True Sight

by Cold Spike

Chapter Three: One Like Me

I awoke at the same time as yesterday and followed the same routine. I debated whether or not to bring all of my stuff to class, but I decided to risk it and left most of my belongings inside my cottage. If my home was broken into, I could at least blame Twilight later. After all, tt had taken me hours yesterday to paint it and test each opening. I had barely gotten my homework done; luckily it was my first day and thus fairly simple. I was only slightly annoyed that I had had no time to start reading any of my new books.

I made my way towards the schoolhouse at about the same time as yesterday. This time, however, the two ex-bullies Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon-- or should that be Delight? I thought snidely-- were walking happily with the Cutie Mark Crusaders Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and even Sweetie Belle today. I ignored them all and didn’t even bother making eye contact. What would be the point?

I found my seat, which just happened to be next to Sweetie Belle’s. I kept my eyes glued to a history book, trying to find some entertainment value in it.

“Hi I’m-”

“Sweetie Belle, I know,” I replied without even looking up from my book. Sometimes, being rude is fun. Who am I kidding? It’s all I live for now.

She huffed. “It wouldn’t kill ya to look up.”

“No, but it would be pointless.”

“And why’s that?” she challenged.

I groaned and decided to humor her. At this point many of the other ponies had started to notice our private conversation. I guess when you turn the school bully into the school nice kid, you earn some attention.

I looked up and met her eyes. My jaw did not drop, but my brain froze so hard it might as well have dropped off at the face of the planet. In her eyes I saw... nothing! I saw no emotions, saw no memories, saw no names or places or regret or sadness. My True Sight was on the fritz! Quickly I looked over at the faces of the other ponies that had been watching us and noticed, no, it was not actually on the fritz, it was working just fine. I slowly turned back to the unicorn who was now studying me with great curiosity. I still saw nothing. The only memories I had of her were from the other ponies. I knew enough about Sweetie from the others that her blankness shouldn’t bother me, yet it did. Nopony had ever—and I mean ever—been able to resist my True Sight before! What was going on? Then it occurred to me. I couldn’t be sure why it wasn’t working, but I did have one idea.

Sweetie Belle, good luck, because if I’m right, you are really going to need it!

I blinked and slowly went back to my book, hoping to play it off. The others groaned and soon the class had started. I did notice Sweetie taking random glances at me. I guess staring for too long had piqued her interest. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in her, but right now I only wanted to talk to one pony: Rarity, her older sister. I had learned enough from the eyes of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to know that Sweetie Belle had an older sister but no parents. Because Apple Bloom and Scootaloo did not know what happened to them, I didn’t either.

The rest of the day passed by at a crawl. The more I wanted to see Rarity, the more time worked against me. The lunch bell finally rang, but I still had half a day left. As I sat alone once more and slowly ate my food, I could overhear the other ponies talking.

“So… are we just gonna ignore him or something?” Scootaloo asked. I assumed at this point that she, along with the others, must not realize the extent of my ability. Maybe Scootaloo thought on some strange level that, because her living arrangements was such a big, big secret, I did not know about them? It made no sense to me, but perhaps it did to her.

“I thanked him… so I think I’m good with how we both stand,” Diamond Tiara replied with a smirk before starting a hushed conversation with Silver Spoon.

“Yeah, but he’s eating there all alone. That can’t be fun,” Apple Bloom replied. On the contrary. This was bliss.

“I don’t know. If he can see all of our secrets and stuff… isn’t that bad?” Sweetie Belle asked. If only you knew. Thinking about her filled me with unease once more. Why wouldn’t it work on her?

“Ahh, c’mon. I’m sure he can control it and wouldn’t use it on his new best friends!” Scootaloo piped up.

BINGO! That’s why she’s not afraid of me. She assumes she knows how it works. If only I could control this curse, if only I could…. Scootaloo, if you were smart, which I know you are despite your attitude, you would leave me alone. She didn’t.

“Hey!” Scootaloo came over and shouted at me. “We wanted to-”

“Let me stop you right there,” I interrupted. I paused, waiting for her to finish her groan. “I heard everything you five were talking about. I’m actually pretty happy being alone over here, so please don’t change that. As for me controlling this around my new best friends,” I continued in a mocking fashion, “it does not work that way. I can’t control True Sight. I look into your eyes and after a moment, everything changes for me. I see your fears, your memories, names, dates, places, secrets... If I were you, Scootaloo, I would just leave me be. I know you have a secret, a pretty big one that would be devastating if it came out, because you’re afraid of what might happen…” By this point I was whispering into her ear with the filly hanging onto my every word. “Now, I’m emancipated, which means I also live on my own. Your situation is not legal in any respect… but I won’t say a thing, ever. Still, if I were you, I would walk back over to that table and let everypony know that I do not want friends and that it will never change.”

I don’t know what made her stay and utter her next sentence. I could sense her emotions, and yet I still could not tell what it would take to make her leave me be. Maybe it was her longing to have a new friend that was sort of like her, or that was at least in a similar situation. We were both loners, the only difference being the legality and the friends part. Maybe it was just curiosity.

“But why?” she asked in a very pleading, almost begging tone. If only things were different….

I sighed. “Would you still want to be friends with somepony after figuring them out at a single glance? You don’t get to know them as real friends should; you just know. I know you Scootaloo. I know you very well, and we have barely even spoken to each other. And I hate that about myself. I hate that this will never change. No matter how many ponies I see, I will always know them in an instant. And it’s for that very reason that I cannot have friends. What would be the point? For you to get to know me? I’m a creepy colt who lives on his own and likes it that way. What’s there to know?” I finished with a harsh whisper, and it was at that moment I realized I might have gone just a bit too far. I hadn’t broken her per se, but I had certainly destroyed the hopes for a normal life that she had begun building around me. When she had discovered that I was emancipated, she had hoped she would finally get a friend who was likewise on their own, one who couldn’t help but understand. She had hoped that that friendship would give her the courage to tell the rest of her friends the awful truth. Now, it would never happen. Scootaloo was too chicken, too scared of losing her friends. She would do anything to keep them. I had to at least respect that as I watched her slow, mechanical march back to the table where her friends were.

Scootaloo did not speak when she got to their table. I’m pretty sure that none of her friends noticed, though. That’s the biggest issue with most fillies and colts: they don’t think. That is, they don’t see the subtle cues and signs of a filly in emotional distress. I groaned when I realized that my stupid sense of guilt was bubbling up again, burdening me with a new task: get Scootaloo a real home. However, my conscience would have to wait until I actually had a freakin’ idea of how to accomplish this. Of all the ponies whose eyes I had glanced into, none were parent material and none were likely to be interested in taking in Scootaloo. I grudgingly took out my journal and jotted down a reminder to myself to help Scootaloo. Rarity remained my first priority, however.

As class continued, I observed that Scootaloo seemed detached from reality. A glance at her eyes told me just how literal that was. She was thinking about absolutely nothing except pure defeat. I hissed slightly as the guilt just built up even more. I really felt bad for her. At least I had plenty of bits to keep me well fed, entertained, clothed, etcetera. Scootaloo only had a lousy paper route job to keep her fed. She never once stole, but it was becoming harder for her not to do that from what I could see. She was an adventurous filly that did her stunts so the world would notice her. She was not even aware of it, but I could see that subconsciously she wanted to be caught so she would finally be loved by somepony. I understood why she felt so hopeless when I just basically told her to screw off. I groaned when I finally realized that I had gone way too far. I’d find her a home near her friends if it killed me (which might well happen if she found out who helped her). But... then she would want to be friends with me, and she’d refuse to take no for an answer, and… NO! I DO NOT WANT friends. Still, I would help her, I vowed with a silent promise. But first, Rarity.

After class, I stealthily made my way to Rarity’s boutique. Though I hadn’t yet been there, I knew where it was from Spike’s memories. I waited outside, just out of view, and, as expected, Sweetie Belle came trotting out with a happy smile plastered on her face. I waited a few minutes longer and then walked in.

“Welcome to… oh, a little colt! Are you one of Sweetie’s classmates?”

“Yes, now-”

“Oh, how wonderful! Are you two-”

“Stop! No, we are not friends. I am here to talk about her, though.”

She narrowed her eyes as a million thoughts ran through her head. Dang she had an imagination! Finally she settled on cautious optimism and motioned for me to continue.

“Have you ever heard of True Sight?” I asked, knowing full well that she had not.

“Uh, no.”

“True Sight is my special talent. All I have to do is look into your eyes and in an instant I know everything about you, from memories, to thoughts, to emotions, to secrets.”

She scoffed and then laughed a bit, clearly in denial. “So, you’re psychic you're saying?” She spoke lightly, but I could see in her eyes the ocean of sarcasm behind her words.

“Might as well be.” I gave her my best disconcertingly calm stare. “Rarity, age twenty seven, favorite color is silver. You started taking care of Sweetie Belle after your parents died on vacation and have continued to do so ever since.”

“That doesn’t prove anything!” she growled. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but clearly you have been a naughty colt who’s been spying on me!”

“Not enough, eh? You resent the very idea of taking care of Sweetie; you love her more than anything in the world, but can’t help but feel bitter that you had to pick up the pieces so early in your life when you were not ready in the slightest.”

I could literally see it in her eyes when chilling realization set in. It made me bitter every time. Finally, she spoke. “What do you want?”

“In my life, I have always known so many things, Rarity. Things I would rather not know, but it’s just how I work. When I met Sweetie Belle… it didn’t work.”

“What didn’t work?”

“True Sight. It won’t work on her.”

“So what? I’m sure you're bound to-”

“It has never not worked. She is unique, the only pony I’ve ever seen who is like this. My only idea is that her special talent is also True Sight.”

“She has no special talent…”

“Not yet, but my True Sight even shows me the special talents of blank flanked ponies. Sometimes it changes over time before they actually get their talent, but with Sweetie… there’s nothing there. It all leads to one conclusion: She has True Sight. Eventually, it will just click for her.”

“And then what?” Her voice was bitter, tinged with anger and sorrow.

“And then, nothing will ever be a secret again, between you two.”

An awkward silence came over both of us. I saw the same defeat in her eyes that I had seen in Scootaloo’s. Then a glimmer of hope came to her.

“Is True Sight always the same?”

“…No.” I uttered, knowing full well from the books I had read that it can be different for each pony. I was just dealt a bad hand. “Sometimes it’s really weak, like only knowing names or a few secrets. Other times, it’s insanely strong, like in me.” I sighed. “I know so much, Rarity. So many things that I would really rather forget, but I can’t.”

“What should I do?” she asked.

“I’m not sure. Maybe talk to Twilight for some advice. If I were you, though, I would get any secrets you have been keeping from her out of the way so she doesn’t hate you when she finds out the hard way.”

“I don’t keep secrets from her!”

“No, but you still feel bitter sometimes when you take care of her…”

“I- I know.”

“Yeah. Good luck, Rarity. If I am right, that is. If I’m wrong about her special talent, then this conversation never happened. By the way, hypothetically speaking, can I ask you something?”

“Uh, sure?”

Normally I know everything about somepony, but with these types of questions I had to ask first before I got the answer. It made me feel oddly normal, too.

“If there was, say, a filly that was on their own, with no parents of their own, would you take them in?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I can’t say, but would you?”

She pondered this for a long while before speaking. “Probably not, unless I knew this filly…”

I looked into her eyes again, and she was mostly telling the truth. It was still a hypothetical situation, so her feelings were probably skewed from what they would be in actual dire circumstances. Still, I had to know, and this was as close as anypony could get.

“Would you turn them in?”

“Who are you talking about, and why do I get the feeling that this is no longer hypothetical?”

I sighed; I was a bad liar anyway. “It’s not, but I’m not going to say who. Now, would you turn them in or not?”

“To the authorities? I don’t think so, but why would a filly be on their own? What in the world for?”

“Many reasons. I, for example (even though I’m not a filly), am on my own. I was emancipated from my mother, my only family. On the other hand, the filly’s parents could be dead.”

“But then why is said filly not in a home of some sort, an orphanage?”

“She’s determined to stay with her friends, and Ponyville has no orphanage. Her luck won’t last forever though.”

“I see. In that case, I might take them in, but it would have to be-”

“Somepony close to you, got it. This is not hypothetical, but I said I wouldn’t say. I can go ask her if she wants to tell you of her situation, though. Should I?”

“I- I suppose so?” She was too shocked to say much of anything else. Telling her about Sweetie Belle’s True Sight had already knocked her for a loop, emotionally. It wouldn’t do me any good to push Rarity beyond what she could handle, but I hated feeling guilty and wanted to solve this as quickly as possible.

I left Carousel Boutique and raced to the apple orchard. I knew Scootaloo was probably there by now. I was lucky, luckier than I had remembered being lately, as I was not discovered or stopped by Applejack or Apple Bloom while trespassing.

I found the clubhouse and ignored my surroundings as I found the door and knocked a few times.

“Guys?” Scootaloo asked.

“Nope,” I replied.

There was a long pause before the door opened. She was angry. Oh colt, was she angry.

“What do you want, jerk?” Ouch? It didn’t really hurt since I had been trying to be a jerk at the time.

“Alright, I know I said all those things, but I’m sorry.”

“That’s it?”

“No. I also may have found you a home in Ponyville.”

“Huh?” Another mind blank. This was just getting too easy.

“I didn’t tell anypony, but, if I were you, I would head to Rarity’s boutique and spill your guts in front of her.”

“Why would I do that?” she snapped, her voice growing loud and squeaky.

“I have True Sight, remember? When I asked her if she would take in a filly like you, she said yes, and she wasn’t lying. I would know, I sensed nothing that would suggest otherwise.”

“Why should I even trust you?”

I hated what I was about to say more than I hate cupcakes, and I absolutely despise cupcakes. I’ve never been able to figure out why, but seriously, cupcakes are nasty.

“If she says no or tries to turn you in, then you can come to my place, in the Whitetail Woods, and… live with me…” I muttered under my breath while gritting my teeth.

“If she tries to turn me in then everypony will already know, stupid! How would you-”

“In the eyes of her majesty’s government, I’m not a minor. I can legally take you in and take care of you financially, and that’s all they really care about. Now, if I were you, I would take this chance and run with it before I change my mind.”

She hesitated for a good while while breathing in and out to calm her nerves. “Fine! I’m gonna do it! You’d better not-”

“I get it. Now just go. I have some stuff to do. Bye.”

I left before she had time to find an excuse to back out. With nothing better to do, I searched around and eventually found a massive lake near my cottage. I had no homework and nothing else to do. So, of course, my thoughts drifted to Sweetie Belle. I wanted to be her friend, I really did. I knew my idea was right. It had to be that she had True Sight. As I looked into my reflection in the lake, as I gazed into my eyes, I saw the same thing I had always seen since I was very young: nothing. True Sight will not work on itself; it never has. Sweetie Belle was going to get it. When? I had no clue to be honest, and I loved that. For me, ignorance was bliss. I could even tell how close a pony was to earning their special talent: if it was far off then it would seem distant and grey, while if it was close then the special talent would practically be flashing before my eyes. With Sweetie, I had no clue! My only problem was how to befriend Sweetie and gain a real, proper friend while interacting with the rest of her entourage as little as possible. I had no interest in them because I already knew them all too well.

I’d figure something out. I was actually excited to have a real friend finally, somepony who I could get to know the natural way. I might have been a loner, but that was for a reason completely outside of my control. Sweetie Belle removed this reason entirely, without even trying.

Then a horrible thought came to my mind. Would she even want to be my friend?

I was quickly consumed with doubt. Just because we were alike did not mean she would want anything to do with me. Thinking about all the possible ways she might react made me feel dizzy and exhausted. From Rarity I knew she liked making new friends just as much as the other Crusaders, but that amounted to nothing. I was still the odd colt who had shunned the others, so why should she treat me any differently? Why would she listen to me and want to be my ally or friend after I told the others to essentially buck off?

I realized then and there that I needed some sort of plan to get Sweetie to talk to me. I had to isolate her for just a little while so I could explain things. For a time, I thought of lying to her and keeping her in that ignorant bliss that I longed for, but eventually she was going to find out about her talent one way or another. At least if I told her, she could prepare and it wouldn’t be such a shock when her talent did reveal itself.

I still remember when it first happened for me, when I finally got my special talent. It was a pretty good day, oddly enough. I was not cursed yet. I spent my whole day walking around town with my mother, correctly guessing ponies’ names. It was both shocking and amusing to my mom, but she loved me all the same.

Then, slowly, it started to get stronger and stronger. I no longer just saw names; I saw dates and memories and all sorts of secrets. At first, it was amazing to just know everything! Then I saw my first sex scene. It was so disgusting, and my mother was beyond shocked to hear what I told her I’d seen. A few doctor visits later, they found out my True Sight talent was one of the strongest they had ever heard of. While, as Miss Cheerilee had told the class, it was true that documented cases of True Sight were few and far between, there were still ponies who got True Sight nowadays. Nopony who had it, however, was able to see as much as could. I was unique. My mother, thankfully, kept it a secret. The doctors wanted to publish a paper, but under threat of a lawsuit they kept quiet. It was the first time I saw my mother get that angry, but it was not the last.

Slowly, the city, my city, began to turn into a dark and twisted place. So many ponies had committed so many acts of violence or sex. And I just wanted my special talent to stop. I did not want to feel so guilty by looking into so many secrets, but no matter where I went, I did. I tried to remain aloof from the myriad ponies that lived in my city, to distance myself. When that didn’t work, they became my enemies. That’s when I started to grow bitter. By age seven, I had abandoned all of my friends from school and started using True Sight to avoid other ponies. It worked almost too well. My teacher tried to talk to me, but I used my ability to shut him out. By the time I had reached a new grade and a new age, I had accumulated so much knowledge that it was almost sad to be in third grade. I knew so much that I started to become complacent, not so much with my school work, but with my ability to make a pony speechless. I saw no need for social skills.

My mother noticed some of this, but she was too preoccupied with dwelling on the past. Manehatten had become familiar to the point of sickening me. The street vendors I saw selling food would play out their grim home lives right before my eyes. Instead of school children playing on a playground, I saw petty squabbles and petty triumphs, wholesome families and broken ones. I saw laborers, office workers, nobles, and politicians, and, big as it was, I knew every routine of every pony in the whole damn city. I didn’t want to know so much that I was like some sort of god. I just wanted out. So I promised myself that if I came to Ponyville, I would shut myself away and try to avoid as many ponies’ eyes as I possibly could.

Now Sweetie Belle faced the same thing. If she wasn’t warned or prepared, she was going to find her life slowly turning into a living Tartarus. Oh, she wouldn’t start out hating her friends or her big sister; but pretty soon nopony would be able to keep secrets from her, and I knew just how poisonous that could be. I felt I had to do something, for both of our sakes. If I could not befriend her and explain the truth, then I feared for our lingering sanity and our futures.

Comments

[Lord Of Dorkness]

So this might be a 'Who Actually Heard Him Say Rosebud?' type thing...

But if True Sight requires direct eye-contact, couldn't he just get a pair of sunglasses?

Or if its metaphysical eye-contact like that mind-control power in Vampire: The Masquerade, a pair of enchanted novelty ones that makes everypony else's head look like smiley faces?

I'd get if the solutions are out of his price-range, but given that True Sight is a known if rare ability it seems a bit forced the more I read that there's no way to stop or shield against it.

[Cold Spike]

6574643 Rare Ability

If you want to talk about being realistic, that's fine. In our world, for example, rare aliments are typically more difficult to cure or treat. This is because there are so few people to test and study those things. You did bring up a good point, however, I think I'll be adding a few scenes in a future chapter. Well, once I get to the point where I had originally cancelled this story.

[Von Voctavia]

Ooooh. That makes sense. I thought you was going for SweetieBot.

[Cold Spike]

6575571 Sweetie Bot didn't exist (I don't think) when I started making this story. But that would have worked too.