//------------------------------// // Introductions // Story: Blind in Paradise // by Kickass222urmom //------------------------------// Chapter 2 As I slowly came to, I could hear someone talking. Scratch that, I could hear two people talking. A male and a female. When I tried to move, I almost rolled off of what ever I was on. What the... where am I? I thought as I felt the thing I was on. It felt like wooden planks. A bench? Maybe. "Uhhh, hello?" I said loudly, trying not to move to much so I wouldn't fall off of the bench, or what ever it was. "See, I told you he wasn't dead," the male said as he gave a small stomp of his foot. I heard the female sigh in relief, "I didn't say he was dead..." "Yes you did. You practically screamed it in my face." the male said as he laughed slightly. I cleared my throat, "Uhh, excuse me?" "Oh," the male said with a small chuckle, "Sorry about that. What do you need?" "I would like to sit up," I said in a plain voice. "Oh! Of course," he said as I felt two sets of... hands grab mine and help me into a sitting position. "Better?" the female asked cheerfully. I nodded and rubbed my face with my deformed hands. "Like I was saying," the male said, probably addressing the female, "I can't just give you a discount on the clothes, it's against the company's policy. I just work there as a cashier, I'm not the manager." "But," the female responded, "You can still give secret discounts. Come on! You're my brother for crying out loud!" "Excuse me!" I said in a annoyed voice, "But, where am I?!" "Central park," the male answered simply. I gave a nod, Good, I'm still in Manhattan. "Alright, now tell me," I said in a calm voice, "What happened to everyone? As in, why am I like this?" There was a small amount of silence, followed by hushed whispers. "Are you," the male asked, "Umm, are you okay?" "Answer the question," I said in a low tone, trying not to lash out at them. "Well... nothings happened. Everyone and everything is like its always been," the female said in a slow voice. "I'm not stupid!" I snapped, getting tired of how they were talking to me like I'm mental. "Okay, okay," the male said nicely, "We didn't mean to offend you. It's just, well, you're acting strange..." "I'm blind!" I yelled, while at the same time keeping my voice calm. "We know," the female said, "It's just that, you're acting like you don't know where you're at." I put my hands to my face and sighed, "I know where I'm at! I'm in Manhattan, New York!" "Where?" they both asked at the same time. I put my hands down and tilted my head up, "What do you mean, 'where'?" "This is Manehattan," the male said, making a clapping sound, "I've never heard of Manhattan before, or New York." "Yeah, where in Equestria is that?" the female asked as she tapped her hand against something. My right arm trembled slightly, "What do you mean 'where in Equestria'?" "I'm a little worried about him now," the female whispered. "I can hear you," I said through slightly gritted teeth. "Listen," the male said, "We're trying to help you..." "No you're not!" I snapped angrily, "You're talking about selling clothes!" "... No! I mean yes," the female said sheepishly, "But, we were talking about you first! It's just that... we kinda got sidetracked." What is going on?! Why am I a pony?! What is Equestria?! Why do they keep saying Manehattan?! The questions kept piling up inside my head as I sat there in silence. "Let me ask you both something," I said slowly, "What is this?" I then held up my right arm. "That?" the female asked in confusion. "Yes, that!" I growled. "That's a foreleg..." the male said, unsure of how to answer. I shook slightly, "And this?" I pointed to my legs. "Those are your hind legs..." the female said in a slow voice. "And this?" I said, pointing at my hand. "Hoof?" they both said at the same time. I gulped, "And, what's under me?" "A bench," the female answered with a slight snicker. "No," I said, shaking my head, "What's the thing under me?" "Your tail..." the female responded as she whispered something to her brother. "Last question," I said as I pointed at my face, "What am I?" "I already told you," the female said, "You're a earth pony." "No, what gender?" Why did I ask that? "You're a stallion?" the male said in a very unsure voice. "Ah.. I see," I said as I slowly pushed myself out of the bench and onto the ground. "I'll... I'll be going then," I said as I took slow careful steps, trying not to trip on myself again. "Where do you live?" the male asked as in a casual tone of voice "Oh, you know..." I said as my voice trailed off. Am I even in New York anymore? "Wait!" the female said as she and her brother began to follow me, "Let us take you." I shook my head, "No, it's fine. I can find my way around Manhattan." "You mean Manehattan?" the male corrected. "No," I said, still taking slow careful steps, "I mean Manhattan. Why do you keep saying Manehattan?" "Because that's the city we're in," the Female said in a tone that suggested I should already know that. I stopped walking, "Tell me." "Tell you what?" they both asked. "Am I still in the United States?" I asked in a trembling voice. "The United States? Where's that?" the male asked curiously. ... Please, someone, anyone, tell me what's going on! "So, I'm in a place called Equestria?" I said slowly, unsure of my words. "Uhh, yeah. But, that's the name of this country. Like we've been saying, you're in the city of Manehattan." the male said, followed by him whispering to the female. "Can you please stop whispering?!" I snapped as I took another step away from them. "Sorry," the female said quietly. I sighed and shook my head. I then began to slowly walk away, trying to be careful and not run into anything, or anyone. I wish I had Charm with me, that dog could guide me through almost anything. "Wait, please," the male said as he walked up beside me and put a hand, hoof, on my shoulder, causing me to stop walking. "What?" I asked simply. "Just tell us where you live, and we'll take you." I growled slightly, "I don't need help!" The guy chuckled slightly, "Umm, yes you do." "No I don't!" I said through gritted teeth. "Yes, you do," he said as he gave me a small shake, "Because, you're about to walk into a pond." A... pond? "Could you please turn me away from it?" I asked as I hung my head slightly. "I can," he said as he slowly turned me to the right. "Thanks," I mumbled as I started to walk again. "Will you let us help you now?" the female asked as she took a few steps after me. "No," I said plainly. "You sure?" the male asked in a high tone of voice. "I'm sure!" I growled as I picked up the pace. "Well..." they both said slowly. I shook my head and put my left hand forward... only to step on nothing. As in, I put my hand down, but it continued to go downward. I let out a yelp as I fell forward and landed in what felt like ice cold water. "You want some help now?" the male asked. I sat up and crossed my arms, "No..." "Come on," the female said, "Let's help him out a little." A few seconds later, I felt both of them grab my arms and pull me out of the pond. "No!" I said angrily, "I don't need your help!" "Look," the male said as he helped me stand up, "Just tell us where you live, and we'll take you there." I growled, but slowly hung my head, "I don't..." "Don't what?" the male asked as he tapped his hand against the ground. "Don't know where you live?" the female asked curiously. I gulped, If I'm not in Manhattan... where am I exactly? "I-I don't have a home..." I said, still unsure of what I was saying. "You're homeless?!" they both said in shock. Homeless... no! I'm not homeless!... Right? "Not exactly..." I said slowly, "I just don't have a home here..." "So," the female said, "You live in a place called Manhattan, right?" "Correct," I answered. "And it's in a placed called United States, right?" I nodded, "The United States. And correct again." "If you don't have a place to stay, then why are you here?" I shrugged, "I... don't know. I don't even know how I got here..." "Hmmm, interesting..." the male said. "Can I leave now?" I asked, wanting to find a quiet place to think. "Where are you going?" the female asked in curiosity. I shrugged, "I'll find a place..." "Unacceptable!" the male said loudly, "We are going to help you find a place to stay!" "We are?" The female said, followed by a slight grunt, "Oh! Of course we're going to help!" "I don't want or need your help!" I snapped as I gave the male a slight push. "Just let us help you," the female said softly. "I really don't need help! I can do this myself!" "Okay, here's the deal," the male said, "Let us help you, just a little, and if we can't find you a place to stay in a few hours, we'll leave you alone. Deal?" So, if I let them help me, they'll leave me alone? I sighed, If it'll make them leave me alone... "Okay, fine. But you have to leave me alone afterwords, deal?" I heard them whisper for a few seconds before they responded. "It looks like we have a deal," the male said as he grabbed my hand gently and gave it a small shake, "By the way, we never got your name." I sighed and gave a smile, "Travis, Travis McLuck." I heard the female laugh slightly, "McLuck? That's so..." I heard the male shush her, "Heh, sorry about her." "It's fine..." I said as I tried to pull my hand away from the guy. The male continued to shake my hand, "My name is Blue Jumper." I couldn't help but snicker at his name. "Hey," he said in a playful tone, "Our parents named me that because I use to jump around all the time!" "Ah, I see," I said, taking my hand from his. The female instantly took my hand and began to shake it, "I can't believe I never told you my name! It's Hyper Bell!" "I think I know why," I said with a chuckle. "Yeah, I think everyone knows why she's named that," Blue Jumper remarked. "Hey!" Hyper Bell yelled, followed by a few laughs. "So..." I said slowly, trying to get their attention. "Oh!" Blue Jumper said, "Right, we're suppose to help you find a place to stay." I sighed and shook my head with a smile on my face, "You seriously forgot?" "... No..." he said sheepishly. "Should we try our apartment? I think the couple across from us moved out..." Hyper Bell offered. I shook my head, "I would rather not..." "Maybe the set of apartments across from our building?" Blue Jumper asked. I sighed and gave a shrug, "You can try. But, I want the place I stay in to be user friendly." "What?" they both asked in confusion. I bit my lower lip, trying to figure out a way to explain this, "You know, not to many objects that could get in the way, and a ground floor apartment.... I don't do so good with stairs." "Oh, we understand," Blue Jumper said, "Don't worry, we'll help you find a place that fits your needs." "Thanks," I mumbled under my breath as I rubbed my right hand against the other one. "What?" Hyper Bell asked. "I said thanks," I answered a little louder. "Oh, no problem," she said cheerfully, making a few stomping noises. "How far do we have to walk?" I asked as I titled my head back slightly. I heard one of them unfold something, followed by both of them mumbling to each other. "Well, it depends. Do you want to go on the scenic route, or go straight there?" "I'm blind.." I grumbled while resisting the urge to slam my hand into my face. "Jumper!" Hyper Bell hissed, followed by a stomping noise. "Oops, sorry about that... I'm not use to talking to ponies that are..." "Don't worry about it," I said quickly as I raised one of my hands. "Ummm, okay then..." Blue Jumper said slowly as the sounds of paper being folded were heard, "So, straight there?" I sighed and nodded. "Well..." Hyper said in a low voice, "Let's get going!" She grabbed my arm and began to drag me after her. "Bell," Blue Jumper said from behind us, "Be careful with him. Don't cause him to fall, alright?" "Don't worry, Jumper!" she called out, "I'm careful." "You better be..." I mumbled under my breath. "What?" she asked as she adjusted her hold on my arm. "Nothing..." I responded, followed by a sigh. I can already tell I'm going to have to go through a ton of pain before this day is over... I thought, followed by me groaning. Five bucks says the place they're taking me is a dump with high stairs....