Follow the Twinkles

by Yosh-E-O

Chapter 4 - Fresh Eyes

The dragon-duckling found himself bathed in warmth as the twinkling star grew louder and brighter. He then felt as if he were falling through the clouds, but only briefly as his hands seemed to catch hold of something.
“Huh?” he wondered. “Snowdrop?”

“Snow, who?” asked Spike, Twilight Sparkle’s friend and number-one assistant, as he came up from behind his dragon-duckling friend.

“Spike?” Yosh asked as he turned around. His eyes seeing the purple and green dragon almost perfectly.

“Whoa!” exclaimed Spike as he watched his friend’s hand just miss landing upon his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

The vision of Spike got hazy. However, it was just for a moment until Yosh received another vision of where his friend was standing.
“Did you see her?” he asked. “The filly Pegasus?”

“…?” baffled Spike. “I just came in here to check on how you’re doing and saw you staring out the window.”

“Huh?” wondered Yosh.

“Yeah,” added Spike. “You were totally zoned out.”

Yosh thought for a moment. As he did, he realized he was getting visions of his room that he hadn’t had before.

“What are you doing now?” asked Spike while watching his friend move straight towards a nearby dresser. He then observed how the dragon-duckling placed his hand upon the surface and knocked over a few action figures that were upon it.
“What’s going on?” asked Spike. “Are you doing okay?

“Actually…,” trailed Yosh as he worked to pick up the action figures he at first didn’t see, but now clearly saw as he put them back in place. “I’m doing surprisingly well.”

“You seem like your old self,” stated Spike curiously. “Given having gone all blind and such.”

“That’s just it,” remarked the dragon-duckling as he just missed giving his friend a hug. This was soon corrected as he stated, “I can see.”

“Uh…,” sighed Spike. “Do you need me to call dawnbreak and twilight in here?”

“Not yet,” grinned Yosh. “I need a moment.”

“A moment for what?” asked Spike while following his pal towards the window.

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” Yosh asked while feeling a cool, evening breeze blow into the open window.

“What?” asked Spike as he surveyed the sunset.

“The stars,” stated Yosh. “You can hear them twinkling, right?”

Spike didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t see any stars yet. Let alone hear a star genuinely ‘twinkle’.
“Maybe you need to lie down?” he suggested. “It’s been a really rough time for you, Yosh.”

“I will,” the dragon-duckling replied. “But first, I want to listen to the stars.”

“Okay,” said Spike. “Twi, Dawn, and I will be waiting for you out in the living room. Okay?”

“Be there soon,” acknowledged Yosh.

***

Yosh listened to the stars ‘twinkle’ for a few more minutes. As he did, he swore he could hear Snowdrop whisper to him to check his vest pocket.

“Huh?” he wondered as he pulled out a warm, pointed charm that had been attached to a necklace.

“It’s yours,” Snowdrop whispered from somewhere in the sky. “Wear it proudly and treasure it as a reminder of our friendship and how we both can still see even without our eyes.”

Yosh effortlessly fastened the necklace around his neck and tucked its attached charm under the collar of his t-shirt.
“Thank you,” he said out towards the twilight sky.

***

Yosh, more confidently than ever, made his way out of his room to join Spike, twilight, and Dawnbreak. He was proud to feel a sense of self-worth for the first time since the terror of losing his vision had begun. It was a feeling that would only continue to grow with each passing moment that he reminded himself of his mysterious trip to Cloudsdale to meet the Pegasus who taught him that one could see even without their eyes.

Comments

[wayward_pony]

Seriously awesome, bitter-sweet story.

Going blind has gotta be pretty intense... aside from just walking into things, one's sense orientation is a good deal reliant upon the eyes. This story does a pretty good job of showing what happens as one has to adapt to a new set of unexpected circumstances.

The tone feels somewhat reminiscent of a 1980s children's cartoon that doesn't pull any punches. It deals with loss and emotion directly, but is very gentle and optimistic in how it handles those themes. It also deals with pain and isolation directly, but manages to balance everything out with a sense of whimsy. It doesn't seem like a vent story, rather an idea that could be used to share with others.

As Yosh is suffering through his condition I feel the writing gets a little telly vs showy in a couple spots, but it's pretty minor. Everything moves a long at a good pace and the story has good atmosphere.

I rather like the part with Snowdrop. She's very innocent and has a way of showing, in this story, how one can adapt to their situation even if it seems hopeless. Part of it is holding on to a sense that one can overcome a disability, and I feel her part might've been a metaphor for perspective. “And you’ll always see so long as you believe that you can.”

I've read blind people use things like memory, sound, smell, temperature, the way the air moves, and tactile stimulus to figure out where everything is. Mr. Rogers, in part, covered this a long time ago with a blind jazz musician.

Very much enjoyed. Thanks for sharing!