Through Broken Eyes.

by Collins4112

Eyes

I woke up. It was always hard when I woke up from a good night's sleep. I looked at the clock that sat on the nightstand and decided that I could lie in bed for another five minutes. My pillow and blanket felt soft and so enticing, I could lie here all day, but I had work.

The alarm went off five minutes later. I groaned, and my muscles ached as I rolled out of bed. I put my hooves to the floor. The soft carpet felt good on my hooves. I walked down the hall, passing pictures of the family, and I passed my sister's room. I sighed. I was going to miss Dinky. Her coltfriend had proposed a week before, and of course she said yes. I liked Pipsqueak, her fiancé… it just got a bit awkward when I tried to talk to him, and I stood at least one and a half feet above him.

I made it to the bathroom. I turned to look at myself in the mirror at; my grayish-red coat and sandy yellow mane, and my off center eyes. I tried my daily ritual. I focused and tried to get my eyes to straighten out. I had strato-something or other, the point was my eyes weren't lined up right. Why couldn't my eyes be normal, or at least like momma's, I would think to myself. As hard as I tried my crooked eyes would not budge. I wasn't disappointed though; I knew it was never going to work. No pony knew that I tried this every morning. It would destroy my parents: they were so proud of me that I held my head high in spite of my condition.

I started the shower as I pondered my situation. My eyes had caused me nothing but trouble over the years. Every new pony that met me immediately thought I was stupid or just plain retarded. My momma told me not to listen to those ponies, because they didn't know what a special boy I was. After a while, her comfort had helped less and less, but the insults always hurt. I washed my mane and coat. I turned the water off, got out of the shower, dried my mane and body, and finally combed my mane. My tail was docked so it naturally fell into its strait form.

I heard the shower running in my parent's bathroom, so I knew that my dad was up. I walked into the kitchen. I rummaged around in the cupboards until I found a package of mini muffins. I didn't know why, but I really liked muffins. I started to walk to the table, but I forgot to close a cupboard at head level and I rammed my head into it. Gosh darn it. I really disliked how clumsy I was.

After I held my head for a moment, I walked over to the table and began to eat the muffins.

"Mornin' Carson." My father's deep voice shook me from my thoughts.

"Mornin' Pa." I responded, trying unsuccessfully to make my voice as deep as his. He started to make our morning pot of coffee. I was the only pony of my age, that I knew, that actually liked the stuff. I guess waking up so early required a boost of caffeine. I heard in the other room that my momma had gotten into the shower.

"Ya excited for y'all dance tonight?" Dad asked. "Ah hope Ah don't need to remind ya to treat her right."

"Ah know pa." I said. Dad brought me a mug and I gave him a look of thanks. I took a sip. My pa seemed to know how nervous I was for this dance. I didn't know how to dance in the slightest. We finished our coffee and went to the front door. We put on our winter gear and started to head off to the farm.

In the winter we didn't have near as much to do as we did in the other seasons. All we had to do was do maintenance on the farm and sometimes we made deliveries with the stored apples. It took us a little longer to trudge down to the farm than usual; the accumulation of snow slowed us down. We walked into the farm house to be greeted by Aunt Applejack.

"Ah thought y'all were never going to get here." Aunt Applejack said. I looked at the clock mounted on the wall; we were two behind when we usually arrived. "Now, Carson, the barn is gettin' leaky, the Cakes ordered some apples, and we need to pull the dead branches off the trees. Macintosh we need that fire wood you cut moved to the east side of the house, the Daisy Joe is sick again, so Ah need ya to get her over to Fluttershy's to have her looked at, and the bills came in for this month. Now, let's get started."

We nodded and dad and I went our separate ways off to work. I gathered my tools belt from inside the barn as I surveyed the damage. Water dribbled down from several places in the barn's roof. A drop hit me at the end of my muzzle. I was always the one to go on the roof, and I didn't like it. I suppose that me being a pegasus saved us time, I could fly onto and down from the roof effortlessly, but admittedly I was a bit clumsy- okay, more than a bit- so I was always worried that I would slip and not be able to deploy my wings fast enough.

I unfurled my wings and gave them a good flap to get me started. It only took me a few seconds to get up to the roof of the barn. I spotted a low spot in the roof, which I knew was where most of the water was leaking in. I wiped the snow off the spot, and observed the damage: the shingles were loose. The barn needs a new roof, but it was winter and we'd have to wait for spring to replace it. I took the hammer out of my belt and a nail, and I pounded the nail into the shingle, securing it. I kept doing that a few times, until I reached one of the last shingles. I swung my hammer to secure another shingle, but I miscalculated.

I said a word that started with a F and ended with an uck. Well, said would be an understatement, it was more like yell. I covered my mouth with my hooves, as if it would bring back the word.

"Carson!" I could hear Aunt Applejack yell. I quickly finished my work before she could come to scold me. I was about to fly down from the roof, but Aunt Applejack was already there. "Did ya just yell what Ah think ya yelled?"

I thought about saying no, but that would have just made her angrier. So I tried to say something clever: "Eeyup."

"Don't ya use that tone with me." She yelled up at me. I didn't think I was using a tone.

I guess the mistake I made at that point was that I felt I was safe up on the roof of the barn. So I said: "What are ya going to do about it?"

She didn't hurt me... per se, she merely destroyed my masculinity and my pride. I didn't think she could scale the side of the barn that fast. She had me by the ear faster than you can say Appaloosa. In the end, I apologized and she said that if she ever heard me shout that word again I might not be having kids.

The next job on my list was to make a delivery to Sugar Cube Corner. I was particularly excited to do this job; I was hoping that Pumpkin Cake would be the one to take the delivery. I liked her. I mean, like-liked: she was one of the only mares that wasn't put off by my eyes, and she was nice, pretty, intelligent, and she could bake. I didn't think she liked me as much. I was just a farm worker, who was clumsy, and had crooked eyes.

I hitched myself up to the cart of apples, and started to pull it down the road. It took a bit of effort to pull because of the snow getting caught on the wheels. I got tired of that and decided to fly. I opened my wings and gave a few flaps and lifted it into the air. It was a lot of work, but it got me to Sugar Cube Corner a lot faster. I came to a running landing, and the momentum of apple cart moved me forward a few more feet. I pulled the cart to the back of Sugar Cube Corner, where Mr. Cake, to my disappointment, was waiting.

"Howdy Mr. Cake. Ah got your order for ya." I said, as I unhitched from the cart.

"Thanks, Carson." He paid me. I was about to leave when he spoke up: "I want to talk to you about taking my daughter to this dance."

"Alright?" I asked. I knew this was going to be a one-sided and awkward conversation.

"I love my daughter more than anything, and I want her to have a good time, not a 'good time'." He said. I rubbed the back of my head, trying unsuccessfully to stop a blush. "I know what it's like to be your age, Carson. I know what's going on in your head, and I'm here to tell you, that if you act on those thoughts... it's going to get ugly."

Admittedly I had thought about it before. I was 15 year old stallion, give me a break. I nodded in response to Mr. Cake's statement.

"Now, you're going to get her safely to the dance, have a fun yet responsible time, and get her back here safety right after the dance is done. She is a lady and you will treat her as such. Understand?" He asked. I nodded again. It wasn't like I was afraid of Mr. Cake; it was more I was afraid of what my momma would do if I mistreated Pumpkin, which I would never do. "Now that we have an understanding, she likes tulips, chocolate, and oddly enough action movies." Score. "She's allergic to peanuts. Oh yes, and Pound Cake is coming with you."

I groaned internally. I had a few choice words about that, but I wasn't going to share them. "Alright. Ah'll see y'all later."

I trudged back to the farm. It was about lunch time so I entered the farmhouse. I smelled something good cooking, and I walked into the kitchen.

"Howdy." Aunt Apple Bloom greeted me as I entered the kitchen. I liked Aunt Apple Bloom, she yelled a lot less than Aunt Applejack. Aunt Apple Bloom had a little foal of her own now; her name was Golden Delicious… weird name seeing as she was a little green filly, just like the famed Granny Smith I had heard a lot about. Too bad the relationship that led to her creation didn't work out.

"Howdy. How are ya doing today?" I asked. She looked back at me kindly.

"Ah am fine, how 'bout you?" She asked me back. Before I could respond, Golden Delicious started to cry in the other room. "Can you get that for me, Sugar Cube?"

I nodded and went to a room that was close to the kitchen. I was told this used to be my dad's room, but now it served as Golden's nursery. Luckily for me, the problem was not a dirty diaper. My best guess was that she had woken up from a nap and was cranky. I tickled her on the belly and she stopped crying and started to giggle. The giggle was infectious and I started to laugh too. After a while of that I picked her up in my hooves and brought her out to the kitchen.

"Thanks, Carson." Apple Bloom smiled. "Ya are so good with her."

I put Golden in her high chair that was next to my spot at the table. "Anything for my cousin."

"So Ah heard ya are getting sweet on Pumpkin Cake." I could feel Aunt Apple Bloom smiling even though she was looking away.

"Ah suppose Ah have." I answered. Aunt Apple Bloom placed a plate of food in front of me and Golden. I took a long drink from a glass of water on the table.

"Ah'd suggest you wear a condom." She said plainly. I spit my water into a fine mist, which caused Golden to laugh.

"Wha- it's just a dance, Auntie." I stuttered.

"Ah know. Just take this." Aunt Apple Bloom slid a box across the table. I couldn't help but blush. "Now, ya eat up, ya still have work to do."

"You look fine." Momma told me. It wasn't a formal dance, but I couldn't show up looking like I just came from the farm. "Hold on, you got a little smudge..."

She licked her hoof and rubbed it on my face to clear the smudge. I didn't particularly enjoy my mom rubbing her spit on my face, but my complaints about it were always shunned. So I just let it happen.

"There, perfect." Momma said. "You got your tulip and mints?"

I nodded. It wasn't easy to find a real tulip in the middle of winter, but I did. I decided against bringing chocolate, to avoid coming on too strong.

"Just remember if she wants you to dance, go ahead, and just try to stay in rhythm... Try to be the opposite of your father when it's come to dancing." Momma encouraged, receiving a playful glare from dad, who was standing nearby.

"Good luck, son." Dad said, and patted me on the back with his large hoof. I smiled at him before I left the house. I walked quickly through the cold of winter to Sugar Cube Corner. The store was open so I walked right in. Mrs. Cake was standing behind the counter.

"Hello Carson. Pumpkin will be down in a minute." She smiled at me. "I heard my husband talking to you... I hope he didn't scare you."

"It's fine Mrs. Cake. Ah can respect that he was just looking out for your daughter." I responded. Mrs. Cake gave me a look of relief. At the soft sound of hooves coming down the stairs, I looked over to it hoping that Pumpkin would appear at the bottom, but it wasn't, it was Pinkie Pie. Momma told me that Pinkie Pie used to throw parties all the time. I guess she still did that, but I never went: truth be told, she could be a bit creepy.

"Hi Carson!" She shouted at me. I gave a nervous smile back.

"Howdy." I tried to break off the conversation before it got started.

"So you're going to the dance with Pumpkin?" She asked. I nodded nervously. Before I knew it, she dragged me under the table. "Shhh... Don't tell anypony but I have something that makes parties a million times better!"

I raised an eyebrow. I was expecting her to say 'Me! Pinkie Pie!' but she didn't. "Some really nice pony gave me it he called it, exs-ta-sy. Ecstasy."

That sounded vaguely familiar. I really didn't want anything Pinkie was going to give me, but she handed me a tin; full of little pills that had little pictures of flowers and stuff on them. I didn't know where I was going to put the tin, Pinkie seemed to realize this and said: "I'll put them in your room!"

She dashed off before I could ask how she knew where my room was. I crawled out from under the table just a Pumpkin was coming down the stairs. She didn't look much different than usual, just without the uniform and wearing simple earrings.

"Hey Carson." Pumpkin greeted me. I just stared dumbfounded, "Carson?"

"Oh! Hi Pumpkin. Ya look pretty tonight." I said, rubbing the back of my head, awkwardly. She blushed slightly.

"Thank you." She looked up the stairs and yelled: "Pound, hurry up!"

"I'm coming!" He yelled back down at her. I liked Pound well enough, we used to hang out, but we've grown apart since then. He pounded down the stairs to stand by his sister. "'Sup, Carson."

"Hey." I greeted awkwardly. I gestured towards the door.

"You guys have fun!" Mrs. Cake said as we left Sugar Cube Corner. We walked along in awkward silence for about half the journey to the community center. Ponyville had just built the center with the bits from a recent economic boom.

"So...Carson, how is work on the farm?" To my surprise Pound Cake broke the silence.

"It's work, Ah guess. Doesn't require much thinking, just a lot of force." I responded. "How is the bakery?"

"Well, it gets a bit boring, but Pinkie makes it fun." He said. "So... Have you ever thought about getting those eyes fixed?"

"Pound!" Pumpkin punched her brother in the shoulder.

"Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it." He apologized. I relaxed a little when I saw he was genuinely sorry for what he said, so I decided to let it slide.

We reached the community center, where other ponies around our age were waiting at the door. We waited for a few minutes before Mrs. Cheerilee came to open the door.

"Have a good time, everypony." She called, before we filled into the community center.

Most of the music was from the musical duo of DJ-Pon3 and Octavia. I didn't like the techno music too much, but the other ponies my age did so I put on a smile and pretended to like it. I exhaled a sigh of relief when Pound finally left us alone.

"You having a good time" I asked.

"What?" She yelled over the music.

"Are you having a good time?" I yelled to make myself heard.

"I don't know if the punch has lime!" She shouted. I took a deep breath.

"No! Are you having a good time?" I almost screamed.

"Yeah! I wonder if they'll play a slow song, so we can dance." She said. I nodded even though I really, really, didn't want to dance.

"Alright everypony clear the way, it's the couples dance." The MC announced. I could feel the sweat form on my brow. I didn't protest, even though I wanted to, when Pumpkin pulled me out on the dance floor.

It started off slow. I tried to follow her movements. I thought I did pretty well, because she didn't complain, but then the beat and rhythm picked up. I tried my best to keep up. Luckily the dance didn't last too long, and Pumpkin pulled me aside.

"You aren't half bad." She said. I felt pretty proud of myself at that moment, seeing as I had never danced before. So we continued to have fun until about ten when the party was over.

"You two go on ahead, I'll catch up." Pound called after them. We walked out of the community center.

"I had fun tonight...we should do something else sometime." She blushed which in turn cause me to blush.

"Eeyup." I staggered out. "Ah guess Ah'll take you home now."

We walked on in silence for a little while, my mind running very fast looking for something to say. Something clever, witty, and funny.

"So what your favorite type of cake?" I asked.

"Red velvet. Yours?" She asked.

"Pumpkin." I said before I thought it through. She blushed.

"That has to be the cheesiest thing I've ever heard." She said with a laugh. We arrived at Sugar Cube Corner before I realized it.

She gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "I had a good time tonight, Carson. Call me."

I was stunned yet again as she walked into her house, then I started to stumble off home.

Thank you all for reading. Thanks to my Beta reader.

Comments

[Green_Hooves]

Can't wait to read.

You are currently my favorite author because of how often you update your stories, and of how high quality each chapter is.

I always enjoy reading on of your stories.

[Green_Hooves]

This is great. I think that you would only need one or two more chapters for this. Nothing as long as the other two stories.

The Ecstasy thing was genius, I can't wait to see how it plays out.

Cant wait for more.

[mageli7]

Great story, PINKIE WHERE DID YOU GET THOSE DRUGS?! I know Carson will take them though, I'm not excited about the outcome, but yet, I am... Pinkie is insane giving them to Carson though

[Bronyhood of steel]

excellent chapter i do hope you continue this

[Hyper-Insomniac]

/)_- I though you were smarter than that Pinkie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[twilightsparkleisbestpony]

YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES!!!! SEQUEL!!!!! Pinkie, hand over the drugs. They will only lead to cupcakes...

and then AB and the condoms. /)__- wow. just wow.