In the Eyes of Beauty
Rarity looked at the ribbon she was given. She had entered a beauty competition in hopes that she would win first place with her amazing dress. However, the place she took wasn’t what she had expected.
2nd place is what it said.
Rarity looked at her dress, then at the ribbon. She couldn’t believe she had gotten second place for a well designed dress. She wasn’t angry that she got second place, Rarity was more confused as to how she could get second place.
The fashionista looked over to the item that one first place. It was an ordinary flower pot that had overtaken the judges. Next to the flower pot was a boy with dark brown hair, and wore dark glasses. Rarity even saw the young man walking with a cane. Did he have an injury of some kind? She didn't see any injury on him, yet he could be hiding it or faking it. Rarity was wondering why this person never faced the judges when they went to shake his hand.
Rarity stood there and faked a smile when she saw him walking over to see her entry. He went to touch the fabric, but Rarity slapped his hand, fearing he might do something to damage her precious outfit.
“Sorry, I thought it was the dress,” The young man spoke. He was afraid that he might have accidentally touched the clothing of the young woman that slapped him. “Name’s Zander by the way,”
“Rarity,” She sighed. Rarity shook his head trying to hold in her frustrations as to why this person won the contest instead of her. What made him more qualified to win?
“I really heard this dress is well designed. I even like the scent of freshly picked roses.” Zander stood tall.
Rarity blushed at his compliment regarding her dress. However, his next comment shocked her even more.
“I wish you would have won first place.”
Was he trying to say that he wished that she won? Or was this his attempt of being modest? Rarity couldn’t tell by Zander’s face. The sunglasses were really throwing her off.
“Well, I thank you for being a great opponent. I hope you win the next contest, though. I always like a challenge.” Zander smiled before walking off to see the other entries in the contest.
Rarity couldn’t help but look at the nicely dressed young man. He was such a mystery to her. Most guys would have been too nervous to talk to her or stare too much at her body, yet this man was different from the rest. She wondered why he wore such strange glasses. Who knows, maybe the two will cross paths again.
The next day, Rarity took out a sketch pad from out of her locker. She was hoping to sketch the next dress idea. She wasn't going to let one contest stop her from doing what she loved. Rarity walked down a hallway to get to her class; however she didn’t notice that another student was walking down a different corridor to get to the same class.
BANG!
Rarity dropped down to the floor as she landed on her butt. The strange fell down as well. A pair of sunglasses fell down from the stranger's face. When Rarity regained her focus, she looked at the stranger she had just bumped into. Most people would have gotten into an argument, but Rarity wasn't like that, unless the person was rude or having a bad day.
“I am terribly sorry about that.” Rarity said picking herself up. She dusted her skirt and walked over to the stranger.
Suddenly, the stranger wasn’t so strange to her. he was the same young man she encountered at the beauty contest.
“Zander?” Rarity spoke.
“Oh, Rarity was it? I didn't see you there.” Zander said picking himself up.
“I hope you are quite alright,” Rarity told him as she saw him trying to find his glasses.
Rarity saw the glasses right in front of him, however his face completely misses it. She saw him patting the ground with his hands. She wondered why he was doing that when he could simply use his eyes to detect of what was in front of him. What was he, blind as a bat?
“Darling, the glasses are right in front of you.” Rarity felt he was just being silly. Rarity scoops the glasses down just in time for her to see his eyes. She saw that Zander’s eyes were pure white. Rarity looked to him in horror. She didn’t realize that he was blind. Yet, something felt very interesting about him. She leaned in closer and touched his cheek with her hand. She looked directly into his eyes. Rarity was caught offguard by Zander. This explained why he wanted to touch her dress. He didn't want to rude it. He just wanted to see how it felt.
“Rarity?” Zander blushed. He could tell that Rarity had been staring at him for a long time. Her hand was on his cheek, which made him nervous. He heard many rumors about Rarity. Some good and others not so good. He wasn't sure if he should allow her to continue to look at him. From what the rumors had told him, he wasn't exactly Rarity's type.
Rarity was so lost in Zander’s eyes; She hasn’t heard a single word he had said to her.
“Ummmm, Rarity?” Zander continued. He didn't want to cause a scene to make people suspect he was leading Rarity on. This was the first time a girl his age showed any interest in him. He wasn't sure how to handle the situation. He figured he would snap Rarity out of whatever was eating her.
Rarity snapped out of her daydream and stared back at Zander, who managed to get up with his cane. He put his hand out expecting Rarity to return his glasses.
“Sorry about that, I didn’t realize that…”
“…I am blind. Yeah, I know I am.” Zander’s tone went from happy to bitter. He snatched the glasses from the fashionista's hands. Rarity felt he was being rude when he did that.
"I was only trying to help," Rarity said feeling insulted by Zander's new tone. However, before she could walk to class, Zander stopped the purple haired woman for a moment.
“I want to see you after class. I need to give you something. Something that truly belongs to you.” Zander told her.
Rarity raised a brow wondering what did Zander want to give her?
“Here it is,” Zander said to Rarity as he took the first place trophy out of his locker. It didn’t take long for Rarity to realize that Zander was giving it to her. She backed away from him.
"I can't accept this, darling. You won it fair and square.” Rarity shook her head and hands as she didn’t want to accept the gift.
“No, you deserve it more than I do.” Zander told her as he was trying to find where she was so he could give it to her. He knew she wouldn’t accept it, yet he wasn't going to let her walk away empty handed.
“You were the true winner of the contest.” Zander yelled out as he sensed that she was being stubborn.
Rarity stopped when she heard Zander’s words. She turned to him wondering what he was talking about. Zander heard Rarity’s footsteps and faced her. He breathed in deeply before exhaling.
“I overheard the judges talking about your dress. How magnificent it looked. You were a sure thing for first place, however, once they discovered that I was blind, they felt sorry for me. I heard their pens changing the votes from your name to mine.” Zander told her. “It took me a while to realize that I won through pity.”
Rarity rubbed her arm while looking at the trophy, which was now in her hands. Zander gave it to her while revealing the truth.
“I am so sick and tired of everyone treating me like I am some helpless person. My vision might be gone, but I have been doing just fine without it. I don’t need anyone’s pity. The artwork I work on is for people to enjoy. It’s what drives me to create more works of art and beauty. I want to be treated like everyone else. It doesn’t matter if I win or lose, I will be satisfied that I got to compete with others like me. Others that see the true beauty of this world.” Tears were pouring out of Zander’s eyes. Rarity felt bad that he was crying. She would have run over to comfort him with a hug, but he put a hand in front of her. He didn’t want anyone’s pity, especially Rarity's.
“Look, you got your trophy and that’s what matters. If you will excuse me, I have to get going.” Zander took off hoping that Rarity wouldn’t try to race after him.
"Zander, wait." Rarity shouted, but it was too late. He had disappeared on her.
When he left, Rarity stared at the trophy that Zander gave her. She didn't realize that he loved art that much. He spoke to her with such passion that he was a lover of beauty just like her. Zander fascinated Rarity and this very fascination is what had bothered Rarity throughout the week. She knew that Zander would take anything she said as pity. Rarity needed to find a way to break through Zander's cold heart and giving her a chance to get to know him better.
Rarity knew what she had to do.
A couple of days later and classes finished for the day, Zander started his journey to walk home. As soon as he made it through the glass doors of Canterlot High, he took a breath of fresh air. However, there was a familiar scent he smelled. Zander took a moment to wonder what was he smelling. He could sense different people by smell and this one was very familiar. This made him stop in his tracks and put both hands on his cane.
“If you are here to give me the trophy then, I am not going to take it.”
Rarity came from out of the shadows as she approached Zander. A frown came upon her face as she looked at him.
“I didn’t come here to give you back your trophy. I understand that now. I also didn’t come for pity either. I was hoping that you might join me for dinner tonight. If you are not too busy, of course.” Rarity collected her fingers in her nervousness.
Zander raised a brow. “You want me to join you for dinner?”
“Yes, and I have done it for a reason and it wasn’t to pity or humor you.” Rarity told him. “I wanted to get to know you a little better. Talk about our love of beauty over dinner. ”
Zander wasn’t sure if she was being honest with him or if she was trying to hurt him emotionally. Either case, he wasn’t too sure if he should have dinner with Rarity Yet, she wanted to get to know him. Not many girls have asked him to dinner before. It would usually be him that would make the first move.
“I am not sure,” Zander puzzled.
“I will pay for dinner. I just need you to look your best and meet me here.” Rarity looked down. "I have no ulterior movitives for this. I just want to get to know you better."
Zander took a moment to consider his opitions. He could accept the day and go out with a girl, or he could refuse the date and he wouldn't be hurt by it. His parents would love for him to get out of the house more often. Zander did think that dinner with Rarity did sound interesting. He heard her nervous foot tapping and answered her question with a nod.
"I accept having dinner with you. Meet here at six o'clock in the evening?" Zander tilted his head.
"I couldn't be happier," Rarity smiled with excitement.
Zander never understood why dates had to take place at night. Wouldn’t it be better to have a date during the daylight? That way, someone like him wouldn't have to worry about bugs, thefts or animals that bump in the night. Zander felt like he was in a monkey suit as he pulled on his collar. He managed to find the only available tux that wasn't gathering dust in his closet.
Zander stood there waiting for Rarity. He decides to give her half an hour. Most of the dates he went on would stand him up. Zander didn't mind waiting, he was just worried that Rarity would trick him into waiting for a long time before revealing it was all a lie. He didn’t want to go through such a horrible prank again. Just as the half hour time limit was up, he heard a car coming up.
He didn’t think it was Rarity at first, but once the footsteps stopped, he was convinced.
“You look marvelous tonight,” Rarity spoke softly. She didn’t think he could look any more handsome.
“If I could see, I would say something similar.” Zander smirked. However, his nose picked up the scent of freshly picked roses. This smell wouldn't mean anything to him, yet it was familiar to him.
"Rarity," Zander peeked closer to her, "The dress you are wearing; that dress wouldn't happen to be the same dress you entered in that contest?"
"It actually is. I felt that you were so taken with the dress that i thought i would wear it to dinner." Rarity felt proud in revealing that to him.
"You don't mind if i feel the dress a bit." Zander asked. He felt wrong for saying it, yet he wanted to see how the dress looked.
Rarity had no objections to the request. "Of course, darling."
Zander slowly walked over to Rarity as he touched her shoulders. He made sure to make it quick and also to avoid touching certain parts of her body. He didn't want to be looked at like some pervert. He knew that there was a limit to how much he could touch of the dress. He felt the sharp diamond that decorated the dress.
"Umm, very nice. Shall we be on our way?" Zander blushed as he slipped his hands away. He didn't want to make Rarity feel too uncomfortable.
Rarity nods and heads over to the car door of the passenger’s seat. She was about to get the door, but he put his hands the door and opens it himself. Rarity felt ashamed that she was about to do something out of pity, yet Zander turned his head. “It’s okay, I got it.”
Once the two were seated and had their seatbelts on, they were off. On the car ride to the restaurant was silent as a mouse. Rarity didn’t know what to say. She wanted to save her conversation for dinner, yet she felt she should make small talk. Zander didn’t want to talk in fear of saying something stupid. He wanted to give the dinner with Rarity a chance. He also brought money just in case if Rarity couldn’t pay for dinner.
“So, were you born blind or was it an accident.” Rarity said.
“Well, I was born blind, but that didn’t stop me from making everything my artwork. My mother had to carry me in my room because I always slept in her art studio. I guess that was where my love of art started.” Zander giggled.
“How did you sleep in the art studio?” Rarity smirked.
“Well, my room felt similar to my mother’s art studio. So, I thought that the paint buckets were my pillows.” Zander couldn’t stop laughing at the memory. “There was even one time where I took a bath in paint. My parents couldn’t stop freaking out when they found me.”
Rarity laughed as well. In fact, the both couldn’t stop laughing at the stories they both shared for their love of beauty. Rarity told a story that she thought that Zander would get a laugh at.
“How does one burn juice?” Zander laughed at Rarity’s story of Sweetie Belle’s first attempt at cooking.
“I am not quite sure actually,” Rarity puzzled. However, before the two could enjoy their time in the car, they were at their planned destination.
Rarity had taken Zander to a place that didn’t require a reservation, yet it still required formal wear. Both Rarity and Zander exited the car and walked inside the restaurant to have the best dinner ever.
Zander and Rarity both sat down in their respected sides of the table. It bothered Rarity that Zander faced her while he wore his sunglasses. She felt that it was rude that he wore them so, she pulled them off his face. Zander felt like his wallet was being stolen.
“Why did you take my glasses off?” He swiped around trying to find Rarity.
“I took them off so, I can actually look at you with your real eyes.” Rarity crossed her arms. “You will get them back when we leave.”
“Fine,” He scoffed and crossed his arms.
Rarity put the glasses on the table and looked over to Zander with his white eyes. She knew he was blind, but there was something about his eyes that made her see him differently. He wasn't like the other guys she has encountered. Maybe he would be the one guy for her, yet she didn't want to push her luck.
“Can you not stare at me so much? It’s embarrassing.” Zander blushed. He had a hard time with people looking at him. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy it. Zander felt very flustered when it came to good looking girls that looked at him.
“How do you know that I am looking at you?” Rarity raised a brow.
“I kind of have this sense that you are.” Zander said as he took a sip of his water.
“Oh, well I do apologize.” Rarity put her hands on the table.
As Rarity looked through her menu, she looked over seeing that Zander was trying to finger out what the letters were. Rarity kept quiet knowing that Zander would figure things out on his own.
Rarity decided to get them both cheese pizzas. She went over to collect his menu however, their hands touched when got his menu. Rarity looked in his eyes and remained speechless.
Rarity, you have the menu. Now, let go. Her mind told her.
Yet, Rarity didn’t want to let go of the menu. She was so lost in Zander’s eyes that she didn’t see the waiter right next to her.
“Ahem,” The waiter coughed as Rarity was shocked by his presence.
After placing their order, Rarity drank some water while looking over at Zander. She couldn’t help but smile. The date was running smoothly and nothing was ruining their evening. She couldn’t imagine him dating anyone else.
“Have you had any former girlfriends?” Rarity bit her lip.
“Not really, I mean there were a few girls that stood me up, others that felt sorry for me just because I am blind and many other excuses.” Zander shook his head. “What about you?”
“Well, I have had a few dates, but I fear that those guys might have loved me only because of my appearance.” Rarity said.
“It’s funny that people don’t know what true beauty is anymore. You can see beauty without eyes.” Zander spoke.
“Really?” Rarity felt puzzled by his words.
“Here, let me show you.” Zander stood up and walked over to Rarity. She wasn’t sure what he was doing, but felt his hands on her shoulders. Her cheeks were red as a tomato. “Do you hear the music?”
“What?” Rarity asked. There she goes again, getting distracted by him and not paying any attention to his words.
“Do you hear the music?” He said again.
“Yes, I do,”
“Tell me what you think of it when I do this?” Zander said before covering her eyes. The only things she could hear were the music, the various voices in the shop and the doors in the restaurant being opened.
“You see, the beauty in everything doesn’t need to be seen by eyes.” Zander said to Rarity, who got up. Zander didn’t notice how close he and Rarity were getting to kissing one another. The fashionista saw how close they were, yet she wasn’t about to stop the moment from happening. The two drew closer and closer to pressing their moist lips upon one another.
“Dinner is served,” The waiter shouted as Zander and Rarity drew back from one another. The moment was ruined by the voice of the waiter. Both Rarity and Zander sighed as they felt a real connection by Zander’s words.
“That was a really beauty experience,” Rarity said driving herself home for the night. “It was such a relief that your parents agreed to you staying with me for the night.”
“Yeah, just as long as we behave ourselves,” Zander raised a brow in confusion.
“Of course,” Rarity blushed again.
The car stopped and Zander carried his bag into Rarity’s home. Sweetie Belle was over by Applejack’s barn with Applebloom. Rarity’s parents were on a trip somewhere and wouldn’t be back until the morning. Rarity would sleep in her room while Zander would take the couch.
“So, that date was actually a lot of fun,” Zander said as his heart was beating fast.
“I had a good time too, darling.” Rarity looked away as she wasn’t sure of what to say.
“Well, goodnight,” Zander told her.
Rarity had stealthy raced downstairs to see Zander for one last time before turning in for the night. She felt the date was unresolved and she didn't want to end the date like she did. However, to her surprise, Zander wasn't on the couch and his pillow and blanket were gone. Rarity searched all over the house as if he was a lost item of hers.
She stopped when she noticed a hammock was outside in her backyard. It was being blanketed by the moonlight. There was a chance that Zander could be resting there, yet the fashionista had to know if Zander was sleeping outside.
Rarity walked around her kitchen table. As she opened and closed the door to her backyard, she completely missed the shirt and socks that were folded neatly on said table.
Rarity walked towards the hammock in hopes that her thoughts would be correct on if Zander was sleeping in the hammock. To her satisfaction, Zander was laying in the hammock. However, Rarity's face soon took notice of the articles of clothing that was missing from his sleeping attire.
What he didn't wear was socks and a t-shirt, but Rarity was fortunate that Zander wore sweatpants to sleep in. She bit her lip gazing down his chest. She tried not to look too much at him. Her cheeks were as red as roses. Every fiber of her being wanted to cuddle up in the hammock with him, but she kept her distance. She was about to go inside when a twig snapped at a really bad time.
"Rarity, is that you?" Zander looked around.
"I am sorry to bother you, darling. I just wanted to see where you were." Rarity spoke.
"It's okay. I thought that since the nightlight felt so good that i decided to sleep outside for the night. My parents always told me the beauty of the moonlight, yet i never could have the luxary others have when they look into it." Zander sighed in disappointment.
No, Rarity. You are under no circumstance to join him in that hammock Rarity's mind told her.
"You want to join me in the hammock?" Zander asked politely.
"Sure," Rarity giggled like her friend Pinkie Pie, before trying to lay down in the hammock with Zander.
The two laid on the singular pillow together and stared to look at the sky. Rarity felt terrible that Zander didn't have the sight to look at such beauty, yet she could tell that he was satisfied with hearing the wind blowing. They may not have a blanket, but the two of them didn't mind. Rarity tried to keep herself from cuddling with him and touching his chest. The fashionista kept her eyes to his eyes.
Out of all his features, his eyes had to be the most interesting aspect about Zander. How he could see the beauty in the world despite being blind. She wondered what it was like to live in his world. She covered her eyes and only focused on the sound of the nighttime.
"What are you doing?" Zander turned to where Rarity was laying. His question shocked Rarity. Yet, if she told him a lie, that would only make her feel terrible.
"I was trying to see the world through your eyes." Rarity sadly sighed.
"It's okay, i think it's alright for you to be curious. I won't hold anything against you. Just don't go blind for my sake." Zander laughed.
"Do you mind if i ask you a question," Rarity gulped. She felt awkward about asking the question to him so, she hoped he wouldn't mind.
"Go ahead. I see no problem with it."
"Do you ever want your eyesight to return?" Rarity asked. She only asked this question out of pure curiosity. She felt bad that he couldn't enjoy the sight of what this world had to offer. She wished that Zander could see it with her. Maybe Princess Twilight could help him with his blindness and maybe use her magic to heal him. Yet, she wanted to see what his answer was.
"Though, i would love to see the world with my eyes, i think that i would rather keep my eyes like they are. I feel i would lose the focus of true beauty." Zander said before continuing to speak. "I feel that true beauty doesn't always have to be looked at. Sometimes, you can hear it everywhere. Most people focus on appearance and what's in front of them. They hardly stop and take a listen to what is going on around them. What they could hear if they just simply used their eyes. There is such beauty and magic in this world and yet, people only can see it. Some people have ears, but they use their eyes more than their ears. That is what true beauty is. Everything in this world is beauty. Even the things that don't seem beautiful. However, if you love yourself, i am sure you can love the rest of this world and see the inner beauty in everything."
Rarity had listened to all that he had said. She faced him and felt there were no words to argue against him. She felt that he was right when he had said that people don't take the time to listen. She was considering all that he had said and all she had to do was listen to him. This made her smile at him even more. In her smile, she had let her guard down and that was when Zander had placed his lips on Rarity's lips.
The young woman with the purple hair didn't see the kiss coming. She was shocked that he was kissing her in the first place. she was completely overwhelmed by the kiss and yet, she didn't want it to end. She put her hands on his cheeks to comply with the kiss. When Zander stopped the kiss, he looked over at Rarity.
"Sorry about that." Zander breathed a bit hard since the kiss took his breath away. "I didn't know what came over me. I guess talking to you about beauty and thinking how beatiful you were, i just had to make the first move and kiss you. I figured you would like a guy to be bold."
"No," Rarity shouted at him and held his cheeks, "I like the type of guys who are honest with themselves."
It was Zander's turn to be shocked by Rarity's boldness. The two kissed one another before Zander gave Rarity his final words on beauty.
"To me, nothing is ugly and nothing is beauty. They are just words to describe something." He held Rarity's cheeks before kissing her once more. Through his hands touching her soft skin, Zander imagined what Rarity would look like. He giggled before kissing her one more time and one more thought before cuddling with Rarity as they fell asleep together.
But it doesn't matter, as this whole world is beauty. You don't need eyes to see true beauty when it is right in front of you.
Author's Note
I don't own the rights to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro.
Wow this story felt different than the other stories that i have created. So, tell me your thoughts on this story. I have entered it in What is Beauty and those are my thoughts on what beauty is?
Most people don't need to see the beauty of most things. I also think that Beauty and Ugly are just words to describe something. I am sure people are going to request a sequel or a story with Zander in it, but for now, i hope people have enjoyed this story.
If you have a Rarity/OC story or any other story ideas you want me to try, then i will accept your challenge/Request to do it. So, until then,
See you later.