. After that, it was a simple bounce down. The whole time, he'd used the gravity spell to slow his descent enough to where he wouldn't cause any unnecessary damage by falling through things. At the time, he could only use it in very short bursts, but it did what it needed to do. "Now...where...?" Azure asked himself, looking around to see if he could find Blitz or Crimson around. However, as he looked behind him, he saw something he hadn't thought he'd see for a while. His flank was no longer blank. Where the blank cyan canvas was, was an image of a star-shaped light bulb, blue in color. He blinked, trying to figure out what he did to get there... Of course, that was for about three seconds. "I--I did it! I got my cutie mark!" ------------------------------------------------ "Of course, I didn't figure out what it meant until later," Azure finished, "Turns out my talent lies in relying on my instincts, both using magic and my own physical body." "That's why some ponies call him impulsive," Silver added, nodding somewhat as Azure turned to him. He turned back to the fillies. Scootaloo still seemed bored with the whole thing. "That's probably why Rarity calls him that," Sweetie Belle commented. "Instincts can be a talent?" "What about you, Silver?" asked Apple Bloom, "How'd you get your cutie mark?" "Wha--I have mine?!" Silver yelled, clearly joking. "Well, of course you do!" Scootaloo came to life, indignantly pointing out the obvious, "What are you, blind?!" Silver faced the fillies directly. "Yes. Yes I am." The ensuing silence left Azure no doubt that his blind friend would be able to foalsit should the need arise. Even though he was blind, he once again proved he was fully capable. The Crusaders collectively stared, wide-eyed, for a few minutes. Before they could say anything, however, something unexpected happened. "Hiiiiiii everypony!" Pinkie chirped, unexpectedly bursting in from...actually, Azure didn't see how she got inside, and by this point, he'd stopped caring how she managed to teleport herself into places. She caught sight of Silver, and smiled widely. "Silver! You're here?!" "Yeah, visiting for a week," Silver answered with a nod. "Gotta get back in Canterlot before the Gala starts..." Pinkie didn't seem to hear that last part, turning her attention to the foals for a moment, "Azie, I didn't know you foalsat!" "I...don't..." Azure responded, not expecting that out of her. Then again, it wouldn't be Pinkie if she did something fully expected. "They came over here asking how I got my cutie mark, so...I told them." "Pinkie!" Scootaloo called out, "You seen Rainbow Dash?" "You're looking for Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie asked, at first, sounding surprisingly normal. "If I was her, I'd be at Sugarcube Corner. Of course, if I was anyone, I'd want to be at Sugarcube Corner. Hey! I have an idea! Wanna go to Sugarcube Corner?!" "Well, we were going to ask about how she got her cutie mark anyway..." Sweetie Belle said, somewhat at a loss on keeping up with the rambling. "Ooh! While we're on our way there, I can tell you how I got mine!" Pinkie began skipping towards the door. "C'mon, let's go!" She turned to the older ponies in the room. "Hey, Azie, Silver, you coming?" "Just go on ahead, we'll..." Azure released a sigh, "be right along!" "I hope so! The others are going to be there, too!" Pinkie said. "C'mon, let's go!" Azure tried not to be nervous as he nodded and waited for the fillies and Pinkie to file out. Silver walked up to him, and released a sigh. "You're worried about seeing them, aren't you?" he asked, as soon as he was positive the four ponies were out of earshot. "Twilight and Applejack, I mean." "You couldn't understand...after what I'd done, I've tried to stay inside until I could find the answer..." "That's not the Azure Courage I know..." Silver responded. "Sure, you hurt them, but...you haven't even worked up the courage to look them in the eye again?" "It's not that simple, Silver. Whenever I look at them now, I get a knot in my stomach and freeze up." Azure said to himself. It was just one step forward, but he couldn't muster the strength to move forward. It was a situation he knew needed to be handled delicately, and he didn't exactly do delicate when it came to difficult situations. Azure looked to the open door, tormented with indecision. He just didn't know if he could face up to them. ------------------------------------------------ Silver had never sensed Azure this frozen up; he'd heard stories about his fear of chimeras, but he was also made aware of how he stood up to one when he'd spent time with Fluttershy the last time he was here. However, now the normally brave-hearted colt was acting skittish and unsure, afraid to take the chance. For a pony whose talent lay within his own instincts...it was unbecoming. "You know, Azure, for as long as I've known you, you never let fear get in the way...at least, not for long." Silver advanced until he was standing right next to Azure. "You always found a way to break through." "But...it's different. It's a lot more...delicate than fighting a monster or jumping off buildings..." Azure objected. "I don't see that much of a difference," Silver said, dry of any humor. While he couldn't see, he always found a way to get through to the end. "This triangle you're in now, it's just another obstacle fear's keeping you from overcoming. You're afraid of hurting them even more if you do something wrong, but if you let it control you like you have been, you'll only hurt them even worse because of hesitating." "I know that already," Azure responded, shaking his head. He'd already been made aware of this by Rarity, Silver presumed. "Sure, it might be hard to see them, but if you manage to walk up to them, still treat them as you would a friend, but still make it clear you're trying to make up your mind, you can show them you still care." Azure's aura changed again. He was obviously thinking back to something. Silver knew he was on the right track now. "Azure, we all have obstacles to overcome whether we like it or not. Look at me. I'm floating in a sea of darkness with no hope to see light. Yet, I overcame that fear." Usually, Silver made light of his condition, and even around foals if the opportunity presented himself. Yet, he never really referred to it as serious. Azure's presence altered again; it was clear he was thinking deeply about all that. Finally, he chuckled. Nailed it... Silver thought to himself. "When'd you get so deep?" Azure asked. "Who knows, but some ponies say it suits me." The two laughed it off. He could detect some fear in Azure, but he was clearly reassured now. "You know, I'm willing to try." Silver smiled, and the two walked outside. The blind colt heard a subtle click and knew that Azure had locked his door behind him. The two were now walking pleasantly towards Sugarcube Corner, at Pinkie's behest. "So, Silver, how did you get over that fear?" Azure asked. "A certain hardheaded unicorn helped me see I could overcome anything, and I did." Silver smiled and turned to where he knew Azure was. It was clear Azure had been thinking back to that day. Seems like I've worked off that debt, thought the blind pony to himself. Now that that's over... "So...how's Fluttershy?" Azure's presence shifted again. "What?" ------------------------------------------------ Azure and Silver continued to walk. Azure really wasn't sure what to do when he got there, especially if Applejack and Twilight decided to strike up a sensitive conversation. However, Silver was right. He couldn't keep isolating himself from the others over the issue. He'd had a month to think things over, and though he'd only just now taken a big step towards finding his answers, he still wasn't sure if he could answer Twilight...or Applejack, if the question came up. And then, Silver wanted to see Fluttershy. The memory of the two walking up to the starting line returned, and the cyan colt found himself wondering exactly what had happened between them. The colt must have still seemed pretty washed-out to Silver, since the pony in question turned to him. "Still not up for it?" Silver asked. "How about a race?" "Seriously?" Azure questioned. "You know how deep in thought I've been...and need to be..." "C'mon, live a little..." Silver replied. It was clear to Azure that his blind friend thought racing to Sugarcube Corner would cheer him up a little. With a sigh, Azure readied himself. He really didn't want to rush there, but he knew Silver wasn't going to stop asking him to "live a little". His instincts were telling him not to simply run forward this time. However, it was clear he wasn't given a choice. "Fine." A few moments later, paying no mind to where he was going aside from his destination, Azure called out, "Go!" Azure closed his eyes, not even bothering to look forward, as he began sprinting forward. "Azure, watch it!" Silver warned. The warning came too late. Azure banged into somepony full force, causing himself to go sprawling on his rump. He heard something hit the ground, and somepony fall back onto her--Azure could tell from the feminine grunt that it was a her--behind as well. Azure looked up...and was met with a sight he knew he'd have to see today, but was ill-prepared to do so. Twilight was right in front of him, her head down for just a few moments as she tried to gather her bearings. She looked mad...and strangely, she wasn't wearing her glasses. The mare's look quickly changed, however, when she saw who she bumped into. "A-Azure?" Twilight questioned, her look changing into an awkward one, "Um...hello." "H-hey, Twilight," Azure responded, not knowing what to say here other than the obvious. He wasn't prepared for this. "Sorry...about running into you." "No problem...nothing's broken," Twilight was only half-smiling, something which bothered Azure. She looked past him, and then said, "Oh, Silver, nice to see you again." "Likewise," Silver responded with a wave. "So, where are you two heading?" Twilight asked with an awkward tone in her voice that she was failing to hide. "Sugarcube Corner," At this point, Silver took over the conversation. "Pinkie invited us, you?" "Me too!" She said, with a little more enthusiasm than usual. She then met eyes with Azure, and started to blush just a little, "B-but...um, I need to take care of somethng first..." "Oh, okay, see you there, then?" Azure re-took the conversation. "Y-yeah, definitely..." Twilight responded, immediately turning and beginning to walk back the way she was coming. Azure understood why perfectly well. He was about to continue the way, when he saw something. "W-wait, Twilight!" Azure called out to her, activating his magic and lifting the object he knew Twilight had with her when the collision happened. It was a book. It had miraculously avoided damage when it flew out of what the colt assumed was her magic. Twilight froze, turning to him. "Y-you dropped your book..." he levitated it over to Twilight, who took it in her own magic as soon as he realized. "T-thank you," Twilight said, floating the now closed book alongside her as she went back to do whatever she said. Azure smiled, just a little bit, seeing the small success he just had in doing this. "Well, I guess that wasn't so bad," said the cyan colt as he slowly exhaled a breath he'd only now realized he was starting to hold. Azure continued walking, but he realized there was only one set of hooves walking along. He turned, to see Silver appearing to space out. "Hey, Silver, what's up with you?" Azure raised his brow, not that Silver could see it. "I'm not sure why, but I feel like we've been here before..." Silver responded. ------------------------------------------------ The two continued to walk towards the Sugarcube Corner. The little run-in with Twilight had given Azure a bit more confidence; he could tell from the way Azure was walking along. He wasn't dragging his hooves as much, but it was clear he was still nervous. After what happened last time, Silver wasn't crazy about trying to goad Azure into another race, lest he accidentally run headlong into Applejack next. Still...why was that situation before so familiar...? Silver asked himself. I don't think this has happened... Something he'd heard Azure say in his younger days suddenly came flooding back. "Hey, you! Wait up! ... You dropped one of your books!" And along with that, came the situation that it was attached to. Immediately, Silver realized something. "Azure!" Silver said. "Do you remember that day a few years ago?" "Depends, which one?" Azure asked. "The day a filly dropped a book and you picked it up for her? Then she ran away afterwards after trying to thank you?" Azure stopped walking. "Yeah, but why bring it up now?" "Do you remember what she looked like, Azure?" Silver asked. "Think hard." "She was..." Azure paused. However, there was no mistaking the change in his "aura" again. "Purple!" ------------------------------------------------ Azure Courage remembered that day very well. It was a few years before his move to Ponyville. He wasn't sure if it was before or after he'd started following the Mare in the Moon story, but that wasn't important. What was important was this: he wasn't aware of it, but he'd met Twilight long before he even thought about Nightmare Moon. It was an average day in the Canterlot park. The sun was shining, and the day was generally pleasant. Silver and Azure had both been in the park on that day, the former getting the hang of his sound magic and the latter teaching him how to free gallop. His cousins, Virid and Blitz, were also there as chaperones, but they were tied up insulting one another to pay attention to the young colts as they travelled around. "Alright, Azure, I'm ready!" Silver confirmed. The pony was not yet wearing his shades to conceal his blind eyes, but his magic hadn't developed to the point that it had now. His horn was vividly lit up in its dark blue shade (which looked more neutral blue as a result) as he used his sound magic to echolocat the various obstacles. "Ready...go!" Azure called out, and the two ponies rushed forward. Since Silver needed to concentrate on the spell at the time, Azure almost immediately took the lead, bouncing off the various obstacles with some ease. Silver, on the other hand, rushed forward, and clumsily jumped off some obstacles and narrowly avoided running into others. The race was a bit one-sided, as they often were in those days. However, as the colt rounded the corner, with the blind pony gaining, Azure noticed something out of the corner of his eye. It was a filly, about his age, with a saddlebag practically bursting with books. She had purple fur, and a purple mane and tail, styled straight. Both mane and tail had a pinkish stripe through it. Her eyes were closed, but Azure couldn't remember if it was out of strain or something else. He stopped midstep, looking to the mare with a sense of wonder. How many books does a pony need? he thought to himself. The mare continued to drag the saddlebag, not seeming to care about the fact she was carrying more than her own weight in books. At the same time, one of the books that hadn't been properly stuffed into the bag fell out. The young filly didn't even notice the missing item, even as she stepped over it. Azure couldn't have that... "Hey, Azure, why'd you stop?" Silver asked, running past him in the process. "Hang on, Silver, there's something I gotta do. A filly just dropped her book and I gotta get it back to her..." Azure responded, moving to do just that. He picked up the book with his magic and called out to the bookish pony: "Hey, you! Wait up!" The mare froze midstep, and turned around, opening her eyes, which Azure could see were purple. When she saw Azure running towards her, her eyes widened and she didn't seem to know what to say other than a "what?" "You dropped one of your books!" Azure exclaimed, finishing trotting up to her. The mare continued to stare, saying nothing. The colt tilted his head, not getting her reaction. "I--I--" The mare began, sounding meek and unsure of the situation. "Um...Here...I'll put it back in your bag..." Azure didn't understand why at the time, but he began to feel awkward standing there. He did so, and the mare didn't even so much as say a word. "Th-th-th..." The filly continued to flounder about. "Thank...you..." She almost immediately turned tail and ran, miraculously not dropping any books. Azure plopped down on his rump and blinked, entirely confused as to what happened. "Whoa!" Silver called out, "Look at her go..." "Silver, did you see--" Azure wasn't one to remember Silver's condition off-hoof at the time. "No!" ------------------------------------------------- Silver couldn't see anything, nor would he ever be able to under normal conditions. That was what the doctors told him and his parents. However, that wasn't to say he didn't know the expression on Azure's face right now. He was likely stunned, because after he'd realized aloud what color the filly was, he went into a stunned silence for several minutes. He remained perfectly still as he took a trip down memory lane, and Silver took it upon himself to snap Azure out of it. "Hey!" Silver clapped his hooves together in front of Azure's face. "Huh, what?" Azure asked, apparently having all but forgotten where he was; as Silver expected, he had been thinking about that day. "You spaced out on me, you alright?" Silver asked. "Y-yeah, I was just...remembering that day..." He paused, and Silver didn't even need to be echolocating everything to guess where Azure's attention was focused now. "She...she couldn't be the same pony, right?" He's not buying it... Silver thought. To him, it's probably a huge stretch to think that Twilight was that filly, all grown up and with the same feelings as that one...if I have to help him see this too...I will. "Azure, how many other purple unicorns do you know?" asked Silver. "Well, other than that filly and Twilight, none." Azure was using a tone of voice that suggested that he knew the answer was right in front of him, but he was expliclty refusing it. "Don't you think it could be that they are one and the same?" "It couldn't be, I don't remember every detail of that day, so I might just be making some of that stuff up for all we know..." "How many bookworms do you know?" "Just the one--" Azure cut himself off. "But..." "Azure, you know, I just remembered something else about that time." Silver said. It was a wonder how he didn't immediately bring it up afterward. "What, Silver?" "I remember you were talking about that filly for weeks after that day." Silver recalled how often the younger Azure would. He talked in such an odd tone for him at the time that everypony could guess he had a crush on the filly he'd run across, and yet he seemed oblivious to his own actions at the time. "You and I would take that same path for those next few weeks. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now, I'm starting to think it was you trying to spot her again." Azure gasped; he knew where Silver was going with this. "If that filly was who I think it is--no, who I'm sure it is now...then Twilight Sparkle was your first foalhood crush..."