Blind
I was blind. I didn't see. No endless black, nor infinite white. Just nothingness. I could feel my eyes open and blink, but it was useless to try to blink my eyes awake. I read avidly, but that was because I had learned a certain spell from the Princess. I could only use it for half an hour before I exhausted my magic reserves, and even then I'd still be color blind. I used it on the rare occasion where there was a book I wanted to read that wasn't in Bridle. But even though I had that spell, I was still completely blind, so I learned to use my other senses to make up for it.
When I met my friends, I took extreme care to memorize their distinctive voices, their identifying scents, but most of all, I learned what their hoofsteps felt like. I listened through the ground to each impact, judging the amount of weight behind each step, and how the ground carried that shockwave to me. I listened to and smelled my friends, but most importantly, I felt them.
--
"Come on, Twilight," my small draconic companion insisted. "Just try."
I glared at him with my sightless eyes before casting a doubtful expression in the general direction I felt another pony approach from. I mentally steeled myself, unsure of whether said pony was even a pony at all. Maybe he or she was a mule, or a donkey, or even a zebra. For all I knew I could be staring at a griffon that would kill and eat me as soon as he or she would greet me.
"Uh... Hello?"
The mare in question replied with a sudden extended gasp, the likes of which I had never thought possible. Her hooves left the ground, making me believe that she was a pegasus mare. But I soon crossed that theory off my metaphorical drawing board, as she galloped off, rather than flew. I cast a useless glance in the direction the pounding of her hooves was coming from, before turning back to Spike with another glare. "Well, that was interesting alright."
A dejected sigh from my scaly companion was the perfect reward. We continued on down the road, with Spike navigating the unfamiliar territory by way of a map. I carefully weaved through the crowds of ponies, all of whom were moving their hooves in some fashion. Had they not been, I'd have rammed square into several ponies because I couldn't feel them through the ground. But I mostly just listened to Spike as he guided me towards our first destination.
"...Sweet Apple Acres!" the mention of the place snapped me from my meditative thoughts. Within seconds, my ears were assaulted by a loud 'Yehaw!' and the feeling of thundering hooves rolling past. I tracked the feminine pony's heavy hoofsteps and shuddered when she skidded to a halt and slamming her rear hooves into a tree. The shockwave made its way through the ground and up my hooves, throwing a wild shiver up my spine. Either this was an incredibly strong mare, or a filly-voiced stallion.
I sighed as I felt a hundred tiny thumps hit a hard surface between their origin point and the ground, making a muffled clatter in the earth. I near groaned, "Let's get this over with..."
I donned my mask of courteousness, making myself at least appear as though I cared. I silently cleared my throat, and began formally, "Good afternoon! My name is Twilight Sparkle."
Not a second after I finished, my front left hoof was plucked from the ground and shaken like an old fashioned well pump. "Well howdy do, miss Twilight!" the mare, I was sure the pony was a mare, answered, "Pleasure makin' yer acquaintance." She did not stop shaking my hoof. I felt my shoulders begin to heat up from the friction of the bones in the socket. "I'm Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sher do like makin' new friends." I could feel her sickeningly friendly and impossibly genuine smile. I don't know how I felt it, but I did, and it very much upset me. But I kept my mask on as best I could, trying not to anger anypony that I'd have to hear around town again. I added a layer of professionalism to my mask, just to be safe.
"Friends? Actually, I–" I tried to say, though my voice undulated from her still shaking my hoof.
She let go, though my hoof continued shaking on its own because of that abnormally long and strong hoofshake. "So," she huffed. "What can I do ya for?"
Spike took a moment to stop my hoof. I glared daggers at him as he snickered.
"Well. I am, in fact, here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And, you're in charge of the food?"
"We sher as sugar are! Wooja care ta sample some?"
"As long as it doesn't take too long..."
I was once again deafened by an incredibly loud sound. The familiar clanging of a triangle resounded through the area, followed closely thereafter by Applejack hollering, "Soup's on, ev'rypony!"
A massive rumbling of hooves rapidly approached. Too many ponies to count were sprinting from various places around the orchard towards Applejack's call, and they seemed to be converging on me. By the time I knew what was going on, I was swept up by the crowd of unfamiliar ponies.
"Now," the now semi-irksomely friendly pony called Applejack started, her voice coming from seemingly nowhere. "Why don't I introduce you to the Apple family?"
-
As we left Sweet Apple Acres, I felt at least twice as heavy as I had been when I arrived. But not only that, I felt even less hopeful that I'd get done with the preparations in time to research more on Nightmare Moon. I didn't like that Applejack pony. She had been far too friendly for me, and had wasted a large chunk of my precious time. I only hoped not everypony in this unfamiliar town was as cheeky and upbeat as her.
"Food's all taken care of. Next is weather," Spike said, checking a box on the list.
"Uuugghh... I ate too much pie..."
"Hmm... There's supposed to be a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds..." By the tone of his voice, there were clouds in the sky, and no pegasi clearing them.
"Well," I huffed, "she's not doing a very good job, is she?"
Something big and fast slammed into my side at incredible velocity, cracking a rib or two, possibly breaking one. All of the air in my lungs was forced from them, leaving me without breath enough to mutter any signal of pain. I landed in a puddle of mud that I had not known was there, with somepony on top of me. I wanted to scream at whoever it was, but I had a feeling that doing so would be a bad idea, so I held my tongue.
She chuckled at me, apparently finding the crash humorous. "Eheheheh, um... 'Scuse me? Eheheheheh." The mare, I could tell she was a mare by the feel of her belly on my back, took flight again, unscathed. I felt powerful wingbeats on my back as I lay face down in the mud, cringing in pain. I very much wanted to scream at her now. "Let me help you."
The sudden absence of her wingbeats sent a shiver down my spine as I stared uselessly upwards. I knew I couldn't see this pony, but I disliked her absence more than her presence. I was soon re-greeted by the now-familiar wingbeats, along with a sudden shift in the air-density directly above me. I looked up, dreading what I thought was going on.
Cold. Icy, wet rain soaked into my muddied coat like a shower. Frigid tendrils of cold reached into me and gripped my bones. My mane flopped down and stuck to my neck. I glared at the pegasus mare with my sightless gaze, hoping that my expression seemed irked enough to make her at least try to salvage her first impression. "Oohoops, heheh... I guess I overdid it. Um... Uh... How 'bout this!"
Dread filled me as her wingbeats above me disappeared once again. I felt the air around me begin to swirl at high velocity, pulling the water from my coat. "My very own, patented, Rainblow Dry!" The wind stopped. "No, no. Don't thank me. You're quite welcome."
I felt my mane expand in what must have been the single most ridiculous poof anyone had ever seen. I glared daggers at the laughing mare that had now assaulted, drenched, and humiliated me, praying that a bolt of lightning would smite one of us dead. At that point, either would work.
"Let me guess," I began, adopting my formal tone. "You're Rainbow Dash."
She shot to her hooves instantaneously, throwing my guffawing draconic companion a few meters away. "The one and only!" she bragged. I could feel the weight of her ego already. "Why? Ya' heard of me?"
Perfect, thought I, I get to burst her bubble.
"I heard you're supposed to be keeping the sky clear," I hinted sarcastically. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and the princess sent me to check on the weather."
"Yeah, yeah, that'll be a snap!" she countered lazily from somewhere above me. She was difficult to pinpoint, as there were no wingbeats to hear or feel. She was probably laying on a cloud that shouldn't exist. "I'll do it in a jiffy! Just as soon as I finish practicing!"
"Practicing? For what?"
"The Wonderbolts!" she gushed enthusiastically. "They're gonna perform at the celebration tomorrow! And I'm gonna show 'em my stuff!"
"The Wonderbolts?"
"Yup."
"The most talented fliers in all of Equestria?" I continued, laying my trap.
"That's them!"
"Pfffft. They'd never accept a pegasus who can't even keep the sky clear for one measly day!"
"Hey!" she growled, voice cracking. "I could clear the sky in ten seconds flat!"
I smirked. She fell right into my trap. You've activated my trap card, I mentally joked. "Prove it."
Soft dull poofs filled the air, from various directions almost consecutively. I could feel the soft explosions of clouds being kicked out of existence, one after another, and the harsh gusts of wind as the pegasus pony jet straight past us. I tracked her movements with my ears, keeping tabs on each puff of dissipating cloud. As I counted, the puffs slowed down ever so slightly, finishing on the precise count of ten with the soft clop of her hooves on the cobblestone bridge a few meters away. I felt my jaw drop.
"Wha'd I tell ya? Ten seconds flat," she boasted, her ego growing just a little more. "I'd never leave Ponyville hangin'!"
I could not respond. I was far too busy wondering how the hay she did it.
"You should see the look on your face!" she taunted, shooting me unknowingly with an invisible arrow. "Ha! You're a laugh, Twilight Sparkle! I can't wait to hang out some more!"
I felt myself deadpan. I'd met another pony that wanted to be friends. I did not like that. Not one bit.
-
"Decorations!" Spike listed off. "Um... No offense, Twilight..."
"No," I huffed, dislodging him from my back. "I understand. It's something that requires sight. I get it."
I sighed in relief, having gotten out of meeting another pony that would probably just try to make friends with me the instant I told them my name. "Where should I go?"
"Last item is music," he informed. "There should be a bird orchestra in the park. You should go check it out."
"Music, huh? Right up my alley."
-
Birdsong filled my ears. Glorious birdsong fanfare, perfect in synchronization and pitch, save for one bird. My heightened hearing made it bluntly apparent that it was significantly off rhythm and pitch. However, I heard a very soft voice whisper something to the bird, and soon, everything was fine and dandy. I sat in the bushes, simply listening to the amazing music that the pony I could hear but not see conducted from them. Either the pony was standing dead still, or was a pegasus with extremely soft wingbeats.
I stepped out of the bush. I don't know why I was so cautious with my steps, nor why I walked so slowly. I just listened to the music and followed it. It was only when I got within a few feet of the pony that I started feeling wingbeats on the ground. I took two more steps forward and wound up directly beneath the pony that I could barely feel the presence of. Whoever this pegasus was, she was note-worthy.
I felt her wingbeats slow as she lowered herself to the ground, slowly inching towards me. I silently gasped and sidestepped just in time for her to touch the ground so lightly that it felt like the twinkle of a star would appear as described by the princess when she read to me. I felt myself staring at her with wonder and awe. I silently cursed my lack of sight.
I accidentally let go of a breath I didn't know I was holding just a little bit too loudly. She gasped suddenly at my presence, and immediately backpedaled a little bit before falling back on her haunches. I felt her begin shivering a little bit.
"Oh! I'm so sorry for sneaking up on you," I quickly apologized. The last thing I wanted was to scare anypony.
She stopped shivering, but I couldn't discern any other movements. I decided to introduce myself, "I'm Twilight Sparkle. And you are?"
She hesitated a bit before softly answering, "I'm Fluttershy..." She almost trailed off too softly for me to hear. I thanked my luck for my heightened hearing.
"I was sent from Canterlot to check on the music preparations for the celebration tomorrow," I informed softly, sitting down. "I wasn't expecting something so beautiful!"
She scraped a hoof along the ground bashfully, the rough scraping of tiny rock bits rubbing against each other and her hoof resonating enough for me to know her precise location relative to me. I shifted my gaze slightly away from her. She muttered a very low 'thank you' that I was sure I wouldn't have heard had I had my sight.
"It's very nice to meet you, Fluttershy," I giggled, unsure of why she was so nervous. "And again, your music was incredible! I can't wait to hear what you do for the festival!"
There was a moment of awkward silence.
"You're blind, aren't you?" she blurted from nowhere. I flinched a little, surprised by the suddenness of the question.
"You're the first to notice," I sighed after a moment. "What gave it away?"
"Well," she started, "your eyes pointed just a tiny bit too far to your left, and Mister Oreal just flew right past you and you didn't notice."
"Well observed, Twinklehooves," I commended, throwing a smile in her general direction.
"...Twinklehooves?" she mumbled, most likely looking at me funny.
"Your hoofsteps, especially your landing from flight," I said, "was so light I almost didn't feel them and I was inches from you."
"Oh..."
"I'm sorry I have to leave in such a rush," I informed softly, "but I have to get to the library to study." I stood up and shook the dust from my haunches. "I'm a bit new in town... Maybe you could show me around?"
"U-um... Sure."
I awkwardly scraped the ground with a hoof. "Could you... maybe... Show me to the library...?"
She giggled warmly, and stood up. She walked towards me and flicked my nose with her tail. "Just follow me," she bubbled.
-
I stepped into the library proper. Everything seemed still about the place. I smelled semi-stale air, mixed with the scent of fresh cupcakes follo– Cupcakes?
"SURPRISE!" the cacophony of a few dozen voices in sloppy unison hit my ears. I near jumped out of my skin in shock. My voice caught in my throat before I could scream. How so many ponies had stood still enough for me to not notice them baffled me. I felt my eye twitch.
"Surprise!" a particularly loud mare hollered over the starting party. "I'm Pinkie Pie and I threw this party just for you!" I felt her bounce in place with overwhelming excitement. I silently wondered what kind of medicines she was or was not taking. "Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh?" She bounced over me like a rubber ball that could control its own movements. "Huh? Huh?"
"Very surprised!" I breathed heavily, my heart still pounding in my chest. I deadpanned for effect, "Libraries are supposed to be quiet."
"That's just silly!" she exclaimed, her joy starting to kill my good mood from meeting the one pony that didn't instantly try to befriend me. "What kind of welcome-party would this be if it were quiet? I mean, duh! Booooring! Ya see-" I started walking away, trying desperately to not bump into ponies, which was much harder because of the multiple interferences from other ponies' voices and hoofsteps. "I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all, 'Hello' and I was all 'HHHHHHHHHHHHHHNNHHHHH!!!' remember?"
I started tuning out her rapid babble, my expression shifting to one of severe annoyance. I sighed heavily, wishing that someone would distract her for me and save my hide. But I had no such good luck. On the contrary; I ran straight into the drink table that I had no idea was there. The table fell forward, the glassware on top flying off and shattering on the hardwood floor. I fell back on my rump fairly hard, but not too hard. I felt the blazing stares of everypony nearby as they looked upon the commotion.
"Y'all alright, sugarcube?" the familiar southern accent of Applejack asked, her roughed up hoof placing itself on my shoulder. I promptly threw it off in frustration.
"I'm fine. I don't need help," I hissed, fuming a little bit.
"How'd you not see that there?" the raspy, unstable voice of Rainbow Dash interrogated. I instantly shot a death glare her way. "Alright! Alright! Jeez! It's not like I'm callin' ya blind!"
My death glare intensified and I felt the strange but tempting urge to pull the pegasus down and tear out her feathers. "I am blind, featherbrain," I growled sharply. I picked myself up and ignored the stares of unfamiliar ponies. I walked around the fallen table and broken glass and the puddle of various party drinks, fuming mad. I felt ponies move when they saw me coming, and I thought them wise.
"W-wait, darling!" a new, very feminine, voice called out as I finally reached the stairs that led to the living quarters. "We're all just trying to be frien–"
"Friends?" I snapped, earning the full attention of every single pony in the library. "Yeah. I'm not here to make friends! I'm here on business, and to investigate the prophecy of Nightmare Moon's return! I don't have time for friends! I don't need friends! I don't want friends! I want to be LEFT ALONE!" I fumed, feeling cold icy hatred boil its way up into my words. "All of you overly-friendly ponies are driving me insane! Inviting me to a family reunion luncheon?!" I glared Applejack's way. "Assaulting me!" I seethed with rage and shifted my death glare towards Rainbow Dash. "Throwing parties in a library!" The knives I shot through my glare seemed to pop the bouncing pony, making her weight suddenly much more tangible in the floor. "AAAAAAAAAAAAUUUHHHHHH!!!!!!!" I turned and started up the stairs, ignoring the confused whispers of unfamiliar ponies.
"I... I think we should leave her alone..." Fluttershy murmured in my defense. My scowl softened some as I realized that she was on my side. I continued up the stairs, a tear of depressed frustration leaking from my sightless eyes.