It had been a little while after this initial contact with the woman, or as I later found out, mare, before she lead me elsewhere, presumably her home. It was there that she explained to me about where I was, going deep into detail, and only stopping to ask me a few scant questions every so often.

At first, I didn't believe her, thinking this to be one large, and far-gone joke. I would lie if I said it had not happened before, with someone believing they could pull the wool over an already blind man. I was soon shown that it was the truth, however, with one simple gesture. A touch of her hand, which she had so generously offered... Rather though... A touch of her hoof.

It's fur, it's varying textures between soft and hard, and it's odd shape, certainly threw me for a loop. I spent a moment or two calming myself, with her waiting patiently, attempting to help me along in any way she could.

Never, and I do mean never, in my twenty three years of life, had I imagined myself to ever find myself in this situation.

This mare, who soon formally introduced herself as 'ShimmerSky', -- I found the name to be odd at first, but pushed it off rather quickly. After all, a name was a name, especially from an apparent talking pony-- spent the next of a long few hours explaining to me what she could.

And... It was amazing. My mind soared as she told me of the wonders of this land, though I still was not completely wrapped around this idea just yet. How pegasi, ponies with wings, would fly through the air, creating the very weather that once governed itself in my home; She herself was a pegasus, as she had shown me with a graze of the feathers on her wing. She told me of the job of 'earth ponies', and how they tended to the ground below. Finally, she moved to unicorns, horned ponies, and their use of a long mysterious force. Magic.

Hehe. I suppose I couldn't really obtain a full appreciation of that concept, considering the fact that I wasn't particularly sure of what it was.

Take a blind man to a magic show, and you'll only receive a polite clap from them once they think the trick is over. To them, 'the card was already their's, be it correct, or not'.

Either way, it was a lot to get my mind around.

Over the next few days, I was slowly introduced to the things of this land. This wonderful, impossible land. The mare told me that she lived in a home close to the edge of a place named 'Ponyville', and that she would slowly start to show me to the things around it, and the many others ponies. She had been kind enough to give me a bed to rest in, and food to eat, though I often had to do a double tale on the latter, excusing myself as I did so. Not often that a person takes a bite out of a sandwich, and bites into flowers.

She seemed nervous around me at first, likely because I was something she had never seen before,and eventually, that feeling shifted elsewhere for her. It instead became worry, as she saw me, a being who could not see, try to make my way around. She would often stay close to me, though never directly interacting without my say so, ensuring that I wouldn't hurt myself.

It was reassuring to see that she cared for me so much, if not slightly too protective in that regard. Though, I only wish I at least knew what she looked like, aside from the general concept I had of her.

Her home was relatively easy for me to memorize and get around through, so I had it down pat within the first two days. I must say though, sleeping in a new bed, in a new home, in a new place, felt so... Surreal to me. Especially when I didn't have a view of these new surroundings of mine, but rather, an idea.

The first day that she and I had left her home, entering into the small village while I kept as close to ShimmerSky as I could, I heard many, of what I could assume to be, ponies gasp, likely because of me. I felt slightly responsible for the panic that they apparently felt, but, they did not seem to react too badly to it. As we went through the town, in fact, a few of these ponies greeted me, offering simple 'hello's as they passed. This surprised me, honestly. Even back home, nobody would be this friendly in a situation such as this, so much as they'd be wary.

I took this as a good sign.

Again and again, after that day, ShimmerSky continued to take me into Ponyville with her, allowing me to continue, and expand, my learning of my new surroundings, while keeping a close eye on me. Ponies, more and more, began to greet me, and act as if I were nothing more than another person. All that I wanted at the moment, really.

Among these many days, a unicorn, as she had told me when she came to Shimmer and I, and apparently aware of my sightless feature, walked up the two of us. She introduced herself to be Twilight Sparkle, 'or just Twilight', as she conversed with us. Or, more accurately, me.

She asked me various questions about myself, such as my name, species name, and things like that. It was like I was being questioned for a survey. I happily answered them all, only vaguely aware of an odd sound in the background, along with the scribbling of pencil on paper.

This unicorn was friendly in every way, saying that, if it were needed, she would be willing to assist me with any further questions, or requests, that I had. She even drew the point in a few days later, as ShimmerSky took me to visit the local library, as she told me, where Twilight evidently worked as the librarian.

Upon my visit, she quickly welcomed me, along with the smaller, younger voice of a 'baby dragon'-- Again, a concept that threw me for a loop-- named Spike. He... Had evidently been unaware of my condition.

"Um... Dude, I'm down here." He had said after I greeted him, earning what I assumed to be a scowl from Twilight, followed shortly by the sound of whispering.

"Oh! Oh, sorry about that! I didn't mean to-"

"It's no problem." I said to him with a chuckle. After all, its not like this sort of thing hasn't happened before.

Aside from that small situation, the rest of the visit went really well. Twilight had, in fact, even given me a few books to read while I was here, written in braille as well. I suppose even ponies can be blind sometimes, though, as to how they read braille using hooves, I'd likely never know. I thanked her for these books as ShimmerSky and I returned to her home, myself quickly setting to read from my newly obtained pieces of literature as soon as I had the time.

The library, however, was only one of the many places I had gone with ShimmerSky's assistance, along with Twilight only having been one of the many met ponies.

I would greet several more ponies, along with a particularly cheerful one, who, by ShimmerSky's description, was named PinkiePie. She was happy to welcome me to Ponvile in her unusually, yet extremely infectious, positive and energetic form, before spouting out something about a party, and leaving.

At first, I wasn't sure what she was talking about, having to ask ShimmerSky for assistance in this regard. Rather than immediately answer though, a she started with a knowing laugh. "To make a long story short," she began, "I hope you like cake and loud music."

Sure enough, when Shimmer and I returned to her home that night, we were immediately greeted by the sounds of several ponies yelling out 'surprise', myself flinching slightly at this, though quickly beginning to laugh afterwards. A quant and friendly place, if I do say so myself.

In this party, I met many more ponies, all of them being unique in their own way. The music was loud, and blaring, but nothing that bothered me. Quite the opposite, in fact. To me, every sound had beauty to it. Including the ryhthmic and energetic sound around me at that time, accompanied by that of other partying ponies, their hooves rapping against the ground as they danced, and the overall merriness of the room.

ShimmerSky placed me at one of her many house tables and chairs, asking that I remain here, likely to keep me from being hurt in all the chaos I could not see. This was a regard I agreed with, but not for the same reason. I would personally rather not bother the ponies around me, getting on the 'dance floor' and suddenly causing everyone to stop as they let me through to do whatever was necessary to me at the moment.

So, instead, I sat there, occasionally making conversation with whatever pony would choose to approach me, be they mare, or stallion. I was given a slice of cake, and a cup of a fruity punch by PinkiePie as she came to check in on me herself, asking if I was enjoying myself, if I was surprised, and many more excited questions. I answered them all with a chuckle, herself giving her own hyper responses before she somehow disappeared, no hoofsteps or anything, into the large crowd of ponies nearby.

Smiling, I carefully felt around for the plastic utensil she had also given me, starting at the corner of the table and making my way inward, my hand sliding across the smooth countertop, as I finally found the object, gripping my fingers around it, and then carefully moving to find the slice Pinkie had given me.

I had some trouble with this, unable to really find anything for myself to come in contact with, before, much to my surprise, I felt a hoof suddenly place itself on the top of my hand. "Here, let me." I heard a mare next to me say, as she adjusted my aim as best she could, myself almost instantly feeling the soft resistance of the cake beneath my plastic fork as she released my hand, allowing me to cut out a piece and carefully lead it to my mouth.

It was sweet, and delicious, in every way. I detected hints of vanilla, and cream, within the dessert. It held a soft texture to it, and the frosting atop of it only added to the experience with more positivity. I felt a smile come to my face as I swallowed the mouthful, both from the taste, and the helpfulness of the mare.

"Thank you." I said. Through the sounds of the festivity around me, I could hear the wooden chair in front of me slide slightly against the floor, followed by the sound of a sitting figure, who I guessed to be the mare.

"You're welcome." She responded. "Mr..." She purposely trailed off here, drawing a chuckle from me as I quickly found the cake again, piercing my eating tool into it before I answered.

"Eugene, ma'am." She let out a soft giggle, almost reverberating through the air, and sounding oddly reminiscent to small bells.

"Ma'am? No, please, call me Octavia." I nodded at her request.

"Alright, Octavia." Though I couldn't see it, I, for some reason, imagined a smile come to her face.

"So, are you enjoying yourself?" She asked as I swallowed another mouthful of cake, once again savoring its flavor and texture for as long as I could.

"Actually, yes, I am." I returned. "I have to say, you ponies are really friendly, just throwing a party for someone like this." I heard her adjust herself slightly in her seat, followed by the sound of someone sipping from a cup. She likely had a drink with her.

"I'm glad to hear you think so, Eugene. Though, I think the one you should thank the most is PinkiePie. She's the one who planned this out, after all." And in the span of a few hours, at that. Not many people, or likely even ponies, could possibly make that claim.

"Well, yes, but you and the other ponies were nice enough to come, despite the fact that I'm a different species, and the like." Putting the plastic fork down for a moment, I began to feel around the table again, seeking out the cup this time.

The cup that, within moments, was suddenly slid before my hand, myself giving a thankful smile and a nod as I quickly realized it to be another kind gesture of the mare in front of me. "Different species or not, I don't see why we shouldn't act friendly. You certainly do, after all."

I chuckled. "Thank you again." I said. Placing the cup to my lips, I slowly tilted it until I started to feel a cool, refreshing, and grape flavored beverage flow into my mouth. I swallowed a couple of mouthfuls of this before then placing the cup back down.

Opening my mouth, I was about to speak again when another voice suddenly came from, what seemed like, out of nowhere. "Hey, Octy!" She said loudly, drawing a raised brow from me, and what sounded like a sigh from Octavia. "How's it going?"

The voice was now right next to me, the mare having apparently approached us. "Vinyl, don't be so rude." She urged in a near whisper. "I was speaking with Eugene." There was a moment of silence, leading me to wonder what was occurring, before the other mare, 'Vinyl', spoke up again.

"Ohhhh... So you're the one who's party I'm DJ-ing tonight!" I heard Octavia let out another, more prolonged, sigh, as I relayed what Vinyl had just said.

'DJ-ing'? "And I take it that you're the one playing the music?" I asked, which, in my mind, drew a nod from her.

"Yup! DJ PON3 at your service!" It wasn't until a few months later that I found out how she spelled that, and by then, I had thought of it to have been long amusing. "Name's Vinyl though. Vinyl Scratch."

Reminiscent of those old records my parents once played for me, I suppose. "Nice to meet you, Vinyl." I told her with a greeting nod of my head.

"Vinyl, aren't you supposed to be at your booth right now?" Octavia suddenly asked, an odd tinge in her voice that, at the time, I couldn't quite read.

"Uh, no, not really. The thing's set on auto, at the moment, and I-" For some reason, or the other, Vinyl suddenly stopped speaking, another moment of silence among the two as the noise of the party became all that was there.

"... Heh..." She suddenly chuckled, again drawing a questioning look from me. "I mean, um... Yeah, actually, I do have to head back to the booth for... Things..."

'Things'? While I may not be acquainted with what a DJ refers to certain terms as, or as to what the job entails to, I'm still not too certain that 'things' is in their sort of vernacular. Before I could verbally question this though, I heard the sound of the mare walking away, and at what seemed like a quickened pace, a faint laugh escaping her as she left.

I may not have been sure as to what brought about her leaving, but I supposed that her business was her business.

"Sorry about that." Octavia said. "Vinyl can be a bit... Unmannerly, at times." I shook my head at this.

"I don't see any issue with it. She sounded like a good pony. Like you." Yet another momentary pause of silence, soon followed by her giggling once again. "Is she a good friend of yours?" I inquired, wondering as to how they knew one another.

"Yeah, we are. She's been with me for as long as I can remember. Especially nowadays, since we're roommates." Oh?

"Well, that's good to hear. It's always good to have people- Er, ponies, that you can rely on." I heard another chuckle escape her.

"Not all the time." I felt a lighthearted laugh escape me as she said this, a small part of my mind flashing me a memory or two of how my own friends tended to be too reliable at times. A laugh which, pleasantly enough, Octavia accompanied.

The rest of the afternoon went well, from what I could hear. Ponies partied well into the day, or perhaps night, with the passing of time; Dancing to the music provided by Vinyl until I could start hearing them slow, the smell of the thick air in the room slowly losing what little scent of food that I could feel, and the sound of the music starting to gradually slow itself to a stop.

Ponies soon left little by little, likely having elsewhere to be, or simply having grown tired. Several of them bid me farewell as they left, their hoofsteps and the sound of the opening and closing of ShimmerSky's house doors allowing me to know when they had gone.

I would recognize the voices of some, and return to goodbye to them as such, while I would politely thank those who I didn't know for coming.

Among those many, Octavia and Vinyl were among the last to leave, the two wishing me a good night -- As it had apparently been-- in their individual ways before they left.

"Have a good night, Eugene."

"See ya later, Eugene!"

Funnily enough, I didn't even need to match their voices with who they belonged to at this, having easily identified who was who by the way they spoke.

Octavia, who had much more gentle, and composed voice, and Vinyl, whose tone was more energetic; Flamboyant, almost.

That night, before I fell asleep, ShinmerSky having told me to get some rest while she and PinkiePie, who had volunteered to help, cleaned the remnants of the festivities, I found myself wandering in though again. I tried desperately to make shapes and ideas of every pony that I had met so far; Working off of guess, and even the slightest graze that they had given me, for even that could provide a lot of detail.

I worked my way across a small list I had made. ShimmerSky, Twilight, PinkiePie, and many more. Though... No matter what I imagined, I couldn't seem to peg a sort of image for the mare I had only met as of tonight. Octavia.

Vinyl was a relatively simple idea of mine, myself having guessed her to either be a unicorn, or an earth pony, by the fact that I hadn't heard the sound of wings shifting against her, as they so often did with ShimmerSky. Octavia, on the other hand, was only a relatively general thought. Unicorn, or earth pony, I once again was not sure. Nonetheless though, I couldn't create an image I found to be ideal enough for her.

No body soft or gentle enough to 'see' what I had heard of her voice; Her laughter. The touch of her hoof on my hand when she had helped me earlier stuck, though I simply couldn't pin it. So many details, yet no way to describe or picture it yet.

A canvas filled with shapes, and one small, yet oddly significant, part of it being incomplete. The part that depicts her...

I could tell... This wasn't just a new canvas... It was also a new paint.

Author's Note

Alright, here's part two of the story.

... Man, I do not have a lot to say yet. XD

Well, either way, I hope you enjoy!