Darkness.
This is all you see when you close your eyes. Darkness. When you open them again, you see the light and color of the world around you. For someone who is blind, it is slightly different. When they close their eyes, they see darkness, but when they open their eyes again, the darkness remains.
This is the story of a blind young batpony mare, by the name of Nimble Haze, and her journey in search of someone who can give her a fitting gift this Hearth’s Warming.
It is a cold December morning, in the little town of Ponyville. Tiny flakes of snow drift down upon me, as well as everypony else in town. Well, I assume they’re drifting down onto everypony else as well, but who knows? Some pegasus might be pulling a prank on me or something.
Not being able to see definitely had it’s disadvantages, especially if you’re out on your own, living on the streets with nopony to care for you. This is the case for me. The only protection I have against the snow is a hoodie I had found some years ago. My skin is so sensitive that I yelp whenever snow touches me, that’s how cold it feels.
It isn’t just my skin that’s so sensitive. My hearing is at least twice as good as most other thestrals. They are also really sensitive. If anypony touches them, I yelp. My wings are that way, too. Being blind, I have no use for the pink bat wings on my back, as I only crash into things whenever I try flying. By the way, I only know they’re pink because somepony told me.
Surprisingly, I’ve actually seen every color in existence. This nice unicorn mare didn’t have any bits to give me, and she took pity on me, so she gave me the gift of color. I could hear her charging up her horn and braced myself in case it would hurt. But it didn’t. It was the most wonderful thing I’d ever seen. Colors flashed through my mind, almost faster than I could comprehend them. When it was done, I smiled at the mare and thanked her. She had given me the gift of a lifetime.
“Get up, you filthy beggar! Wake up and get your sorry ass off my property!” calls a voice, waking me up. I feel a hoof kick me in the side and I groan. I roll onto my side and then stand up, hurrying away from the stallion who had kicked me. I knew he was a stallion from the way he spoke.
I keep galloping blindly for a long while, and eventually came to a stop somewhere in a more shady part of Ponyville. I can tell by the odor that this is not a good place to be. I turn to walk away, but instead get shoved to the ground before I can.
“Where you goin’, miss?” a voice asks from behind me. A stallion’s voice. He laughs. I try to get up, but he pins me to the ground with his body. “Nowhere, that’s where. You’re going to stay right here and have some fun with-”
He never gets to finish his sentence. Somepony else, I didn’t know who, had tackled him from the side. I take the opportunity to run as soon as I feel the stallion’s weight lift from my back. I run until I can’t smell that place anymore.
I stand there, panting, as I listen to my surroundings. From the sound of it, I’m at the edge of the market. It’s then that I feel a presence beside me. I instinctively shy away from it.
“Don’t worry, miss. I’m not going to hurt you,” a stallion’s voice says; quiet and gentle, like the rolling waters of a river. HIs voice soothes me, and I find myself relaxing, even though I wish to stay alert.
“W-what do you want from me?” I ask, my voice the barest of whispers. I can feel him smiling at me, as if I’m playing into some sort of scheme.
“I don’t want anything other than to keep a vulnerable mare from harm,” he replies. I frown and turn my head towards his voice.
“I’m not vulnerable.”
“Oh? Then how, pray tell, did you find yourself pinned under a stallion, seconds away from being raped?” he asks. I can feel his eyes boring into my own. Other ponies had told me I had pretty eyes before, and many had stared at them, but this was… different.
“I-I had it under control,” I reply, struggling to keep my voice level. Even as I say it, I know it’s not true. I wasn’t in control at all. “Why do you care about me, anyway?”
“You’re disabled. I care for all disabled ponies. Especially mares.” He drapes something over my back… a wing, I think… and starts walking forward. I decide to follow. “Come on, let’s go to my house,” he says. I nod and accept the warmth of his wing, continuing to walk with him.
Finally, we stop walking, after what seems like years. He doesn’t remove his wing from my back as he unlocks the door. He pushes it open and leads me inside, shutting and locking it behind him. “You look cold. Would you like a mug of hot chocolate?” he asks. I just nod.
He leads me over to his couch and helps me sit down, then leaves to get us our hot chocolates. I remain still, almost afraid to move, as if this is just a dream and the slightest movement could wake me up. After a few minutes, the stallion returns. “Here, I’ll put it on the coffee table,” he says. He then sits next to me and takes a sip off his own mug.
I remain silent for a moment before asking, “Who are you?” I turn my head to look in his direction.
“My name is Dmitrii. What is yours?” I once again feel him smiling at me, and now that I have a chance to listen, I notice that he has an accent. Probably from Stalliongrad.
“My name is Nimble Haze,” I reply, after a moment’s hesitation. He drapes his wing over me again.
“It is very nice to meet you, Miss Haze,” he replies. He puts his mug down and lifts mine to my lips. “Here. Drink. Blow on it first.” I do as he says and blow on the drink. He then tips it enough for me to drink, and I do, gladly. After a moment, he pulls the mug away. I swallow and sigh happily. I feel him shift to face me and do the same.
“It’s very nice to meet you as well, Dmitrii,” I say to him, smiling. He puts his other wing around me and puts his face close to mine.
“The pleasure is all mine. Now, may I ask what you’re doing wandering the streets?” he asks quietly. My ears twitch and then lay flat against my head, and I look away.
“I don’t want to talk about it…” I reply, trailing off into silence.
“Okay. In that case, my dear, we won’t talk about it,” he says, sitting up straight once more. That makes me smile. ‘He actually cares about what I want… I think I could get used to this.’
He must have noticed my smile, because he pokes my nose with his hoof. “What’s got you in such a good mood all of a sudden, Miss Haze?” he asks, chuckling quietly.
I shrug. “I dunno, I’m just happy.”
“Well, I’ve got an offer that I’m sure will make you even more happy,” he says, and my ears perk up.
“Oh? What’s your offer?”
I get the feeling that his grin is almost as wide as his face, and I understand why when he says, “Nimble Haze, would you like to live with me?”
As soon as the words leave his lips I feel a light blush spread across my cheeks, and I smile at him. I lean forward and hug him tightly. “I’d love to, Dmitrii… Thank you.”
He stands up and gets a quiet ‘meep’ out of me as he picks me up and places me on his back. He then walks up some stairs, and it’s then that I realize he’s taking me to my new room. I smile and hug the back of his neck. He opens a door, walks inside the room, and sets me down on a bed. “This is your new room, Nimble.”
