Chapters Lunch hour at the Hayburger. The place was packed with hungry ponies while Bella Ironheart, a mocha colored mare with emerald eyes, blonde mane and tail both tied in long braids, and a very curvaceous figure, sat at a table far in the back, facing the wall and trying to eat her lunch in peace. She sat and chewed grumpily, thinking about the morning she'd already had.
Bella worked as a secretary at Fancypants' Water Purification Co. It was a relatively simple job that paid well. Usually, she just sat behind a desk, typed on a computer, answered the phone and did whatever menial tasks her boss asked of her. Today, she sat in on a meeting to discuss new business strategies, but instead of paying attention to what the boss was saying, she kept noticing most of the stallions in the room staring at her. Even though she didn't even do any of the talking, most of them just wouldn't stop ogling her. One even had the gaul to give her a cocky smirk that made her want to punch him so hard in the mouth.
Bella Ironheart had a naturally oversized bust that stallions loved, but was a real pain for her. She couldn't go anywhere without getting ogled or catcalled by horny stallions or stared down by jealous or concerned mares. She felt like the only reason anypony ever noticed her was because of her giant freaking breasts. They caused her a bunch of other problems, too, but that was the one that most annoyed her. Whether it was in the office, the gym, the store, or just walking down the street, she always drew unwanted attention everywhere she went. It was enough to put a bee in anyone's pants.
She decided she had to go to the bathroom, but when she got up out of her seat, her chest bumped her drink and spilt soda all over the table.
"AH NO!! DAMNIT!" She shouted angrily. This got the attention of the violet and green colored stallion sitting at the table behind her.
"Are you okay?" He asked, barely really turning to look at her.
"I'm fine. My damn drink just spilled." Bella growled. "I don't frickin' believe this. Now I gotta clean this up and I'm gonna be late getting back..."
"You want some help?" The guy asked as she went to go get some napkins.
"No!" She snapped. "I got it. Just leave me alone."
Still, he grabbed his own napkins from his table and began wiping in circles to help her clean up the mess. She came back with a big handful of napkins.
"Hey, I said I got it!" She snapped again.
"I know," he said. "But you sound like your already having a crappy day, so I thought-"
"Yeah and you're not making it any better."
"I'm just trying to help."
"I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP! NOW GET LOST!"
When Bella stopped and looked around, she finally realized the scene the two of them were making. Everypony in the whole place was watching them try to wipe up a puddle of spilt soda while she yelled at him.
"Ugh! Forget this! I gotta go to work!" she groaned in frustration. She threw away her napkins, grabbed her handbag and stormed out of the restaurant. The persistent stallion grabbed his own things and followed after her. He squinted hard in all directions until he was sure he spotted her walking to the right.
"Hey! Wait up!" he called for her.
"God! Don't you know what 'get lost' means?!" She started walking faster.
"Slow down! Look, I just wanna talk to you."
Bella hated it when guys were this persistent. She had to get back to work, so she figured the only way to get rid of this creep was to show him what he wanted real quick and get it over with. Quickly, she topped and turned around to face him.
"HERE!" she roared, pointing to her massive breasts. "TAKE A GOOD LOOK! THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT, RIGHT?!" She glared at him, waiting for him to get his fill, but he didn't even look down. He just seemed to stare at her blankly in the face.
"Uh, okay. This is kinda awkward," he finally said sheepishly. "Because, you see...... I'm blind. So I don't know what you're trying to show me."
Suddenly, Bella's temper lightened up a bit. She was surprised that she hadn't realized this before. "What?" she asked.
"Well, yeah. I mean, didn't you notice the cane?" He held up the long white cane he used to feel around with. Bella had not seen that earlier, but she was still a little confused.
"But wait," she said. "How did you know where I was?"
"Well, I'm not completely blind," he answered. "I can still kinda see colors and stuff, but you're pretty much just a big blurry blob to me."
Bella suddenly felt like maybe she'd been a little too quick to judge. Still, he was a stallion and, in her experience, that meant he only wanted one thing. "Well, I'm sorry I yelled at you," she told him. "But I gotta get back to work, so bye." She turned and started walking away.
"Okay. I get it," the purple stallion responded. "You know, if you ever wanna talk about anything, my offer still stands."
"What are you, a therapist?" the mocha mare asked.
"Not officially," he replied. "But one of the good things about being blind is that I'm a pretty good listener. Maybe we could talk over lunch sometime."
"You want a date." She knew it.
"Only if you wanna call it that. Think about it."
Bella thought about his offer. She really didn't have anything better to do after work and it would be nice to have somepony to talk to who wouldn't be distracted by her so-called assets. She might regret this later, but....
"Six."
"Huh?"
"I get off work at six," Bella clarified. "You know where Pewter Platter's is?"
"Yeah. Totally."
"Meet me there at seven."
"Sure thing... um..." he was trying to get a name out of her.
"Bella," she said.
"Bella," he repeated. "I'm Pickle Plum. Nice to meet you."
"You, too." She turned and headed back to work, certain she would be late now.
"I'll see you at seven," Pickle Plum called back to her.
"Yep," she replied.
Bella entered the restaurant called Pewter Platter's, already starting to regret her decision to meet Pickle Plum here. She was wearing a light brown sweater and jeans because she didn't really see any point in wearing anything fancy since he wouldn't be able to tell either way. Besides, she wasn't really looking to impress anyone anyway.
The maitre d' showed her to her table where Pickle Plum was already waiting for her. He was dressed in a green button down shirt that didn't quite match his mane. Clearly, he had chosen to dress in at least a slightly formal manner for the evening. "Hey. Glad you made it," he greeted her.
"Yeah. Hi," she replied without much enthusiasm. She set down her bag and started looking through her menu.
"Have you ever been here before?" Pickle asked her, not bothering to even pick up his menu.
"Only once."
"What do you think I should get?"
"I don't know. Why don't you decide for yourself?"
"Um, because I can't read my menu?"
Bella gave him a frustrated glance over her menu just as the waitress arrived: a young teenaged mare with a pearly white coat and a mane like an ocean wave. "Hi. I'm Pearly and I'll be taking care of you guys tonight," she said with a friendly smile. "Can I start you off with something to drink?"
Bella went first. "I'll have a scotch."
"Great." Pearly wrote it down. "And for you, sir?"
"Uh, root beer for me, please?" Pickle responded with a half question.
"You got it. I'll be right back." Pearly wrote down their orders and walked off.
"I totally just took a shot in the dark," Pickle said pleasantly surprised. "I didn't even know they had root beer."
"Yeah, how about that," Bella said with a sort of grumpy tone in her voice that caused Pickle to be taken aback a bit. She noticed this and tried to ease up a bit. "Look, I think I'm gonna get a mixed fruit and veggie salad. Does that sound good to you?"
"Oh yeah, sure," Pickle replied.
When the waitress came back with their drinks, they placed their orders for two salads. And then Pickle decided to try and engage Bella in the kind of conversation he had promised.
"So, Bella," he began. "What do you do for a living?"
Bella took a sip of her drink before she answered. "Well, I'm a secretary at Fancypants' Water Purification Co. I work in the main office building here in town."
"Oh yeah? What's that like?"
"Well, I work specifically for Fancypants himself."
"Really? That's impressive."
"I guess so. The pay's alright. Can't complain there. I just wish the office conditions were a lot more tolerable."
"What do you mean?"
Bella set down her drink and looked him straight in the eyes. She might as well lay it all on the line for him now.
"It's the same thing everywhere I go," she ranted. "Ponies just can't stop staring at me and it's all because of my massive boobs!"
"How do you know that?"
"Uh, how do I know?!" she repeated as if the answer was obvious. "Because just about every time I try to talk to someone, I always catch them looking at my chest. It's like they don't even know where my face is!"
"Wow. That does suck." Pickle figured he probably shouldn't ask this next question, but he was really curious. "So... how big are they?"
"What?!" Bella couldn't believe he would ask such a thing. "Ugh! I knew you wouldn't understand." Insulted she grabbed her bag and started to get up to leave.
"No wait!" Pickle stopped her, regretting his question. "I'm sorry. I do understand. It's hard to have ponies treat you differently all the time just because of something you can't help."
Bella sat back down. "What about you?" she asked. "Have you always been blind or were you in some kind of accident?"
"Chemical spill in science class when I was twelve. Good thing I was wearing goggles or I would've lost my eyeballs completely. My parents and I wanted to get them fixed, but the surgery was too expensive."
Bella listened to him with sympathy. "I'm sorry," she confessed. "That must've been tough for you, especially since you were just a kid."
"Yeah. Even after the pain stopped and the bandages came off, I had to get used to a lot of things like carrying this cane around all the time. My mom practically had panic attacks every time I went to school or whenever else she couldn't be around for me. School wasn't much better anyways. The way everyone treated me, it was like I was a whole different pony. Nopony treated me the same anymore and it was so frustrating."
There was a bit of silence before Bella spoke up again. "Well, you don't seem too upset now."
"Well, the more I learned to live with it, the easier it got. Of course, it helped that I had family and friends who helped me to feel like a normal pony again. Now I've even come to accept it as a part of who I am. Although, I do wish I could still make out what ponies' faces look like."
Bella was bent over the table resting on her elbows as she listened to Pickle Plum talk. When she lifted herself up, her back started aching and she could barely stand it.
"Well," she said, "at least you don't have to spend thirty bits a month on aspirin for chronic back pain."
"True," Pickle retorted, "but I do have to wave a stick around just to tell what's right in front of me."
"I can barely fit into a sweater." Bella challenged.
"Oh! How far away are you right now? I can't tell!"
"I have to get all my bras custom made!"
"I can't even read!"
The two ponies stared intensely at each other like they were about to start pounding on each other any minute now, but instead, they both burst out laughing.
"You really are blind as a bat." Bella joked.
"And you must be the most top heavy pony I've ever met." Pickle retorted.
As the waitress approached with their salads, their laughter settled down. They both grabbed their forks and started digging in.
"You know," Bella spoke after swallowing her first bite. "Every time I get in my car to drive, the horn won't stop beeping." She chuckled a bit at her own words.
"At least you can drive," Pickle said in response.
"Yeah, I guess so." It felt strange to Bella that she could suddenly talk about her problems and laugh about them. Maybe talking to this guy was having some kind of affect on her. Whatever it was, she felt better at that moment than she had felt in ages.
Pickle broke the silence again with another question.
"So what do you like to do when you're not working?" he inquired.
Bella thought for a second. "Well, I like to stay in shape, so I tend to work out a lot."
"At the gym?"
"No. Usually in my apartment. I tried working out at a gym once and it was... really not pleasant."
"Oh, I see.... kind of." They both chuckled slightly at that. He really did understand what she meant.
"You wanna know what I really love to do, though?" she said.
"What's that?"
She waved her fork around swiftly in the air before pointing it directly at Pickle's face with a smirk. "Sword fighting."
"What an amazing coincidence," he responded unfazed. He spun his own fork around through the air before crossing it with hers, making a 'cling' sound. "So do I," he said tauntingly.
Bella smirked back at him with intense eyes.
Challenge accepted.
After dinner, the two ponies made their way to a walk-in fencing gym. They each put on their white padded suits and shielding masks. Bella's suit was kind of a tight squeeze, but that was nothing new. She and Pickle Plum each picked up a saber and stood facing each other on the far end of either side of the dojo.
"Why don't we make this a bit more interesting?" Bella asked as they stared each other down.
"Loser buys desert?" Pickle suggested.
"You're on."
Those were some relatively low stakes, but Bella didn't mind since she was confident she could kick his flank no problem. Besides, she had something pretty expensive in mind that he would have to pay for when he lost.
"Ready when you are," Pickle declared, taking his fighting stance. Bella got into her's and...
"Go!"
Just like that, the two of them were on each other like monkeys fighting over bananas. Their swords crossed and "clanged" each other as they parried, thrusted, spun, swiped and dodged each others attacks. Bella was giving it her all, but Pickle was putting up a surprisingly good fight. It was very impressive.... for a blind stallion.
When their swords crossed again, they got right up close to each other's faces, fierce grimaces plastered on both of them.
"You fight like a filly," Bella taunted.
"I've fought fillies before. That's a compliment," Pickle retorted, blocking her oncoming strikes.
As Bella came at him with constant swoops and strikes of her sword, he did his best to dodge and block. The longer he had to guard himself from her attacks, the further back she managed to push him. Finally, he felt her attacks begin to slow and heard her breathing intensify. He took this as his chance to take the offensive and tip the scale in his favor.
Pickle came at Bella with all the strength he could muster and suddenly, he could tell he had her on the run. Perfect.
"What's the matter? That extra weight starting to slow you down?" he teased her.
"Is that a crack about my chest?!" she shouted, sounding a little miffed.
"You tell me." He waved his hand in front of his face to emphasize his point.
"Oh, you're in for it now, smart guy!"
With that, Bella came onto him full force, eager to make him regret his choice of words. Her sword flew around him like a bird in caught in a tornado. Every swipe, lunge and parry was so intense, he could barely keep up. Eventually, he started to lose his footing, which his relentless opponent picked up on and took full advantage of. One final foot swipe with her sword was all it took to seal her victory. Pickle landed flat on his backside with the tip of Bella's saber jabbed right into the pad covering his heart.
He breathed heavily, exhausted by the thrilling match he had just had with the most ferocious mare he had ever had the pleasure of fighting. She loomed over him in victory. Though he could barely see her, he knew she must be giving him a triumphant smirk.
"Who's slow now?" she asked rhetorically. She lifted her sword off of his chest and reached out her arm to help him up. "Not bad for a blind stallion. You really had me on the ropes there for a minute."
"Thanks," Pickle replied as they both removed their masks. "I've been doing this ever since I was a kid. I was pretty good even before I lost my eyesight. After I did, my instructor taught me how to fight without it. It really wasn't until then that I got my cutie mark."
"You think you're gonna be the best blind sword fighter ever someday?"
"That sure would be cool."
"Well, keep practicing and maybe you'll get there someday."
"Thanks."
"In the meantime, though, I believe you owe me a dessert."
"Hehe. Right..." Pickle chuckled nervously, remembering the bet they had made.
"Unless you wanna go best two out of three," Bella suggested, raising her sword up next to her face.
"No, no. A deal's a deal," Pickle submitted. "Besides, I don't feel like having my butt kicked twice in one night."
"Suit yourself."
And with that they hung up their swords on the rack, removed their safety suits and headed out for a deliciously sweet and expensive reward.
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.