See With Your Heart

As her reward and Pickle's punishment for losing their fencing match, Bella had decided that she wanted ice cream sundaes for dessert. But not just any sundaes. The most expensive and most delicious ice cream sundaes from the most popular malt shop in town. And Pickle had to pay for them. Buying both of those desserts together took a chunk out of his wallet, but he didn't really mind that much. It just meant he wouldn't be splurging on himself for a while. Besides, it was a very tasty choice indeed.

They decided to get their sundaes to go, so they headed back to Bella's place to finish them. It was a nice cozy little apartment. Nothing too special, but the way she had set it up made it feel very homey. The two ponies sat on the couch as they enjoyed their ice cream. Pickle was especially enjoying his as he savored every single spoonful.

"Mmm. Oh, this. This is delicious. This may very well be the greatest ice cream in the history of ice cream," he said while his tastebuds danced in a sea of frozen sweetness. "You have exquisite taste, Bella."

"Yeah, see? What did I tell you?" Bella responded. Then suddenly, a thought occurred to her. She put down her half finished sundae on the coffee table. "Hey, can I ask you something?" she inquired, not really looking at him.

"Sure. What is it?" Pickle said with his mouth full. He swallowed and then set his bowl down, too.

"Why did you wanna go out with me?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" he replied.

"I mean, when we first met today, I was angry, I yelled at you, I kept telling you to get lost and you still tried to go out of your way just to help me. Plus, you can't even tell what I really look like, so it couldn't have been because you thought I was hot."

"Well, first of all, I didn't really mean for it to be a date at first. You were obviously having a really bad day and I just wanted to offer you a chance to get some of it off your chest." He paused momentarily, realizing the accidental implications of what he'd just said. "Okay. Bad choice of words, but you know what I mean."

Bella chuckled at this. "Okay, but why? Why were you so determined to turn my problems into yours?"

"Well, I don't really see it that way. You remember how I told you about how I had friends to talk to after I went blind and that helped me feel much better about myself? That's what I like doing for other ponies. Sometimes, all anyone needs is just someone to listen to their problems and I like being that. I may not always fully understand what's bothering them, but at least I can offer them someone to talk to about it. It's just the kind of guy I am."

"You are a weird one," Bella said playfully.

"If you say so."

"I've never met a guy like you before."

"Well that's weird, because I've never met a mare like you before. Tough, confident, smart, fierce. The way you kicked my butt earlier was just unbelievable. But I think you also have a sweet side that you don't show too often. Maybe because you never get the chance? I don't know. Plus, judging by your voice, I can tell you must be beautiful."

"How do you know that?"

"Honestly, I just choose to assume everypony looks good."

Bella laughed again and gave him a friendly punch in the arm. He laughed along with her.

"You know," Pickle continued, "Most ponies look at me and they feel sorry for me. They think I can't take care of myself just because I can't see, but I've been living just fine on my own for years now. I don't really want any special treatment. I just want ponies to treat me normally." His voice trailed off for a moment before he finished his thought. "The way you do."

Bella was caught off guard by Pickle's words. Her cheeks turned bright red as a smile crept across her face. "Well," she said meekly, "I know just how that feels."

After that there was a rather long silence between them. All that could be heard was the sound of the clock ticking and the occasional creak of the couch when one of them shifted their position. Finally, Pickle Plum broke the silence again.

"Well, it's getting pretty late," he said standing up. "I think it's about time for me to head home." He started to leave, but suddenly he felt Bella's hand squeezing his arm. She had reached out as if by reflex to try and stop him.

"Wait," she said. "You can... stay a little longer if you want."

"Thanks," he replied, "but that ice cream has gotta be long melted by now." As a matter of fact, it was. All that were leftover in the bowls were were two puddles of melted ice cream soup.

Even so, Bella really wanted Pickle to stay, so she decided to do something she had never done before. She yanked on his hand and touched it right to her breast. Pickle managed to keep his balance, but now he had no idea what his hand was touching. For some reason, though, he started to feel a little embarrassed.

"W-W-What's this?" he asked as he moved his fingers around to get a sense of the object he was feeling. To Bella, it actually tickled a little.

"That's my boob," she answered in a very seductive voice, which made Pickle Plum grow even more embarrassed.

She got him to sit back down and allowed him to fondle her entire enormous bust. He was astounded by their sheer size, wondering how in Equestria she could possibly carry them around all the time, which made her laugh. It had been so many years since Bella had been touched like this and actually liked it and that night, she and Pickle had a wonderful experience together. It was something that both of them had gone far too long without and they enjoyed every moment of it.

For the first time in her life, Bella Ironheart had finally met somepony she could really connect with on a deeper level. Here was a stallion that had lost his eyesight at a young age and had trained himself to instead see with his heart. And with his help, she knew she could learn to do the same.