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               Through the Eyes of the Blind               
                   -by All of the Above-                   
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                     Collateral Damage                     
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Collateral Damage
Char Gen’s dog burst through the door like something was horribly wrong.  However, Tailgate did the same thing every morning.  So, this wasn’t anything special.
Tailgate licked Char’s face to wake him up.  He patted the air that he thought was occupied by a dog, and stood himself up to greet the day with a special sense of exuberance.
Walking in the same pattern he walked every morning, he began his day with a little hop, skip and a jump to his bedroom door.  He had a feeling that today was going to a rather delightful day.
But, he quickly noticed something amiss.  It was awfully cold for some reason.  It was as if the winds of the Arctic North filtered through the heart of a cynic had blown across Ponyville.  And it didn't help that winter was naturally a bothersome neighbor.
Char Gen, with the aid of Tailgate, found himself walking to the wall where the thermostat was.  He thought that he accidentally might have turned it the wrong direction when he adjusted it last night.  He twisted the knob a few notches, having the patience to wait for the heat to start to kick in.
As he turned around, Char Gen was surprised to feel nothing beneath his hooves.  The only thing he felt was the impact of the ground as two of his legs cracked upon impact.
It seemed like a dark eternity until he finally received help from some unknown ponies.  They pulled him out of the ravine that was previously known as the other side of his house, and explained to him his current situation.
“Your house was situated on a small fault line which gave way last night.  We’re actually fairly surprised that you managed to survive.”
Char Gen looked off into space, as he usually did.  He looked to the general direction of the voice.  With a quiet somber tone in his voice, the blind pony said, “I didn’t see that coming.”