//------------------------------// // Love at First Sight? // Story: Snowdrop's Very Special Somepony // by ZomBrony //------------------------------// It was the first week of Ponyville's very first Winter. Snowdrop, usually such a quiet little filly, often depressed even, was still extremely excited about discovering her talent and making this wonderful sounding season even better for all those who admire it. She was sitting up on her cloud, making some more snowflakes and so enthralled in her beautiful work that she had lost track of time. She hears the loving voice of her mother remind her that school will be starting soon and swoops down from the clouds on the path she had memorised so well. Chestnut, being the shy little colt he was, was walking home from the Golden Oak Library in Ponyville once again with a new book. Bundled up with his winter scarf, he rushed quickly home as he remembered that school would be starting soon. Snowdrop was in such a rush that she didn't even remember to throw on some winter clothes. But it was okay.. In all her years spent meditating on that beloved cloud, she had gotten used to the colder temperatures of this time of year. (Still..) She thought. (Ponies will probably make fun of me for not wearing anything..) She sighs and slows down her flight. Might as well prepare herself for the bullies.. Another thing the filly had discovered throughout her time of meditation.. And due to her blindness of course, was a heightened sense of feeling.. And hearing. She felt eyes on her as she landed in the cold snow. As always, ponies watching her made her feel uncomfortable.. But feeling her lovely creation on her feet was enough to cheer her up anyway. Chestnut watched her land gracefully in the snow, just feet in front of him. He kept walking home, knowing he would walk by her. She heard him now too. The soft crunch of snow beneath his hooves. "H-hello? I hear you.. Where are you?" Her voice is just as small and delicate as her appearance. Chestnut was surprised. Surprised that she was asking where he was. (What? Is..is she blind?) he asked himself, too shy to answer her. "Um.. Hello? I-I need to get to school so I don't have long.." She says, just as timid as before. Perhaps a little scared. "Y-y-you...c-can’t s-see me?" Chestnut asked, his voice cracking as he spoke very softly. "Aww.. You sound sweet. But.. N-no, I can't.. I'm naturally blind." She answers him, trying to look in the direction of his voice. Chestnut watched the ground as he walked. "O-oh..I...I'm sorry. My..my name is Chestnut.. Wh-who are you?" He asks shyly, his voice wavering. She smiles, unable to get over that adorable little voice. "My name's Snowdrop. You don't have to be so shy with me, Chestnut.." She says sweetly. "Believe me, I've been through a lot and hurting somepony's feelings is the last thing I'd want to do." “Sn-snowdrop? That’s...that's a nice name." Chestnut says. "Why...why have you been hurt?" he asked, gazing at his surroundings. She sighs and looks down. "Why do you think..? Nopony ever likes somepony to be different. You think knowing that I'm blind would make them feel bad for me.. But they make fun of me for it.. And beyond that, they make fun of me for being so shy and quiet.. They think I'm some kind of loner and that there's something wrong with me.. I don't know why.." She says, finishing. "Oh..I..I understand. Everypony picks on me..just because I’m so small." Chestnut said, gripping his book tighter under his fluffy wing. "Ponies can be so cruel.." Says Snowdrop with another sigh. "You should run along, Chestnut. This little conversation is slowly making both of us late." She tells him, hesitantly starting to walk away. "O-ok." He says with a sad sigh, his voice not quivering as before. Snowdrop stops. "Hey.. Don't be like that. You've found a new friend in me, Chestnut. I'm just looking out for you. Do you want to sit beside me in class when you get back?" She asks, again attempting to look at him so she could give him a smile. "Sure..but..I don't think we will be in the same class. But..if we are..then I would love to sit with you." Chestnut said. "And..thanks..you're...you're the first pony to say that." he said as he walked away, smiling. "Wait! Why do you think we'll be in different classes?" She asks him, her eyes following his hoofsteps and voice. Chestnut stops, looking back around at Snowdrop. "W-well..I don't know. I just moved here." He explains. "It's...it'll be my first day there." "Oh.. I see. I should have explained this to you sooner.. Have you ever gotten a tour of the "school"?" She asks. "No..not really..but I'll be there tomorrow." He said smiling. She chuckles. "Well that explains it. You've at least noticed or been told that it's not very big, right?" “Yes..yes I have." Chestnut admits. "But still, I am not real sure. I..I hope I get to be in your class." He says. "N-now..if you don't mind, this weather is..*sneezes* I believe g-getting colder. I r-really need to get home." Chestnut adds, starting to shake from the cold wind. "Right. Sorry for delaying you. I.. I just like to.. Umm.. I guess it'd be called teasing.. I was purposely distracting you from what I really want to say because I like you. Our school isn't exactly what one would consider a school. It's a school /house,/ so there's only one classroom." She finally says, smiling at him. "So we can sit beside each other no matter what. S-sorry to drag this on. It is getting colder, you're right. So hurry up please. Sorry again.." She says, blushing a little and feeling bad at the same time. Chestnut looks at her, slightly confused. "R-right. W-well I w-will see y-you tomorrow th-then. Have a g-good evening!" He called, starting to quickly walk away now as he began to shiver more. (Wait..) She thinks. (Didn't he tell me just a moment ago that he was at least going to school today?) "O-oh well.. See you later, Chestnut!" She calls after him, hurrying to class. (What did I say? Tomorrow? Oh!!! It's today!!!!) he thought, running now to the school house. Snowdrop was disappointed and confused as she took her seat. But at least nopony decided to sit beside her.. She hoped it would stay that way. The school bell rings just as Chestnut sees it come into view. (Oh no!! I'm late!!) he thought as he ran quickly up to the door. (Oh.oh no...I...I couldn't..I..I have to.) he thought. Knowing he would have to enter in front of other ponies, Chestnut knocked nervously, his hoof shaking. The teacher was about to start her lesson when she heard the erratic knocking on the door. With a smile, she says to the class; "Ah.. There he is." She opens the door for him and gestures to the class. "Class, meet our newest student, Chestnut. He's new not only to our school, but to the town as well. So please, be nice to him. Take your seat, dear." She says, smiling. Snowdrop looks up from her desk, with a big smile on her face. (Oh, he did make it! I'm so happy to hear him.) She thinks, relaxing a little. Chestnut walks awkwardly in, keeping his head low as he quickly walked in and looked for a seat. Spotting Snowdrop and an empty seat, he moved quickly there. Murmurs and hushed conversation could already be heard around the classroom as he made his rough entrance. Too nervous to even close the door, Snowdrop noticed. Hearing the wind whistling outside. "And I must warn you, son.. You were able to get away with it today since you were late, but tomorrow, We would like you to introduce yourself to the class. Try to be one time, okay?" The teacher says, looking right at him. "And as for everypony else.. Welcome to your third day of class! You'll probably all be happy to hear that the silly introductory activities are finished now. And I know.. You've already all learned your A, B C's but we need to review for the younger students. We'll start a new subject soon, don't worry." Chestnut sat in his seat, shuffling uncomfortably as he felt the stares of several ponies on him. (How did I forget that class started today? I was ready for it...I was excited..when did i forget?) he questioned himself. Snowdrop whispers to him, feeling the tension; "Don't worry about them, Chestnut. You'll always have me and I can make you forget everything those mean ponies say." Chestnut let a small smile come to his lips. Whispering back; "Thanks..that...that means a lot." Feeling more comfortable now, chestnut at still and listened to the teacher as she spoke mostly to the younger ponies. Snowdrop smiles as well. She may be unable to see his smile, but she can hear that he feels better already and knowing that he's happy makes her happy too. "No problem, friend." She responds, wondering about what she could do as the teacher focuses on the younger ones. She knew the work would be more difficult for them, but it could take forever for the teacher to help all the younger ponies and she never handed out assignments until she makes it to you. Kind of counterproductive when you think about it. Chestnut sat, listening intently as he went back over stuff he knew with what the teacher was saying. (Hmm..I wonder what kind of books they have.) he thought, his mind wandering off of the teacher. Snowdrop listens to the teacher drone on about all these things she already knew and practically falls asleep when, suddenly, the bell rings. "Oh! Is it time for recess already? Goodness, time flies! Sorry, seniors. I'll get to you after recess. Have fun now!" Snowdrop snaps right out of her sleepy trance at the announcement of recess. "Ooh, Chestnut! Do you want to go outside with me? I'll do whatever you want to." She says happily. "Y-yes..sure." He said, his shy tone back in full. Snowdrop giggles. "Come on now, what did I tell you? But.. Are you sure you won't to go outside? You seemed really cold earlier.." She says, thinking about this carefully. "S-sure..I-I've warmed up s-since then." He stuttered out nervously. "Oh calm down, Chestnut. I already told you I won't do anything to hurt you.. I understand that you're shy, but can't you trust me?" She asks, suddenly feeling [and sounding] hurt without even realising it. "I-it's n-not you." He said, his voice quieting down to almost a whisper. "I-I..I don't l-like cr-crowds." Chestnut admitted. "Well like I said.. We don't have to go outside, you know. Sometimes I just like to stay in and read." She says, smiling. Nearly grinning as she anticpates his asking how. "R-reading?" He asked, looking up at her slightly taller frame. "Th-that sounds..like fun." He said, his voice not quivering as much. "Well I always enjoy it. Like I said.. I can get bullied a lot here, so I often prefer it. Do you like reading?" She asks as she gets out of her desk. "Y-yes..I love books." Chestnut smiled, his voice returning to normal. "Oh, that's great to hear! I can see us being longtime friends already." She says, smiling again. "I-I'm glad you feel.. Comfortable with me." She says, that same little blush returning to her cheeks. Chestnut smiled. "B-but..wait..h-how do you...how do you read?" He asked. "That's not something many ponies know, eh? It's called braille. Basically, they're little bumps that we can read with our hooves. Every bump is made out of a bunch of smaller ones and there's a different amount of smaller bumps for every letter." She explains. "And yes.. It can be very difficult to learn." She adds on. "Oh...that's...that's really cool. I've never heard of Braille before." Chestnut said, smiling brightly as he talked with snowdrop. "Isn't it? I thought so too when Mommy started teaching me it." She said, smiling back. "So.. Ms. Windith mentioned that you're not from here. Where did you come from, Chestnut? And.. I-if you don't mind me asking.. Why?" "Well..I am originally from the northern part of equestria. We didn't live in a specific town or city but rather in the country. My mom..she wanted me to go to school so...we moved here this year." Chestnut said. His voice quivering slightly as he spoke of his parents. "I see.. That's a long journey to make. I'm kind of surprised they don't have any closer schools.. Maybe they do and your parents just didn't know where it was. But.. A-anyways.. I'm from Cloudsdale which isn't too far at all. It's actually suspended just above Ponyville.. I think. I can't exactly see the ground. Hehehe.. I do know we live near the edge though. There's not other houses nearby. Or at least not ones that I can hear." She did kind of notice a change in his voice, but she didn't want to pry. She never really had any friends aside from her mother and the Princesses.. She didn't want to risk this one. "Th-that's nice...so..is..is Cloudsdale different than Ponyville?" Chestnut asked. "Well.. I.. I guess. I don't really spend much time in Ponyville. Everything is made of clouds for one.. And the ponies there seem to be a little.. Umm.. Condescending to Ponyvillians or just.. Earth Ponies in general. And they do have that weather factory I always hear about. I can't say, really." She says, giving him the best response she could. "Sounds..fascinating." he said, dreaming of cloud made structures. "I'm sure it is.." She responds, smiling sadly. "Is..is something wrong?" he asked, snapping out of his dream filled world. "Well you know I can't see it.. That can be a really painful reminder sometimes.. Cloudsdale is supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in Equestria and I'll never be able to see it.. Even though I live there.." She explains to him, suddenly noticing how close they were and hugging him. Chestnut jumped at her touch, the hug unexpected. "O-oh..I'm so sorry..I..I forgot." he stumbled out. "It's okay.." She whispers, hugging him tighter and trying not to cry. Chestnut sat there, awkwardly holding her and patting her back gently. "I-it's o-ok." he repeated. Snowdrop stays silent for a moment, trying to think of the right thing to say. "W-well.. I-it is with you.." She says shyly, resting her head on his. "Th-thanks?" Chestnut said, unsure of what was meant. "S-so..whats..whats your favorite book?" He asked, changing the subject to try to comfort her. "Hmmm..." She opens her eyes and loosens her grip as a start, but she really didn't want to let him go. "Ooh! Probably Brighthoof!" She suddenly exclaims. "I love her books!" "Hmm..the action books..I like them!" He exclaimed happily. "Yeah, they're so cool!" She agreed, too distracted by her childish excitement to remember she was hugging him a moment ago and really liking it. "Yeah! What..whats the last one you read?" Chestnut asked, pulling a book out from under his wing. "I think it was actually a nonfiction.. And not intended to be action packed at all.. I was visiting the Princess and I stumbled upon this book of legends. I can't remember what it was called.. But I remember the story. It prophesied about Nightmare Moon.. Have you ever heard that storey? "Nightmare..moon? No..what is it?" He asked, his curiosity strong. "Well it's supposed to be just an old mare's tale. But the story was so convincing. It told about how, in the very beginning, Celestia and Luna co-ruled just like they do now. But then it went on to explain that Luna got jealous of Celestia's popularity and turned evil.. She tried to bring eternal darkness upon Equestria and got banished to the moon for 1000 years." Snowdrop said, summarising the story for him. "Wow..that sounds..intense." Chestnut said. "So what happens next?" "Well.. That's where it gets scary. After the 1000 years, Nightmare Moon is supposed to return to Equestria to complete her task. It's.. Odd that this story involves the Princesses though. I've talked to the them before.. Both of them. And Luna doesn't sound evil at all. Why do you think they wrote something like this?" She asks. "I..I don't know. I've never met either of them..I've heard a lot about them though." Chestnut said with a sigh. "I'd love to be able to meet them." He said, hoofing through the first few pages of his open book. "Mmm.. I'm sure they're beautiful mares. I know for sure that they're nice though. Maybe I could introduce you to them.. You see.. I-I'm pretty good friends with Celestia. She watches over me a lot and I'm sure she'd be happy to hear that I've made a friend. With Equestria's newest citizen at that! Would you like that, Chestnut?" She asks happily. "Wow! That..that sounds like it would be awesome!" he exclaimed. "Do..do you think they would?" "Well of course they would! Like I said, I'm good friends with Celestia. She'd be happy to hear about you. She's.. Almost like a second mother to me. And they obviously know about you, the Princesses look over everything. I'm sure they;d be happy that you found a friend so quickly too!" She says, getting rather excited herself. "That sounds-" Suddenly the bell rings, signalling that play time was up. "O-oh..Well..maybe we can talk about this later." He said shyly. "Well we could talk about in class too, silly! Don't tell me that you actually need to learn the alphabet again.. Do you?" She asks, actually starting to think about it. "I..I shouldn't..but..I..I don't wanna get in trouble." Chestnut said. "Aww, you sound pretty cute when you stammer." She comments, smiling. "But fine. You do make a food point.." She says, taking a quick peek at his work to get an idea of what they were doing and repeating him. Mrs. Windith makes her way closer to the centre of the class, where she can address most of her older students. "Alright, everypony! S-sorry for getting so distracted with the little ones.. Ehehe.. But umm.. Oh yes! As you have all already learned your ABCs, and I can see that /some/ of you still wrote down my notes anyway, it's time to start a new subject! We'll be starting with numbers and basic math. Now all of you can count to ten, right?" Snowdrop sighs and puts her face in her hooves. "Oh brother.. What fun our schoolyear will be, Chestnut. Yes, Mrs. Windith! 1.. 2.. 3.. 4....." She goes on. Chestnut smiled shyly at Snowdrop as she spoke. Watching, listening, nodding and answering when called upon. The day drones on, all of the older ponies learning their numbers all the way up to 100. Something that finally actually was new to her, but still. She quickly caught on that it was still just the same thing over and over again. Bored nearly to sleep again in that day, Mrs. Windith finally announces that they've finished their numbers for now and it was time to move on to math. They would learn addition and subtraction with numbers 1-10. And would soon be doing more than that as well. Snowdrop brightens up at the introduction to something truly new and actually really enjoys doing her math until the lunch bell rings. "Woah.. Is it lunchtime already?" She asks nopony in particular. "Wow.. Math is fun! How are you doing, Chestnut?" Chestnut was looking at his desk writing something down. "Hmm? *drops his pencil* What was that?" he asked. "It's lunchtime! I asked how you're doing with your math." She repeats herself, smiling at him. "O-oh..its..somewhat new." he said casually, pulling a small sandwhich from his saddle bag. "I know some math from reading so much..b-but..not alot." "Hmm.. Learning Braille, you'd think I know math too.. But I don't, really. It's really new for me and I love it!" She exclaims happily, pulling out her saddlebag as well. "Hmm.. I wonder what mommy made for me today.." She says, looking at it on her desk. Chestnut asked, peeking over at her desk. "Ooh! Looks good." he said, smiling at her. "I think you'll love it." "My saddle bag looks good?" She asks, chuckling. "I do love it quite a bit, thank you." She says, still smiling as she pulls out a paper bag from her saddle bags. Chestnut blushed slightly. "Y-yes..It matches your coat very well." he said, looking back to his small lunch quickly. Snowdrop giggles a little more and pulls out a small container. "Ooh! Another salad! Oh.. A-and thanks, Chestnut. I'm sure mommy took great care picking it out for me. I never knew that before.." She said, sounding touched. "Mmhmm." he said quietly with a nod, his cheeks burning. Carefully reaching out, Snowdrop touches Chestnut's arm. "H-hey.. Can I ask you something?" She says, her hood still against his arm. Chestnut looked down at her hoof, then up to her sincere face. "S-sure?" he said nervously. "I-I realise we've just met.. And that you're a really shy little colt.. But I think I really like you. I've already learned that you like to follow the rules.. But.. But I want to propose something that's kind of against them.. Hear me out?" She asks him, nervously and quietly. "Mmhm.." He said, his voice getting quiet. "Well it's nothing too serious.. We don't even have a seating plan. But.. I..I just want to move our desks closer. When I reached over like that earlier.. I wanted to pat your back. Not just touch your arm. I never realised how far apart the desks are.. Could you? Err.. W-we?" She asks, feeling herself blushing. Chestnut sighed with relief, thinking she was going to ask for something worse. "s-sure." he agreed, sliding his desk closer to her desk. Snowdrop lets out a sigh of relief as well. "Whew.. I'm.. I'm really glad to hear that, Chestnut. I guess I did over exaggerate that a bit, huh? I.. Just wasn't sure how serious you are about these kinds of things.." She explained, feeling kind of bad. I-it's ok." he said softly, touching Snowdrops arm. "I-I..just d-dont like attention b-brought to myself...really." He added, his voice dropping quieter as he finished speaking. "Well you don't seem to mind my attention~" She says, chuckling. "But I know what you mean... You don't like the bad kind of attention. I'm like that too.. " She says, sounding like she wants to say more but not doing so. "Y-yeah..i-its just..I..I...uhm.." he started but stuttered, unable to finish his statement. “It's okay, Chestnut.. Just take your time." She says, stroking his arm then leaning back over to pull her desk closer as well, and start eating while he collects himself. Chestnut took breath as he looked at his half eaten food. "I-it's j-just I...k-kind...*inaudible mumbling*" "Oh, don't worry about telling me yet, Chestnut. I think I know what you're trying to say anyways. Just take your time." She repeats, keeping her unseeing eyes trained on him as she eats her salad. Chestnut looked down at his food, taking a small bite slowly. "Mmm.. Shy ponies like you going quiet are one of those things that really make me wish I could see you." She said, stroking his back as she had wanted to before. It was what both Celestia and her mother did for her when she was upset.. Chestnut shivered at her touch. Looking back at her, he smiled. "Mmm.. D-do you like that? I kind of feared it might be a bit too much.." She says, starting to pull away. "No!" he said quickly, grabbing her arm gently. "Er...I..I m-mean..n-no?" Chestnut said, his face burning red as he let her arm go. Snowdrop smiles. "I'm sorry.. I'm just.. Pretty flustered myself. I'm just like you. You're the first friend I've ever had and I've never felt like this about somepony before.. I just.. Want to be with you. It's weird.." She says. "Err.. N-not in a bad way! I.. I just..." She sighs. Chestnut laid his head down. "Y-you know..y-you're really pretty." he said very quietly. “Oh! Y-you think so?" She asks him, blushing a little more. "Only the adults have ever told me that.." She said, getting kind of quiet herself. Chestnut was quiet the rest of the lunch period, eating his small lunch. Snowdrop led herself off into a bit of a depression when she didn't hear from Chestnut again. But she didn't say anything because she just felt like it was better that way. Maybe it'd all blow over by tomorrow.. She looks back down to her desk with a sigh as the second bell rings. "Well.. Back to work." She mutters to herself, feeling her way along the page to find where she left off. "Now what was it again.. 6? Yeah.. I think that's where I am.." She "reads" over the instructions again and gets back to work, The rest of the school day dragged on as the class listened to Miss Windith teach through math and reading. Chestnut sat still and listened intently, periodically glancing at Snowdrop. Finally the final bell rang, allowing the young ponies the freedom to leave for home. Having long ago finished all her work, Snowdrop packed up quickly and quietly, and was about to leave when she figured she should wait for Chestnut. She stopped at the door and stepped aside to avoid the stampede of eager ponies. Standing quietly, with her head down. Chestnut walked to the door with his book and saddle bag. Spotting Snowdrop he touched her slightly on the arm. "H-hey..th-thanks for waiting." he said softly. She eeps a little, surprised that she didn't hear him coming. "O-oh.. Hey. I.. I just figured I should.. That's what friends do, right?" She asks, saving herself and smiling at him. She also takes his hoof, intending just to return the affection, but also realising it could mean more and squeezing a little. Chestnut blushed slightly. "Y-yeah..th-thats what friends do. S-so..t-today was fun." he said, starting to head out the door into the cold. "Yes it was." She says, smiling and blushing a little herself. "I wish you didn't live so far.. I'll see you tomorrow?" She asks.